Amity School of Communication in collaboration with Centre for Media Studies (CMS) is organizing the Nomination Jury process for CMS Vatavaran film festival and forum, 2019 from July 23-25 at Amity University, Noida.
The 3-day event would witness the shortlisting of the short films, which have been received from all across the world, by the jury members and the selected videos would feature in the CMS Vatavaran Film Festival- 2019 to be held in November. The theme of the CMS film festival this year is – “Celebrating Himalayas”.
Prof. (Dr) Balvinder Shukla, Vice-Chancellor, Amity University said that the theme chosen for film festival and forum is of great significance because not only India but the whole world is suffering the repercussions of climate change. She stated that conservation and rejuvenation of resources is extremely important because it is only through this way that we can provide a healthy and safe planet to our future generations. She exclaimed that films are a great medium to showcase the reality to the world and an effective tool to spread awareness among the youth about the grave condition of our environment. Sustainable development is the only way through which we can ensure a growth without hampering the environmental. She apprised that Amity focuses a lot on the all the 17 sustainable goals set by the Government of India. She informed about the Human Values and Community Outreach (HVCO) course that Amity offers through which the students involve themselves with such activities which are good for the environment and the society, in general.
Dr. Anil P Joshi, Founder Member, Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organization (HESCO) cautioned the audience about the deteriorating state of our planet. He fervently asserted that human beings because of their intrinsic selfish nature take for granted whatever is available to them for free. “We do not respect or value the air that we breathe, the water that we drink or even the land on which we live. He said that India has gradually become over-obsessed with the idea of empirical and economic growth, thereby totally abandoning the environmental concerns. “Land, water and air matter more than GDP and it is our collective responsibility to save the nature which has given us so much and has demanded nothing in return”, he added.
Addressing the gathering, Ms. Pooja Chauhan, Chairperson, Amity School of Film and Drama said that it is our collective as well as individual responsibility to make some difference especially on the environmental front because the nature and the environment have suffered a major blow by the rapid and impetuous urbanization and industrialization. More and more trees are cut every day thereby causing extensive damage to the flora and fauna on earth. She averred that there is an urgent need to rejuvenate and mitigate the damage that has already been done; by planting trees, banning plastics and promoting renewable sources of energy. “We need to tame the pace at which our resources are depleting. Only in this way will we be able to hand over a safe and salubrious planet to our future generations.”