KOZHIKODE: ‘Arabian Frames’, a two-day festival showcasing short films made by expatriate Indians working mainly in the Middle East, will be held here from August 7.
Actor Ravindran, one of the organisers, told the media on Monday that around 60 short films made by Indians working in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar would be shown at the festival. The programme is part of the diamond jubilee celebrations of the State.
“We had more than 100 entries in Malayalam, English, and Tamil, of which around 60 were selected,” he said. The festival will cover non-resident Indians in the United States and Europe too from next year, Mr. Ravindran added. Actor Nasser, who inaugurated a seminar on expatriate Indians and films, said films were not only a medium of entertainment, but also a medium of communication. Any idea could be developed as a film, he added.
Earlier, talking to the media, he said film-making had become simple in the digital era. “You can treat film-making even as a hobby. You need not sell your films. You can make a movie even using a cellphone,” he added. Writer B.M. Suhara and Ratnakumari, lawyer, spoke at a seminar on the role of women in the life of expatriates.
Mr. Ravindran said seminars on similar issues would be held on the Calicut University campus on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday too. The programmes are being organised by the UAE-based Kochi Metro Short Film Festival; departments of Culture and Public Relations; District Tourism Promotion Council; NORKA-ROOTS, and the Kerala Chalachitra Academy.