SAARC Film Festival here again

For the 9th consecutive year SAARC Cultural Centre is to hold its annual SAARC Film Festival in Sri Lanka from 7th to 12th May.

The SAARC Film Festival has built a reputation as being a very important platform and focal point for the promotion, celebration and enjoyment of some of the best films from the SAARC Region. A reputed panel of international judges will select the best films and recognise the individuals who are at the very core of this creativity as a form of encouragement and respect to continue producing quality, thought provoking and representational films for the Region.

The SAARC Film Festival 2019 will focus on films created in South Asia and first screened after May

1, 2017. Directors and artistes of these films will be invited to participate in the workshop, which is conducted to encourage and improve future productions.

There will be three film categories open for nominations at the SAARC Film Festival 2019:

Feature Films – Nominations for the Competitive Categories (Maximum of two nominations)

Short Films – Nominations for the Competitive Category (Maximum of two nominations)

Master Films – NonCompetitive Nomination

(One Nomination)

The festival will be inaugurated on May 7 while there will be film workshops on May 9. SAARC Film Awards and Closing Ceremony will be on May 12 at the Cinema Hall, National Film Corporation, Colombo.

Twelve awards will be presented at the SAARC Film Awards 2019 on May 12, selected by a panel of jury members from non- SAARC Member States. The awards are the Best Feature Film, the Best Director, the Best Actor, the Best Actress, the Best Short Film, the Best Screenplay, the Best Cinematographer, the Best Editor, the Best Sound Designer, the Best Original Score ( Music Composer), the Special Jury Award No 1 and the Special Jury Award No 2. All Member States were invited to nominate two feature Films (Fiction), and two short films ( Fiction) for submission to the SAARC Film Festival 2019 competitive categories. The qualifying period of screening had to be two years before May 2019. SAARC Film Festival aims in promoting culture and embrace unity amidst the diversity of culture that is shared among the SAARC Member States. Films nominated should aim to promote culture, foster friendship and cultural harmony between Member States and not showcase films that would in any way be prejudicial to another Member State.