Third International Children's Film Festival 2017 was opened on Friday at a ceremony held at Institute of Art & Design, University of Sindh Jamshoro. Two-day festival has been organized by the institute in collaboration with The Little Art, a Lahore-based organization working with international collaborations by closely selecting creative and conceptual films across the globe and exhibiting them at various cities and educational institutions in the country.
Inaugurating the festival, the Vice Chancellor of SU Professor Dr Fateh Muhammad Burfat expressed his especial pleasure over the way the students in attendance shared ideas regarding the cross-cutting theme projected in the films that were screened on the occasion. "I am greatly delighted to witness firsthand the impressive, informative and involved interaction of the students and youth who have come to watch the movies which have so far been presented", he said.
He said the festival was an appealing way to motivate and inspire awareness among masses, especially the youth, about critical and pressing social issues.
He said it was very crucial for children and youth to learn various facets, experiences and challenges of life and also inculcate in them the acumen to overpower the otherwise jeopardizing situations.
He termed films a powerful medium, which could transform minds through its alluring visual impact as research had proven in different world contexts. Dr Burfat said well-known director and actor Syed Yar Muhammad Shah belonged to Sindh but his talent was recognized, initially at Lahore, Pakistan and later acknowledged at various international forums. Secretary Board of Revenue Sindh, Munawar Ali Mahesar said that he had seen students graduating from the University of Sindh occupying privileged and powerful positions in almost all walk of life including bureaucracy, Civil Service of Pakistan, Entrepreneurship, education and politics.
"My worldview and international exposure informed me that the concept of failure should not exist in society and educational institutions. The students should be assured that every unsuccessful attempt they make in the course of study is bound to repay them in the long run in form of experience gained through trial and error process", he maintained.
"There is only one condition to be successful in life is that the students should work very hard; they don't have anything to lose while being a part of the higher institutions like SU; they only win and seek cutting-edge knowledge", he said. Speaking at the ceremony, director and actor Syed Yar Muhammad Shah said Sindh and music were inseparable. "I mostly worked in Bollywood and stayed everywhere in Pakistan but my soul lives in Sindh," he remarked, and urged SU students to try to make short documentaries highlighting social issues which will greatly help them to make movies.
Later, the films festival showcased some 60 films, including 3 films prepared by the students of the institute and the rest from abroad, selected from among 500 received from 20 countries to suit viewers of all age groups, especially children.
The ceremony was attended by nearly 500 students of the University of Sindh and various schools of Jamshoro who were invited by the program coordinator Professor Saeed Ahmed Mangi. Earlier, Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Fateh Muhammad Burfat flanked by Secretary Board of Revenue Sindh Munawar Ali Mahesar and the team of organizers presented 'Sindh University Life-Time Achievement Award' Souvenir shield to Pakistan Film Industry icon Syed Yar Muhammad Shah in recognition of his valuable services in the field of film, drama, theatre, television and script-writing.
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