I&B Ministry Institutes New Centenary Award to honour personalities for contribution to Indian Cinema

New Delhi, November 7, 2013: The Minister for Information & Broadcasting, Manish Tewari today announced the institution of a special award in the series of initiatives undertaken to commemorate the 100 years of Indian Cinema. The Centenary award would be given every year to an outstanding Indian film personality “A Film Icon” for his/her contribution to Indian Cinema at IFFI.

Speaking on the occasion, Tewari said that the award reiterated the rich legacy of Indian Cinema where eminent personalities had contributed to its growth through different stages of its evolution. The award is the second in the series instituted by the Government to commemorate the centenary celebrations.

Speaking on the occasion, the Minister mentioned that the Ministry had taken initiatives to promote the growth of the film industry. It had tried to review the statutory architecture under the films paradigm by instituting the Mudgal Committee to review the provisions of the Cinematograph Act. The recommendations of the Committee were under consideration and the opinions have been invited as the report had been placed on the website of the Ministry. As part of the initiatives, the Ministry had also proactively pursued the establishment of the Single Window Clearance Mechanism to ensure that the film makers had no difficulty in seeking permissions within the country. The objective was to ensure the smooth implementation of the Standard Operating Procedure. As part of the initiative to promote cinema, the National Film Heritage Mission had been mooted to ensure that the rich cultural heritage of the industry could be preserved.

Elaborating further, the Minister said that the 44th edition of IFFI was unique on several accounts. For the first time two International Film personalities, Ms. Susan Sarandon and acclaimed Iranian Filmmaker Majid Majidi were to share the stage at the opening ceremony. This aspect reiterated the growing importance of India as a Soft Power. The 44th edition also provided the platform to screen for the first time films on Nobel Prize winners, namely, Mandela, A long Walk to Freedom and Lech Walesa. The Life Time Achievement Award was being conferred to the legendary Czech Film Director, Jiri Menzel whose films have been acknowledged as the Czech New Wave Cinema. For the first time, a film on India’s great freedom struggle leader Basha Khan would be screened at the Festival. For the first time, a film produced and directed by an Afghan Director would be screened. Acclaimed Hollywood Actress Michelle Yeoh would be the Chief Guest for the closing ceremony of the Festival. The festival would highlight for the first time Cinema from the North Eastern states of India.

Regarding the Children’s Film Festival, Tewari said that the Festival was unique in several ways. It combined the traditional and modern aspects of film making on issues concerning children. For the first time a retrospective on the Best of Indian children’s Films, a specially curated package in commemoration of 100 years of Indian Cinema was being screened. The package would showcase 15 National Award winning and Classic Indian Children’s films. Special attention had been given to the animation section where 285 films had been received. For the first time, a separate category of Competitive Section for animation films had been introduced. For the Festival, a record number of entries, 123 in number, had been received for the “Little Director” Section, films made by children from India and around the world. For the first time, films had been sourced from prestigious International Children’s Film Festivals. The children’s film festival would have a country focus retrospective of Czech Films.