The Delhi government is going to hold its first ‘International Film Festival’ in August, ahead of the G20 Summit – a promise it had first made in last year’s ‘Rozgar’ Budget. The festival was proposed as part of a Delhi Film Policy, which was launched last year in May, with the aim of promoting the city’s rich culture and diversity and also to make it a popular destination for shooting films. Since this could generate employment, the scheme also found a mention in the budget that was centred around the theme of employment.
According to a senior official, the Delhi government’s tourism department will organise the film festival for seven days from August 18 to 25 at Siri Fort Auditorium. “Preparation is underway; dates have been decided for the film festival. It will be hosted in August ahead of the G20 Summit, and films and shows will be screened. There are many good films but since the Summit will be around the corner, the festival will also honour participating countries. Movies and documentaries from these countries will also be screened during this festival,” said an official.
Officials added that there are many great foreign documentaries and films to pick from. The tourism department will constitute a jury or panel for selecting the movies. Artists, actors and celebrities from the film fraternity are likely to be invited to the film festival, said the official.
Former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had last year announced that the government also has plans to host the Delhi Film Excellence Awards, where crew members of films would also be honoured. “The film festival will be on the lines of the Cannes Film Festival,” Sisodia had said.
