Press Release
New Delhi, 28 September 2006

CMS VATAVARAN 2006 Travels to Bangalore……..

Centre for Media Studies (CMS) travels to the Garden City of India for the first time to organise the Bangalore CMS VATAVARAN 2006 'Environment and Wildlife Travelling Film Festival'. The festival is India's only premier Environment and Wildlife Film Festival and it would be held from October 6-8, 2006 at the Alliance Francaise de Bangalore, Vasanth Nagar, Bangalore.

Centre for Media Studies (CMS), New Delhi in collaboration with Suchitra Film Society and Alliance Francaise de Bangalore in association with Asian Nature Conservation Foundation (ANCF) and Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) is organising the festival. Supporting this initiative is the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India.

Opening on October 6, 2006, the Festival brings on its platter as many as 31 films with special focus on children. It presents an opportunity to view an array of films on topical, Indian environment and wildlife issues. Expert Talk, Symposia, Photography Exhibition, Film bazaar and more will be part of the festival.

Keeping in mind, Bangalore's Silicon City status a Symposium titled 'Managing Electronic Waste' will be held on October 6.

Day 2 of Bangalore CMS VATAVARAN 2006 will have a Symposium on "Wildlife-Human Conflicts: What Is The Way Forward?"

The 3-day festival will reach out to approximately 2000 people including filmmakers, NGOs, government organizations, environmentalists, researchers, conservationists, policy makers, activists, public and private sector organisations and students of all ages.

Mr A.K. Varma, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest and Chief Wildlife Warden of Karnataka will be the Guest of Honour for the inaugural ceremony on October 6th, 2006.

Bangalore CMS VATAVARAN 2006 is expected to create awareness on the environmental problems of India's Silicon Valley. It will generate greater momentum on environmental issues and lead to action for change," says Alka Tomar, Festival Director, CMS VATAVARAN.

The festival will felicitate Bangalore filmmakers Nina Subramani and K P Sasi for their effort to highlight the local environment issues of the region.

Premiering in the festival will be Nina Subramani's film Healing the Coast, which explores the environmental restoration along Tamil Nadu's coastline in the post-tsunami context. Also to be screened will be the CMS Fellowship film by Prayas Abhinav and Manjushree titled "Leaving No Trace…Cyclist in the City".

Prithvi Ratna Mike Pandey's Panda award / Green Oscar winning film, Shores of Silence - Whale Sharks in India, Shekar Dattatri 's The Ridley's Last Stand, giving new insights into the natural history and conservation of the mysterious Oliver Ridley Turtles, Ajay & Vijay Bedi's The Policing Langur on monkey menace, Amar Kanwar's Many Faces of Madness on ecological destruction, Dhimant Vyas's Cute Bunny on keeping the environment clean also be screened at the festival.

"Walk with Nature" a photography exhibition by Thakur Dalip Singh, eminent wildlife photographer, will be a part of Bangalore CMS VATAVARAN 2006 - Environment and Wildlife Travelling Film Festival.

For more information contact:
CMS VATAVARAN Film Festival Directorate
Ms. Kapithra Kannapiran
p: 91-11-2499 2597, 265 222 44, 2686 40 20
E: kapithra@yahoo.co.in
M: 09899046592
www.cmsvatavaran.org