Climate Change

West Bengal To Organise Urban Climate Film Festival Showcasing Films From 12 Countries

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).

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

West Bengal: 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).

Also Read: Extreme Weather Caused Two Million Deaths, Cost USD 4 Trillion Over Last 50 Years

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.

Also Read: India Lost Over 1.3 Lakh Lives In Disasters Linked To Extreme Weather, Climate Change In 50 Years: UN Agency

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ populationindigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (WaterSanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollutionwaste managementplastic banmanual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diarrhoea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.

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