For the first time, an international film festival will take place in the twin cities of Hubballi-Dharwad for three days in May. National and international films will be screened in four film theatres each in the twin cities.
A curtain-raiser for the film festival was held at Hubballi earlier this week, with multilingual film actor Suman, producer Sa.Ra. Govind and others formally launching the preparatory activities and the logo of the film festival.
Mr. Suman said he was pleasantly surprised to see an international film festival being planned in Hubballi-Dharwad. He said that such film festivals would be mutually beneficial for those in the film industry from different nations and also for the venue as film activities would pick up there.
N.M. Suresh, vice-president of the Film Federation of India, stressed the need for working in coordination for promoting films and film-related activities. Saying that the setting up of alternative forums for film activities would only hamper the growth of the industry, he called upon film enthusiasts and film personalities to work in coordination with Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce.
Giving information on the film festival, event coordinator Altaf Zahangeer said that the film festival would be held from May 21 for three days, and films would be screened at eight venues across the twin cities.
He said entry would be free for students in the age group of 14 to 18 years, and the films would be screened from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. “In all, there will be five shows every day. The inaugural ceremony will take place at Hotel Naveen in Hubballi at 9 a.m., and around 300 delegates are expected to participate.”
The Nava Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy is hosting the event. Its president, M.R. Mummigatti, said that Kannada, Hindi and English movies would be screened during the festival. “Such events will showcase the [Hubballi-Dharwad] region and help in promoting film activities,” he said, clarifying that the film festival was not an alternative to the film fest conducted in Bengaluru.
