Hindi
Indian filmmaker on international jury of CICFF
NEW DELHI: Vinod Ganatra, an independent award winning film maker from Mumbai, is a member of the international jury of the 12th China International Children‘s Film Festival to be held from 9-15 September in Siping City, Jilin Province.
The China International Children‘s Film Festival (CICFF) is an international biennial film festival held at different parts of China. The festival provides Chinese children an opportunity to learn about the world and helps global children‘s film professionals know about China. The Festival aims to enhance the international communication and cooperation for children‘s films, and promote the worldwide development of children‘s films.
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Vinod Ganatra, a recipient of The Liv Ullmann Peace Prize, Chicago, has been active in the Film and Television Production from 1982. He has edited and directed about 400 Documentaries & News Reels. He has Produced 25 TV Programmes for Children & Youth. He has also made three Films for Children‘s Film Society, India, and these films have won 23 International Awards.
He is also a recipient of the Dada Saheb Phalke Lifetime Achievement Award conferred by The Association of Film And Video Editors. He has several National & International Awards to his credit. Widely travelled, he has also served as Jury at several National and International Film Festivals world over for last two decades.
His debut feature film Heda Hoda (Blind Camel) travelled to about 58 International Film Festivals world over and won many Awards. His next film Lukka Chhuppi (Hide-n-Seek) was listed in the LIMCA Book of World Records as ‘the First Children‘s Feature Film fully shot at the highest altitude‘ at Ladakh in the Himalayas. It was also screened at about 21 International Film Festivals.
Harun-Arun, his next film in Gujarati, based on the Indo-Pak border was world premiered at the 26th Chicago International Children‘s Film Festival and conferred with the prestigious ‘Liv Ullmann Peace Prize‘. He also won the ‘Best Juvenile Audience Award at Dhaka International Film Festival in January 2010. This was followed by yet another Goal of Transmedia Critics Jury Award in March 2010. In June he received the ‘Light of Asia Award at Sri Lanka.
Hindi
Government backs film production through DCDFC, co-production push
Scheme funds cinema, WAVES 2025 boosts global ties and industry growth.
MUMBAI: Lights, camera… policy action. As India’s screens glow brighter at home and abroad, the government is quietly scripting a bigger role behind the scenes funding films, fuelling collaborations and nudging the country closer to its “create for the world” ambition. At the centre of this effort is the Development, Communication & Dissemination of Filmic Content (DCDFC) scheme, a 100 per cent centrally funded initiative designed to support film production across the country. Through this scheme, the government provides direct financial backing to projects, aiming to strengthen both mainstream and alternative storytelling ecosystems while encouraging cinematic excellence.
The implementation runs through the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), which plays a key role in facilitating film production, including regional cinema and documentaries. Beyond the screen, the scheme also feeds into the broader economy creating jobs for local technicians, artists and service providers, and strengthening grassroots production networks across states.
The push, however, is not limited to funding alone. India’s ambition to position itself as a global content powerhouse was on display at the World Audio Visual & Entertainment Summit 2025 held in Mumbai, which brought together creators, producers, startups and global stakeholders from over 100 countries. The summit acted as a convergence point for Indian storytelling and international capital, with OTT platforms, investors and technology leaders exploring partnerships in a rapidly evolving content economy.
Complementing this is the government’s focus on audio-visual co-production agreements, which effectively operate on a public-private partnership model. By enabling Indian and international producers to collaborate, these agreements are designed to bring in investment, global expertise and advanced filmmaking practices while also giving Indian stories a wider global footprint.
Support also extends to film culture and preservation. Grants are provided for domestic film festivals recommended by state governments, alongside curated film packages, masterclasses and workshops to nurture talent and audience engagement. The NFDC further collaborates with State Film Development Corporations, offering technical expertise across the filmmaking value chain and supporting the preservation of local film heritage.
Many states, in parallel, are encouraging the development of film infrastructure including production studios often through public-private partnership models, signalling a coordinated push to build a more robust audiovisual ecosystem.
The update was shared in Parliament by Ashwini Vaishnaw in response to a query from Thirumaavalavan Tholkappiyan, outlining a multi-layered approach that blends funding, infrastructure, policy and global outreach.
Taken together, the message is clear: India is not just telling more stories, it is building the machinery to tell them bigger, better and to the world.
