Soon, New Town to host ‘Urban Climate Film Festival’

Kolkata: Soon, New Town will be hosting the ‘Urban Climate Film Festival’ that will seek to use the powerful medium of film to enlighten people about the environmental, social and economic impacts of climate change on urban settlements.

Launched in New Delhi in March 2023, the film festival is being organised through the CITIIS programme under the engagement events of U20 (the urban track of G20). The festival is supported by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, the French Development Agency (AFD), the European Union (EU), and the New Town Kolkata Green Smart City Corporation Limited.

An official from the French Consulate in Kolkata confirmed on Monday that the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) is bringing the first-ever Urban Climate Film Festival to New Town, Kolkata. The festival will be held from June 3 to June 5 at Nazrul Tirtha in New Town.

Sixteen films from 12 countries will be screened, along with Q&A sessions with filmmakers.

It is learnt that the festival is also aimed at sparking conversations about building climate-resilient cities and inviting inputs from the public and encouraging citizens to undertake ‘environmentally responsible behaviours’ in line with the U20 priority areas and fulfil the goals under India’s LiFE Mission which plans to leverage the strength of social networks to influence social norms surrounding climate. The LiFE Mission plans to create and nurture a global network of individuals, namely ‘Pro-Planet People’ (P3), who will have a shared commitment to adopt and promote environmentally friendly lifestyles.

The consulate shared that 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 that comprised Dr Surbhi Dahiya (Professor, Indian Institute of Mass Communication), Dr Pranab Patar (Chief Executive, Global Foundation for Advancement of Environment), and Sabyasachi Bharti (Deputy Director, CMS Vatavaran)

The inaugural session of the Urban Climate Film Festival was held at Alliance Française in New Delhi. It was chaired by G20 Sherpa, Amitabh Kant. After a successful run in Delhi, it then travelled to Mumbai where it was hosted at Alliance Française de Bombay.