03 November,2009 08:25 AM IST | | Shaheen Parkar
Barely three months after she took over as chairperson of the Children's Film Society of India (CFSI), Nandita Das finds herself in the midst of festive fervour.
CFSI's 16th International Children Film Festival The Golden Elephant will be held in Hyderabad from November 14 to 20.
The actress-turned-director is hoping to use her personal goodwill and contacts with B-Town folk to get them on board.
Says Nandita, "I am familiar with festivals having attended scores of them worldwide. But now I find myself on the other side of the table. Barely did I take on the chairperson's responsibility that the festival preparations began."
Apprehensions
When she was offered the post, there were some apprehensions considering the mindset of people towards film festivals and working with a government organisation. "But I have always loved taking on new things. The more I get involved in it as each day passes, there is so much more to do," she says.
Nandita has not done any acting for over three years. Her directorial debut Firaaq released earlier this year. "I was looking at new ideas for my next project and then the CFSI offer came my way."
She has introduced the best screenplay award category at the festival awards. "The screenplay is what make a movie and the category was missing at the festival."
"This year we have included plenty of workshops and interactive sessions with kids. There is also a jury consisting of children draw from across the country."
The main reason behind organising the festival is to help providing motivation to producers and directors to make films for children. "Hopefully, it will. There are several filmmakers like Gulzar and Vishal Bhardwaj who will be part of it."
Nandita herself will be drawing from her own experiences working with children in films as well as off screen in groups trying to make education fun."
