SRINAGAR: Asia’s largest International Environment and Wildlife Film Festival and Forum, a 5 days of honoring of mother nature with films, discussions, exhibitions and Open Stage Performances starting from November 2 for four days, in Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti, Delhi will have four films from J&K being showcased, a spokesman of the Forum said.
The festival is known around the country for its eventful festival and creating awareness for the concern of World’s environmental and climate change. The festival is supported and partnered by Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change, and the organizations like- National Geographic, WWF, UNESCO, and Doordarshan.
The screening of 113 nominated films from both national and overseas will be every day. The jury nominated and handpicked these films from the 686 film entries.
“We received 10 Films from Jammu and Kashmir out of which 4 films are nominated marking the transition of Kashmir’s thought process of being environmentally inclined,” the spokesman said. “The films portrays how Kashmir is becoming prone to effects of climate change.”
The films from J&K are Global Warning – Kashmir Chapter and Saving the Saviour by Jalal Ud Din Baba; September Himalayan Floods (Un)Avoidable Deluge by Dr Shahid Rasool & Inam-Ul-Rehman and Whispers of Warming by Anoop Khajuria, which portrays how Kashmir is becoming prone to effects of climate change
There are 31 different award recognitions for both Indian and International Filmmakers and three other prominent awards – Prithvi Ratna Award is conferred upon a filmmaker for exemplary work in the field of environment. Prithvi Bhusan, is the first lifetime achievement in the field of nature conservation and protection. Young Environment Journalist Awards, in each competitive festival the award is presented to three young minds working in the field of Environment.
The festival will experience presence of great minds and personalities, including Ricky Kej (Grammy Winner Music Producer), Govind Nihalani (National Award Filmmaker), and Chandi Prasad Bhatt (Gandhian Environmentalist and Activist). Also, The Face of Change Bilal Ahmad Dar – Swachata Ambassador of Srinagar Municipal Committee and Face of Wular Lake, Kashmir who was praised by PM Narendra Modi himself will be coming to the festival.
The green workshops and forum discussions will be enthralling, and will be interactive between listeners and speakers. The festival is curated with the best itinerary for students, filmmakers, environmentalist, and media persons to interact with nature and understand the importance of the same.
CMS Vatavaran, it may be recalled here, is India’s premier environment and wildlife film festival and forum. It is aimed at enhancing understanding, appreciation and shift in attitudes towards the natural world and to increase space for environmental issues in mass media and evolve a nationwide environment outreach framework. The festival taps into an important motivating factor for audiences everywhere: the emotional draw of connecting with a compelling story or character.
The festival reaches out to people from all walks of life including filmmakers, civil society groups, government organizations, environmentalists, researchers, conservationists, policy makers, activists, public and private sector organizations and students of all ages and is recognized as a calendar event amongst filmmakers, environment, wildlife and conservation sector. Its unique twin track approach of organizing competitive and traveling film festivals and environment forum has positioned it as one of the most prestigious film festivals across the globe. Since its inception in 2002, eight competitive and 52 travelling festivals in 41 cities of 25 Indian states have been organized.
