Lahore cinema centenary marked

LAHORE:

On the completion of 100 years of Lahore cinema, the first three-day International Conference on Creative Arts has been organised by the Punjab University Graphic Design Department, British Council and other institutions at the College of Art and Design.

Addressing the event, PU Vice Chancellor Dr Muhammad Ali expressed his desire to establish a film academy at the university in collaboration with the industry. He regretted that the people in the film industry had not been valued.

He said that the stars of the film industry deserved honorary PhDs. The VC said disregard for modern trends had led to the decline of the film industry and the youth should revive the splendor of cinema by adopting modern techniques. He said people from the film industry should come to the university and pass on their experience to the new generation.

Film director Syed Noor said he was witness to 53 of the 100 years of the cinema industry and he had seen its extreme rise and fall.

He said he had never seen a conference in which the trend of filmmaking had been promoted among students.

He said filmmaking was now being taught in universities and students acquired degrees but did not become filmmakers.

He said good filmmakers would be produced if passion in this regard was created among the youth.

Comedian Iftikhar Thakur said Hollywood and South Indian films were successful because of graphic design. If the film industry wants to move forward, the field of graphic design should be promoted.