Befitting Ceremony Marks Opening of Indore Global Cinema Festival

A star studded ceremony marked the inauguration of Global Cinema Festival Indore on Thursday, Minister for Commerce, Industries and Employment Kailash Vijaywargiya presided over the function, attended by several Bollywood luminaries.

State Public Relations and Culture Minister Laxmikant Sharma, Bollywood diva Priyanka Chopra, film director Boney Kapoor, actor, film maker Randhir Kapoor and Sanjay Kapoor along with members of the jury for the festival were present on the occasion.

Speaking on the occasion, Vijaywargiya said the state offered unparalleled opportunities to film makers, and added that one of the objectives of the festival is to invite film makers to the state.

Laxmikant Sharma in his address said that Indore, now on, will host the festival every year and added that the film city in state capital – Bhopal – will be completed in a year’s time.

Parliamentarian Sumitra Mahajan said the festival has brought cinema from across the world to the city. Noting the insights that cinema presents into a culture, Mahajan hoped that the young generation would utilize the festival as an opportunity to learn.

Priyanka Chopra said that the festival had become a reality owing to the encouragement provided by the Madhya Pradesh Government. Chopra termed Indore, the commercial capital of the state, as the pride of the Malwa region.

Making his welcome address, Secretary Public Relations Manoj Shrivastava termed the organization of the global festival in Indore as an important event. He noted the tradition of hospitality in Indore and Madhya Pradesh.

While describing cinema as a symbiosis of art, story and imagination, Shrivastava said that the state government was making all resources available for the creation of the Bhopal film city.

Film Federation of India President Jitendra Jain said that the Global Cinema Festival was made possible by the support of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and the Madhya Pradesh government.

Jain said that the seven day (October 9-15) event will showcase 259 cinematic works from as many as 57 countries.

The cast of the Oscar-nominated ‘Harishchadrachi Factory’ was also felicitated at the function.