Though the word “Autism” is better known today than it ever was in the past, the fact remains that more light needs to be shed on this developmental disability to ensure that more people understand, empathize and do what little they can to empower children as well as adults on the autism spectrum to be as self-sufficient as possible. There is no better way to do this than to tell positive stories of children and adults who are autistic – stories that are told using one to five minute films. Inclusion for people in the autism spectrum is what we aspire for and work towards – socially and professionally. And this is the key message that we would like to share with our community as well as the world. Needless to say, this can be looked at from a zillion perspectives – we would love to see yours.
The festival will contain short films that range from one to five minutes, which explore the diverse narratives and experiences related to Autism in an impactful and inspiring manner. All styles, genres, and languages are welcome. Our team of judges, who come from filmmaking and autism backgrounds, will select films to be shown for the audience.
A film editor and recipient of two National Film Awards and three Kerala State Film Awards. She has held several positions including the artistic director of International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) and the vice chairperson of Kerala State Chalachitra Academy. She has edited over 50 documentaries and feature films and has directed four documentaries. She played a prominent role in shaping up the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) right from its inception and also served as its artistic director. She also served as the deputy director (festival) of Kerala State Chalachitra Academy and worked as a senior editor at the Centre for Development of Imaging Technology. She served as the principal of the L. V. Prasad Film Academy (Thiruvananthapuram campus). In February 2017, she co-founded the Women in Cinema Collective, India’s first association that aims to work towards equal opportunity and dignity of women employees in the film industry.
Ferose VR is the founder of the Indian Inclusion Foundation, a Bengaluru-based nonprofit that aims to bring inclusion to the forefront in all sectors across India. He started the industry’s leading Autism initiative, ‘Autism at Work’. He has co-authored several bestsellers, most notably The Invisible Majority: India’s Abled Disabled, Gifted: Inspiring Stories of People with Disabilities; and the GRIT series. Ferose has been included in various international lists of significance, such as ‘India’s Top 40 under 40’ in 2014 by Economic Times and Spencer Stuart, and was conferred ‘Young Global Leader’ in 2012 by the World Economic Forum. He currently heads the SAP Academy of Engineering in San Ramon.
A cinematographer and film director who has worked in over 80 feature films, and with veterans of Malayalam cinema such as K G George, Buddhadeb Dasgupta, Pamela Rooks, Padmarajan, Bharathan, and M. T. Vasudevan Nair to name a few. He is a recipient of four National Film Awards, including three for Best Cinematography and one Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Director, and four Kerala State Film Awards. He is a founding member of the Indian Society of Cinematographers. He is an alumnus of the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, and CMS College Kottayam.
Swarup has over thirty years of experience in building and promoting brands. As one of the founder-directors, he nurtured Stark Communications Pvt. Ltd. from its inception in 1994, to an agency recognized for its distinctive creative, work ethic, and people-centric growth. He played a key role in building the Kerala Tourism brand for two decades, actively partnering the brand’s journey from a non-entity to India’s No.1 tourism destination. His tourism campaigns have consistently set benchmarks in the realm of destination marketing and have won dozens of national and international awards. Swarup has been a Grand Jury Member of the New York Festivals (Advertising & Radio) many times. He has launched and established some of the most successful brands in the healthcare, tourism, and media sectors in Kerala. A certified coach and mentor, Swarup has also translated a novel and a collection of short stories by Benyamin from Malayalam to English for Harper Collins and is currently working on the third book.
All the eligible films will be viewed by a 4 member nomination committee, 2 of them from film field and 2 from CADRRE. Films shortlisted by the nomination committee will go forward to the next round of jury selection and popular vote.
The jury will evaluate all the nominated films and select the final list of winners.
All filmlets will be uploaded to CADRRE’s YouTube channel as well as the CIFFA webpage. The shortlisted films will be eligible for the popular vote award through an audience poll hosted on the CIFFA webpage.
Note: Please note that if copyright waivers are not provided for films that have been uploaded onto YouTube previously, these films will not be considered for the popular vote.
The deadline for receiving the completed entry form, registration fee and the film is extended to 10th March 2024.
Videos on MOV or MP4 formats with Full HD quality, to be uploaded only on the CIFFA website: http://cadrre.org/ciffa
There will be a registration fee of INR 5000 for films entered within India and USD 100 for films entered from outside India.
The registration fee for students is INR 2500. To avail this discount, students with a valid college or school ID card can contact us at +91 9207440828+91-9207440828 or via email at ciffa@cadrre.orgciffa@cadrre.org.
First prize winner – Cash prize of INR 1,00,000 with certificate of recognition
First runner up – Cash prize of INR 50,000 with certificate of recognition
The most popular film will be selected through an audience poll and will be eligible for a cash prize of INR 50,000
Stay tuned for more details!
Contact us at ciffa@cadrre.org or +91 9207440828