Film fest on Public Service Announcement prog

Darjeeling

1 Oct 2013

In what could be termed as the first of its kind in the hills, students from the Mass Communication and Journalism department of St. Joseph’s College today organised a film festival dealing with a Public Service Announcement campaign tilted ‘Sachetna- Hear it loud, 2013’.

Aimed at creating awareness and part of a social responsibility initiative, the students showcased 21 two-minute duration films dealing with a wide variety of issues pertaining to the Darjeeling hills.

Speaking about the film festival, Fr. C Pragasan, director of self financed courses in the college, said, “We too have social responsibility and must give back something to society. We must make the community in which we live aware of the various social issues that touch people’s everyday life. As such, we came up with the PSA- Sachetna.”

PSAs are messages issued in public interest and disseminated for the benefit of citizens with the sole objective of changing their attitude and behaviour towards various social issues.

The PSA campaign in two-minute films also served as a medium to provide a morale booster to students as the best films were shortlisted for awards. The directors (students) touched varied issues such as the menace of human trafficking, eve-teasing, rash driving, right to education, social networking sites and earthquake among several others.

Surprisingly, the film ‘Helmet-safe measures’, was declared the best short film in all (technically, concept, editing, cinematography and treatment) aspects. Coming in second was ‘Healthy Eating’, while ‘Domestic Violence’ grabbed the third position. The films were judged by prominent filmmakers, journalists and educationists.

Vikram Rai, lecturer and guide to the budding filmmakers, applauded their efforts. “The whole concept and idea of the film festival and issues were conceived by the students themselves. We teachers only guided them. The issues they selected pertain to various social issues that they have felt,” Rai said.

He added, “The short films the students have come up with could be used in schools where children can be made aware of burning issues in society. As a matter of fact, the films can be made available on the website of the police department.”

Darjeeling SP Kunal Agarwal, who was the special guest of honour, appreciated the students’ endeavour and praised the college for coming up with the film festival that not only honed youngsters’ skills, but also spread important messages to the society. “It is amazing to see the students’ knowledge and vision and their efforts to make a difference.

Attending this festival for me reminds me of my alma mater. I wish these budding students the best for their future,” said the SP.