Young minds tantalised through film

Children’s film festival enthralls kids and parents alike


Mariam Shafqat November 22, 2017
PHOTO: FILE

LAHORE: The ninth edition of the Lahore International Children’s Film Festival (LICFF) 2017 began at Fortress Stadium on Monday,

Organised by The Little Art, the five-day international festival hoped to celebrate the experience of global cinema for children in Pakistan with the best films made for, by and about children.

According to its organisers, the festival used the power of film not just to entertain children and parents, but also create new ideas, apart from promoting cultural values and highlighting issues faced by youngsters of today.

LICFF is one of the largest children’s film festivals in Pakistan and is open to all kids, irrespective of their socioeconomic backgrounds.

According to Irfan Fayyaz, the festival’s manager, the selected movies have gone through multiple screenings before final selection by the jury.

“We received a record number of submissions from all over the world, nearly about 2,734 films from 111 countries. We have finalised 111 best films from 34 countries in 19 languages”, Fayyaz said.

“From the disarmingly intimate to the startlingly epic, these films will open your eyes, touch your hearts and blow your minds away”, he added.



Fayyaz said that the films also speak of the universal experiences of being human and the world we live in. It is a dream come true to see that the festival has been expanding each year to reach out to children from various parts of Pakistan”, he added.

Senior Manager Sahar Ahmad said that through the initiative, The Little Art constantly strives to provide young people with a platform to come together and watch stories unfold on cinema screens.

“It is truly a magical experience to indulge in film. It takes us to different worlds where we are able to see and meet new people and be part of the wonderful tales from unseen parts of the world”, Ahmad added.

Ahmad said that the LICFF not only takes children on exciting journeys, but also provokes the community of adults to think in different perspectives and to become closer to the lives of our youth.

“We have put in our love and passion to create the programme for this year. I hope you all enjoy, learn, grow and leave with a shift of perspective to see the world in a new light”, she said.

Established in 2007, The Little Art is a no-profit education organisation that uses art as a medium to promote social values among children and young adults in Pakistan. Since the inception of the festival in 2008, we have managed to screen over 713 films from nearly 80 countries to over 410,050 children. The festival has been organised in cities like Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad, Multan, Peshawar, Faisalabad, Gilgit Baltistan, Jamshoro & Tando Jam in Interior Sindh and Bhakkar in rural Punjab.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 22nd, 2017.

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