Actress Raveena Tandon believes films can be a learning experience for children.
Raveena, who who was here for the inauguration of the third edition of Smile International Film Festival for Children and Youth (SIFFCY) on Monday, said in a statement: "It is something that is to be very proud of that there is a film festival, that is only and wholly for children. I want kids to take a vow that whatever they will learn from here, they will follow in their daily life.
"Movies are the best media to educate our children, so I also want to thank SIFFCY which has acted as a media to communicate goodness to our children as it is the right time to educate them about what is good and what is bad for them."
The week-long festival, which has international jury members on board, and also a young jury board where children have given their inputs in selection of movies, began at the Sirifort Auditorium here.
SIFFCY is a reflection of Smile Foundation's efforts to use films as a medium for sensitizing masses, especially children and youth, and engaging them proactively in the process of bringing Social change.
Santanu Mishra, Executive Trustee of Smile Foundation and Chairman of SIFFCY, said: "I hope through SIFFCY, we will be able to channelize the energy of children and youth in a positive way and engage them proactively in the process of initiating social change.
"The idea behind SIFFCY is to design a rich mix of film programmes to build and support the growing interest in the infotainment industry. This includes programming that cultivates an audience for world cinema while supporting filmmakers in career development, so that this powerful medium can be explored in a more focused manner for disseminating serious yet effective social messages."
Apart from movies, engagement activities include capacity-building workshops, panel discussions and forums on Environment, Climate Change, Road Safety and Role of Cinema, apart from technical workshops by industry experts on filmmaking, cinematography, sound design, production design, storytelling and photography, said festival director Jitendra Mishra.
The opening film at the gala was Rima Das' "Village Rockstars", besides "Cloud Boy", a joint production by Belgium, Sweden, Norway and
Netherlands.
Over 100 films from over 30 countries are part of the showcase at the fest.
