Andaman & Nicobar Island Tourism To Be Clubbed With Film Festival!

Andaman & Nicobar Island Tourism To Be Clubbed With Film Festival!
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Lt Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands Bhopinder Singh said that the administration would host film festivals every year in Andaman and Nicobar Islands by clubbing the event with annual Island Tourism Festival, organised every year in January.

''I am happy that a Film Festival is being organised in these Islands. This is the first Film Festival in Andaman and Nicobar Islands but I assure you that from now every year we will host such events together with Island Tourism Festival,'' Mr Singh said after inaugurating the Indian Panorama Film Festival 2011 at Port Blair.

Reputed film-makers from Mumbai and Tamil Film industries like, Madhur Bhandarkar, Mani Ratnam, Girish Kasaravalli and Supriyo Sen, besides Divya Dutta, are taking part in this film festival, which will continue till February 20.

The Lt Governor informed that people in India have very less knowledge about Andaman and Nicobar Islands and films could become a very effective medium to showcase the cultural diversity and social harmony of peaceful Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the entire world.

''Often people call Andaman and Nicobar Islands as 'Kalapani' but I repeatedly say that Andaman is the place of holy water as the pain and tortured suffered by freedom fighters, who were deported to Andaman and Nicobar Islands from across India, were much more than witnessed in any other place in entire India. Andaman has many unsung heroes and a film could be made on life of every hero of freedom struggle,'' the Lt Governor added.

The Lt Governor also assured the delegates of Mumbai and South Indian Film Industry that Andaman and Nicoabr Administration will provide all possible support if any filmmaker shows interest in shooting film in these picturesque Islands.

Being organised by the Directorate of Film Festivals, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting with the support of Directorate of Information, Publicity and Tourism, A and N Administration, the three-day film festival is being held in the auditorium of Dr B R Ambedkar Institute of Technology, Pahargaon of Port Blair city.

The Directorate of Film Festivals have provided 14 films screened to be at Port Blair, which include of seven feature and seven non-feature films, like '3 Idiots', 'Ravana', 'Waris Shah Ishq Da Waris', 'Lahore', 'Rupban', 'Three of Us' and 'Gandhi the Mahatma' for the festivals at Port Blair.