A boost for filmmakers of the future

Bright lights liven up festival premises. Photo: ATL Aakash

At the entrance of the Shawkat Osman Auditorium at the Public Library in Dhaka, three little girls looked busy, attending to a wave of enthusiastic people, comprising children their age as well as adults -- asking for the entry passes. The greeters also handed them voting cards and directed them towards the hall. When asked which one of them was not too busy to talk, Tasfia (a class 4 student at Viqarunnisa Noon School) volunteered. Although she said that she was a little sad, as she couldn't watch the films at the festival yet because she had “a lot of things to do”, the sparkle in her eyes said that she was enjoying her responsibilities just as much.
At the 6th International Children's Film Festival, most of the people in charge of organising are school or college-going students, along with 60 child filmmakers taking part in a competition being judged by a five-member jury who are all under 18, making the festival in the true sense of the word 'for the children, of the children and by the children'. Faiza Zerin (a class 5 student) said that she thoroughly enjoyed “Water for Life” -- an award-winning short film by Rayhan Ahmed, and that the festive atmosphere, so many people of her age, and the presence of foreign delegates made it her current favourite place to be.
Festival director and eminent filmmaker Morshedul Islam said that the competition would help children learn the visual language through filmmaking, and bring out good storytellers of the future. He also commended the professionalism of the children involved in the organising process and said their leadership qualities gave him great hope. Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, also present at the festival, said that this festival itself was a great indicator that Bangladesh was moving forward. He also expressed hopes that with the advancement of internet and availability of resources at the fingertips, young filmmakers will look at the global standards of children's films instead of just looking to make something good by Bangladesh standards.
Swapan Ahmed, who came to the festival with his nephew and niece, meanwhile expressed frustration over the lack of good children's films made in the country. He pointed out that there haven't been 41 children's films in the 41 years of Bangladesh's independence. Filmmaker and film activist Manzare Hasin Murad, on the other hand, brought out the other side of the argument. He said the current condition of the film industry, the cinema halls and the perceived target audience make it very difficult for a filmmaker to invest in a children's film. He, however, said the government has decided to give one children's film national grant every year, adding that there were signs that the drought could be ending. He also urged the government to make changes to a legislation that prevents import of films from South Asia. Asserting that the law was made four decades ago to protect the country's film industry, he questioned how this move has helped the industry. He called for “selective” import of classic children's films like “Hirok Raja'r Deshe” to be shown at the cinema halls for children.