Delhi rolls out red carpet for film fest

The capital city has rolled out the red carpet for the first edition of the Diorama Film Festival, which has the aim of providing an impetus to filmmaking in Delhi and promote appreciation of cinematic art.

"Delhi is a growing city in terms of actors. It has given many talented stars to Bollywood. Diorama Film Festival is a great initiative and I wish Manoj Srivastava all the luck for the great start,' veteran actor Randhir Kapoor said at the fest's opening here on Monday night.

Actress Divya Dutta, one of the jury members at the gala, told IANS: "It's lovely that a film festival has come to Delhi."

The event, being held here till January 20 at the Siri Fort auditorium, is organised by Manoj Srivastava, who worked closely on the International Film Festival of India, Goa till 2012.

A slate of 130 films from over 50 countries has been lined up for the fest, where a slew of actors are expected to be in attendance.

The opening ceremony saw Rajiv Kapoor, Arjun Bajwa, Neetu Chandra, T.P. Aggarwal, Rahul Rawail, Manu Rewal, Iranian actress Mozhgan Taraneh, and Singapore International Film Festival's former director Philip Cheah.

The festival will also give out Sparrow Awards, named after the endangered bird, for the best work over 25 film categories and they will be decided by four international film juries.

A highlight of the event is a masterclass on acting by "The Mummy" actor Erick Avari.

--IANS

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