Kids film fest brings 100 global movies to schools

A global kids film festival being hosted in Chennai is introducing international cinema and using the power of films to educate and inspire children. The Dell International Kids Film Festival, which is travelling across Indian cities, is bringing 100 international films to school students. The third edition of this International Kids Film Festival is being organised by LXL Ideas, a firm that has been curating films to be screened for school children, along with technology major, Dell Technologies. These foreign films in 35 languages, along with English subtitles, will be screened in over 20 schools run by the Velammal Group, along with a few others. Over one lakh students in Chennai will be watching and learning from these films, the organisers say. 

“Today, most of the content that is generated and consumed is through videos. Films are the ideal platform to engage with children to communicate value-based messages. The film festival does just that in bringing millions of children from around the globe together to watch and learn from the films that have been curated and hand-picked for relevant age groups,” says Syed Sultan Ahmed the Managing Director of LXL Ideas. The festival, which will run throughout November and December, is also taking the global cinema to schools across Karnataka, Telangana and Assam. In total, over 7,000 schools across the country will be participating in this film fest. 

The films have been handpicked by the organisers from various kids film festivals in the world, and categorised for students based on their ages. The films chosen include titles like Miles Away, Like an Elephant in a China Shop, Inside of Earth, Rethink Your Clothes, A Field Guide to being a 12 Year Old Girl  and Land Without Evil, among others. “The films are from 40 countries (including Iran, France, US, Spain, etc.) in 35 languages on issues ranging from environment to conflict to childhood to space. The idea of the festival is to expose children to world languages, issues, challenges and stories, which are all integral to education,” adds Ahmed. The films are being aired via EduSat, India’s first satellite built by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) exclusively for educational purpose to supplement the curriculum-based teaching in cities, towns and villages.                                —BA