PANAJI: The glory of India’s freedom movement rests on the strong minds and hearts of our freedom fighters. As the country is celebrating the 75th year of its hard-earned freedom with Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav flags swaying in in every state of the country, 75 young aspiring filmmakers and film artists have been handpicked from across the country to participate in the 52nd International Film Festival of India 2021.
The budding cinematic talents have been chosen, thanks to ’75 Creative Minds of Tomorrow’, a novel initiative and brainchild of Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Anurag Thakur. Under this competition, IFFI 52 is providing a platform for tomorrow’s leaders in the film industry, to showcase their talent at a world-renowned international event. The competition is an endeavour to encourage and recognise young creative minds and budding talent in the country.
The 75 youngsters comprising 7 female and 68 male artists, all below 35 years of age, have been chosen based on their exquisite skills in different fields of film-making including direction, editing, singing and screenplay, among others. The youngsters have been invited as special guests at the 52nd IFFI, providing them a great platform to explore their creativity.
Speaking about the novel initiative, the Minister said: “For the first time ever, we are recognizing and mentoring promising 75 young minds, as we celebrate 75 years of India’s independence. They have been chosen by the grand jury and selection jury after a meticulous selection process.”
The Minister informed that the youngest candidate is just sixteen years old, Aryan Kumar from Bihar who has been chosen for his skills in Film Direction.
The Minister informed that the list of 75 budding artists includes many who have been selected from various small towns and cities of India. They have come to IFFI, from 23 States/UTs of India, including five from the North Eastern States of Assam and Manipur and one from the J&K.
All 75 young talents are from various states of India, including Andhra Pradesh (2), Assam (4), Bihar (4), Chattisgarh (3), Delhi (6), Goa (2), Jammu & Kashmir (1), Gujarat (1), Haryana (1), Himachal Pradesh (2), Jharkhand (1), Karnataka (1), Kerala (8), Madhya Pradesh (4), Maharashtra (14), Manipur (1), Punjab (1), Rajasthan (1), Tamil Nadu (4), Telangana (2), Uttar Pradesh (3), Uttarakhand (3) and West Bengal (6).
The 75 creative minds will get to interact with the many renowned film makers and artists at IFFI. They will get a unique opportunity to connect with industry experts and attend Masterclasses, states a press release by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.
