Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu,
Minister for Information & Broadcasting has said that the New age cinema from the BRICS nations speak to a
wider audience with socially relevant themes, and are not afraid of communicate
in the way they desire. This inspires young film makers to make films that are
not only entertaining but also enlightening. As a powerful medium it sends
across the right message that can counter the negativity emerging from acts of
Terrorism worldwide. Films have sparked national consciousness and helped in
channelizing the energies of youth in social reconstruction and nation
building. The Minister stated this at the closing ceremony of the First BRICS
Film Festival. Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Minister of State, Ministry of
I&B.

Elaborating further
Shri Naidu said, that a specially curated BRICS section would form part of the
India International Film Festival from this year onwards which would become a
regular feature in the future editions of IFFI. To promote India as filming
destination the Minister stated that the Government was actively considering
signing co-production agreements with Russia and South Africa taking the
process forward of having signed similar agreements with Brazil and China.

The Minister also proposed that setting
up institutional mechanisms for regular collaboration between film archives of
the member countries would also be beneficial as it would ensure exchange of
information on preservation of our filmic heritage. He also mentioned that the BRICS
countries can explore the possibility of having a formal mechanism for student
exchange programmes among the leading film institutes of our countries.
Regarding the
institutionalized mechanism of promoting of India as a soft power, Shri Naidu
said the diverse topography of India offers a variety of locales for shooting
of films round the year. In addition to this, India is home to one of the most
vibrant and highly skilled film industry. The Government has taken several
steps to create a conducive environment for shooting films in India by
international filmmakers. One such step is setting up of Film Facilitation
Office under National Film Development Corporation. BRICS film directors could
take this opportunity to explore possibilities on shooting their films in
India.
The Kannada Movie “Thithi” from India
was awarded the Best Film from the Jury members, while the Special Jury was awarded
for the movie “Between Valleys” from Brazil. Mr. Huo Jianqi from China was
awarded the Best Director award for the Movie, “Xuan Chang” . Mr. Thabo Rametsi
from South Africa was awarded the Best Actor (Male) award for his acting in the
movie “Kalushi (The story of Solomon Mahlangu)” and Ms. Yulia Peresild from
Russia was awarded the Best Actor (Female) award for her role in the movie “Battle
for Sevastopol”. The jury also recommended Special Mention awards to the Movie
“Songs of the Phoenix” from China and the movie “14+” from Russia.
The BRICS Film Festival was held from
September 2nd to September 6th, 2016. In the course of 5 days of the
event, 20 movies was screened in the competition section, 4 from each of the
countries. The opening film at the Film Festival saw the World Premiere of the Malayalam
movie, Veeram directed by Shri Jayaraj Rajasekharan Nair and starring Kunal
Kapoor. The Closing film would be
the Chinese movie, Skiptrace, starring Jackie Chan directed by Renny Harlin.
The movie is an action-comedy, which revolves around a Chinese detective who
teams up with an American Gambler to catch a Chinese Criminal.
The film festival showcased an
amalgamation of culture, films, song & dance and food of the 5 member
countries, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Exclusive cuisines
from all the BRICS nations was also available at the Food Court, arranged in the
festival venue. A Craft Fair was also organized at the Siri Fort auditorium
complex with all member countries putting up stalls with souvenirs and other
properties for sale.
Beyond films, the Festival also showcased
on stage spectacular performances by the Chengdu Performing Arts Theatre
(China), Theatre Leningrad Centre Dreams (Russia) and MBZ Music Production
(South Africa).
The closing ceremony also saw the
release of the first BRICS Film Festival Scroll, which was presented to
representatives from China. It was announced that China would host the next
version of the BRICS Film Festival in Chengdu.
CP/GV