The ninth edition of CMS Vatavaran – an international film festival on environment and wildlife – will begin here from Thursday, showcasing 113 films, including four from Kashmir, one of the most ecologically sensitive zones facing the threat of global warming.
The “Conservation 4 Water”-themed five-day gala at Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti will also have seminars, workshops, exhibitions and an award ceremony focusing on the environmental, social and economic aspects of water conservation, according to a statement.
The festival “aims to create awareness and sensitize people through films and discussions regarding water conservation and the inter-connectedness of climate change and water, water struggles in a world dealing with global warming, climate variability, bio-diversity loss, and environmental damage”, the statement said.
The event is supported and partnered by Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change, National Geographic, UNESCO, UNDP and WWF.
The statement said that the films nominated from Kashmir mark “the transition of Kashmiris’ thought process of being environmentally inclined”.
The Kashmir films include a documentary on a teenage rag picker, Bilal Ahmed Dar, who is a cleanliness brand ambassador in the state and was praised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Dar is also expected to attend the event and share his experience.
Other Kashmir films to be screened include “Global Warming – Kashmir Chapter” and “Saving the Saviour” by renowned filmmaker Jalal Ud Din Baba of the valley.
