NEW DELHI: A total of 74 thematic films from 16 states and 11 countries will be screened at the oldest and largest Environment and Wildlife film festival in India, CMS Vatavaran, next month.
The Festival on the theme of ‘Water for Life’ will be celebrating its 8th competitive edition and will be held from 9 to 13 October at the NDMC Convention Centre in New Delhi.
CMS Vatavaran 2015 will be an amalgamation of celebration and discourse with film screenings, forums on critical water issues, panorama of international film festivals, workshops on filmmaking, exhibitions, green haat and much more.
The theme is ‘Water for Life’ with a special focus on “Conserving our Water Bodies”. It seeks to mark the interconnectedness of water and life and raise concern over the rapidly deteriorating condition of our water bodies.
Some Bollywood films will be screened, incliuding Kaun Kitne Paani Mein by Nila Madhab Panda; and Aisa Yeh Jahaan by Biswajeet Bora.
Media and filmmaking workshops will also be held.
Guests expected at the closing are Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu, and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
There will be a talk on River Rejuvenation by Water Resources Minister Uma Bharati.
A Green Haat has been set up by the Environment Ministry with UNDP and exhibitions are by New Delhi Nature Society, and Anthony Acciavatti.
The fact that India has just four per cent of the world’s fresh water but 16 per cent of the global population is reason enough to begin a serious discussion on proper and effective watermanagement and conservation. CMS Vatavaran with its theme ‘Water for Life’ aims to do just that.
Several interesting endeavors on the theme 'Water for Life' apart from film screenings like seminars, workshops, exhibition, cultural performances and award ceremony focusing on the environmental, social and economic aspects of water conservation will be part of the film festival and forum.
Contemporary issues related to water and conservation will be deliberated upon by eminent conservationists, policy makers, environment journalists and the concerned communities in the forum.
'Water for Life' being a cross cutting theme necessitates a multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder participation in discussions to address the issues in a holistic manner.
The American Centre is the Country Partner of the 8th CMS Vatavatan. A special curtain raiser programme will also be organised on the evening of 8 October in the presence of American filmmakers, guests and delegates. Seminars, workshops, book launches and talks will be organised in partnership with The Asia Foundation, GIZ, Arghyam, CSE, CEE, RSTV and WWF to name a few.
"CMS Vatavaran is doing a magnificent job, making people aware by arranging these festivals and taking them to different cities and involving more and more from the younger generation. CMS Vatavaran is a great platform to inform people about issues like wildlife conservation, sustainable technology and climate change,” said veteran filmmaker and actor Amol Palekar, who is head of the award jury.
“In the 8th competitive festival, we are focusing on water and problems in water management systems around the world to show the disturbing effects these choices have on human beings. The theme has been chosen keeping in mind the fact that the way water scarcity issues are addressed, impacts upon the successful achievement of most of the development goals,” added CMS director general P N Vasanti.
