Urban Climate Film Festival from June 3

Kolkata: Sixteen films from 12 countries will be screened at the Urban Climate Film Festival to be held from June 3-5 in the city, to enlighten audiences about environmental, social and economic impacts of climate change on urban settlements.

The festival is supported by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, the French Development Agency (AFD), the European Union and the New Town Kolkata Green Smart City Corporation Limited.

The film festival is being organised at Nazrul Tirtha at New Town, the satellite township near the metropolis, through the CITIIS (City Investments To Innovate Integrate and Sustain) programme - under the engagement events of U20 (the urban track of G20).

The objectives of the festival are to employ the powerful medium of film to enlighten audiences about the environmental, social and economic impacts of climate change on urban settlements, initiate conversations about building climate-resilient cities and invite inputs from the public, encourage citizens to undertake ‘environmentally responsible behaviours in line with the U20 priority areas, an organising committee spokesperson said Monday.

The festival will also celebrate World Environment Day on June 5 with a special closing ceremony, which will be graced by the Consul General of France in Kolkata, Didier Talpain, the spokesperson said.

The global call for entries for the festival had received an overwhelming response with 150 films submitted from 20 countries.

These were evaluated by a jury. The Urban Climate Film Festival was launched on March 24 at Alliance Française in New Delhi.

After a successful run in Delhi, the festival travelled to Mumbai, where it was hosted at Alliance Française de Bombay.

The festival in Delhi and Mumbai showcased a curated selection of films by a diverse pool of filmmakers from countries like India, France, Iran, and the USA.

The screenings were complemented by panel discussions and special sessions where audiences interacted with filmmakers.