More than 600 films from nearly 100 countries are expected to be screened at the second edition of the Kolkata International Wildlife & Environment Film Festival (KIWEFF), the organisers said here on Saturday.
The organisers have roped in former India captain Sourav Ganguly as the “chief supporter” while actress and wildlife activist Debashree Roy will be the face of the three-day festival beginning December 2.
“The maiden edition (2015) witnessed screening of 561 films from 75 countries. This year, we are expecting the number of entries and the participating counties to be far more,” KIWEFF director Aditya Lal Mukherjee said.
“The number of entries can go well beyond 600, that is why we have increased the number of venues to eight from last year’s five,” Mukherjee said.
The festival will have six categories — feature film, short film, animation, documentary, public service announcement and students.
Besides paying special tribute to Fatesh Singh Rathore – the man behind the Ranthambore Tiger Sanctuary, the KIWEFF will be collaborating with school children to create a “green brigade” aimed at planting 50 lakh saplings across West Bengal.
Legendary Bengali actor and festival committee director Soumitra Chatterjee hailed the tree planting initiative.
“The way we humans have been destroying the planet, it is indispensable that our young generation learns from the mistakes and endeavours to undo those harms. The green initiative is a very welcome step but I sincerely hope that we don’t just stop at planting saplings but make sure they grow on to become trees,” said Chatterjee.
Roy, also a legislator from the state’s ruling Trinamool Congress said the KIWEFF will play a large role in creating awareness about wildlife and environment.
The organisers also plan to turn the KIWEFF into a travelling festival reaching out to other parts of the country.
“The caravan will start from the ‘tiger capital city Nagpur’ where best films of the second edition will be screened,” added Mukherjee.
