National award winning filmmaker Gaurang Jalan has been invited as a jury member of the 7th Awladna International Forum for Arts of the Gifted from India. There are eight other jury members from the USA, Jordan, Greece, China, Egypt and Palestine.
The 7th Awladna International Forum for Arts of the Gifted, which is under the auspices of H.E. President Abdel Fattah El- Sisi, President of the Arab republic of Egypt, in association with Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Social Solidarity, Ministry of Youth and Sports, Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, and National Council for Women, is having its annual film festival from September 22 to 29 in Cairo, Egypt. This Festival is in integration with the Afro-Chinese Arts and Folklore Festival, under the slogan of “What a wonderful world!” Around 41 Countries are participating in this unique international festival of arts, music and films.
The films selected from India in Cairo Festival 2023 are- Salaam Venky (Hindi), Montur Montoh (Assamese), DHH (Hindi/Gujarati), and Giddh -The Scavenger (Hindi).
This International Cinema and Arts Festival ,aims for supporting the Gifted and creating a cultural and artistic platform that expresses their creativity, talents, arts, to enhance the process of their societal integration at the local and international levels. Such atmosphere is attained by opening artistic outlets for children from different countries of the world in the fields of cinema and children’s arts, in order to build a cultural bridge that connects different international cultures and works on exchanging creative experiences in order to encourage children and their families to develop skills and awareness about children related issues worldwide. The other jury member from India is Priya Ramasubban.
Gaurang Jalan was conferred with the coveted National Award by the President of India for his latest film Avijatrik (The Wanderlust of Apu) for best Bengali Film in September 2022. This film won 27 national and international awards in all.
As a producer of movies, he has been associated with Gaurang Films which has produced award winning films– feature, documentary and short - in multiple Indian languages (Hindi, English, Bengali, Assamese, Odia and Bhojpuri). The film Safed Haathi (White Elephant) is the recipient of the Golden Lotus for being the Best Children’s Film, Aaj Ka Robinhood (Return of Robinhood) received ‘Special Mention’ by the UNICEF jury in Berlin Children’s Film Festival, Anokha Moti (Magic Pearl) participated in 22 International Festivals and was widely appreciated. In recent times, Gaurang Films have also embarked on making films in DV format and short films.
Jalan on getting invited as one of the jury members says, “It is a matter of great honour to be selected as a member of the international jury panel for Films, on behalf of India. Representing our country makes one feel extremely proud. People in Egypt love Indian film, culture and food. I remember during my last visit to Cairo in 2015, with Amitabh Bachchan, who was there for the Nile festival, people went simply crazy to get a glimpse of him. Amongst the new era stars, they love Shah Rukh Khan. Being ancient civilizations, Indian and Egyptian cultures have a lot of similarities.
Sharing the upcoming projects in the pipeline, he added, “We are looking forward to an OTT thriller series in Hindi shot in multiple locations on an international canvas, based on a book. Scripting is on for this venture. Besides this, we are looking at a biopic of a famous Indian personality who is one of the most decorated Indians globally of the 20th century. This will be an international project in alliance with a UK based company.” Along with these, Gaurang Films are also in discussions with a well known director from Bengal for a Bengali film, and works are in progress for a Hindi children’s film.
Along with films, work in art and music fields are also keeping Jalan busy.