Environment and wildlife film festival in Guwahati

Guwahati, Nov 22: The three-day second edition of the Guwahati CMS Vatavaran Environment and Wildlife Travelling Film Festival, 2006, will commence from November 24.

Altogether 16 films on wildlife and environment and their impact on the life of the dependant people would be screened. Gautam Saikia's ''The Jaws of Death'' would be the inaugural film.

Besides, three workshops - one on ''What makes a good environment film?'', ''Green media and green films in NE India: Challenges and Opportunities'' and another with NE filmmakers - have been organised during the festival.

Informing this at a press meet here yesterday, festival manager Priya Verma said, '' The objective of the festival is to encourage documentation of environmental films and help the filmmakers showcase their films. '' The festival is being organised here by CMS Vatavaran jointly with Aaranyak, an environmental organisation, and supported by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests.

She said this present travelling film festival started in Kolkata earlier this year and had travelled across the country and abroad before reaching Guwahati.

The next venues of the festival are Hyderabad and Ranchi, she added.

On the impact of the first environment film festival, hosted by CMS Vatavaran here, Ms Verma said, '' It helped increase awareness and interest among the filmmakers as well as the audiences. '' Besides, various travelling and competitive film festivals on environment and wildlife films organised across the country has opened a commercial avenue for such films, she informed.

UNI