Tamil Nadu - Chennai   

Filipino film festival opens in city

— Photo: M. Karunakaran

Cultural exchange: Maria H Bugarin, Deputy Chief of Mission and Charge d’Affairs, Embassy of Philippines, presents a memento to Sumathi Ravichandran, Director of Branch Secretariat, Ministry of External Affairs, at the inauguration of the Filipino Film Festival in Chennai on Monday.

CHENNAI: A festival of Filipino films opened amid a gathering of film connoisseurs and eminent personalities of India and the Philippines at the South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce theatre here on Monday.

The 10-day film festival is being jointly organised by the Madras Film Society, Embassy of the Philippines, New Delhi, and the International Cine-Appreciation Foundation (ICAF).

Inaugurating the festival, Deputy Chief of Mission and Charge d’ Affairs of the Embassy of the Philippines in New Delhi Maria H Bugarin said such a festival was the best way to depict the culture and lifestyle of the Filipino people to an audience of a country that has a large film industry to its credit.

“This festival would open a window to understand the culture of the eastern neighbour of India,” she said.

Her attempt to speak a few words in Tamil along with its Filipino equivalent was received with a resounding round of applause from the audience.

G. Santhanam, Tamil Development, Religious Endowment and Information Secretary, underlined the similarities between India and the Philippines. Besides sharing a strong belief in democracy, both the nations have their economy based on agriculture, he said.

Mr. Santhanam also spoke about the measures taken by the State Government to motivate the film industry. Such film festivals would provide a forum to appreciate talent in both nations, he added.

Film director Bharathirajaa said film festivals, which provide an opportunity to view international films, were only an annual affair a decade ago.

He commended the efforts of the Madras Film Society and ICAF in organising such festivals more often, as they pave the way for a cultural exchange.

While Sumathi Ravichandran, Director and Head of Branch Secretariat, Ministry of External Affairs, highlighted the similarities between the films of the two countries, president of the South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce K. Rajagopal wanted Tamil films to be screened in the Philippines.

Actor Swarnamalya, ICAF president S. Kannan and Madras Film Society general secretary G. Thangaraj participated in the programme.

Twelve films would be screened at the festival, which is on till February 27. daily.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Fabulous fusion of Japanese poetry, Indian dance
A fair account of Aavin milk trade
A dream come true for him
A timeline of aviation evolution
In comfort zone with cool cottons
Lifeline Hospitals inks MoU with U.S. varsity
Devolution of powers infuses hope among local bodies
“Congress will maintain coalition dharma”
Sethu project will trap government in immeasurable debt: experts
Swaminathan for improving rural roads, more irrigation
IT corridor work up to Siruseri to be over by March
Canvas ablaze with an artist’s homeland in its pristine glory
Filipino film festival opens in city
Microsoft lab opened at IIT-Madras
Improve quality, speed to become competitive, shoe industry workers told
“Vedas contain references to infinity”
Call for more early intervention centres
Are chips down in information technology?
The stress and strain behind the elegant exterior City Pulse
EMU services rescheduled
Power shutdown tomorrow
Youth held near U.S. consulate
Golden jubilee of school
Karunanidhi refutes Jayalalithaa’s charges
Court seeks more effective probe into gang-rape charge
Court boycott
In Chennai Today

Copyright � 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu