Films from across the globe cast a spell on kids in Madurai

MADURAI: The 10th Madurai International Children Film Festival which is on here since Thursday has been well received by the public with many parents ensuring that their children don't miss out on the event. Organisers have handpicked movies depicting lives of children.
"What we are aspiring through this film festival is to portray our own childhood," said R S Rajan, festival director."Most films we screen portray the lives of children in the day-to-day world. It is sad that our Tamil cine industry does not come out with true children movies," he added.
"The children film festival is a good effort because there are not many venues for exclusive children films," commented Sivakumar who brought his children for the screening. His son, Sriram appreciated the movie, but said sub-titles will be very helpful while foreign films are screened.
M Angalaparameswari, a class 5+ student, said she was watching a film festival for the first time.
The festival started on November 14, on Children's Day and will go on till November 19. On the opening day, Franco-Belgian animation film 'Ernest & Celestine' was screened.
It tells the story of Celestine, a mouse befriending Ernest, a poor bear. On Friday, it was time for 'The Little Rascals', an American comedy directed by Penelope Spheeris. The story revolves around poor neighbourhood children and their adventures.
On Saturday, Hungarian fairy tale 'Feherlofia' was shown.
It is a fantasy story based on ancient Hunnic and Avaric legends, much like the Ambulimama stories here.
On Sunday, a Japanese film, 'I was born, but', on two students bullied in the school is scheduled. Treeless Mountain, a South Korean film, has its date with Madurai on Monday. It narrates the plight of two children abandoned with grandparents by their mother.
On the final day, November 19, British film, 'Whistle Down The Wind' will be screened. The movie speaks about an outlaw whom the children end up believing as Jesus.
A series of short films are screened everyday before the main film of the day is screened.