Let all children revel in the magic of movies, says UAE daily

WAM ABU DHABI, 25th October, 2013 (WAM)–The region’s first international children’s film festival is under way in Sharjah, and heralds a new experience for young ones in the UAE. The impact of cinema on the human mind needs no reiteration and despite the staggering progress movies have made over the last half century, the body of cinema targeted exclusively at children has not consolidated itself across the world.

“Most children usually grow up on cinema that is made for grown-ups. This effect means that in their formative years when their imagination is seeking a uniquely customised domain to run free in, children have to do with cinematic impositions by an adult world, which denies them the pleasure of revelling in their own,” said English language local daily, Gulf News, in its editorial on Friday.

It added that the film festival, which runs until November 4, has 78 films from 32 countries, including short movies, animations, silent movies, and feature films and promises to be a marvellous treat for young minds.

“Beyond the screen glare of gadget entertainment children of today are addicted to, lies the mind-liberating magic of movies made exclusively for them and it must be the privilege of every child to be able to immerse himself in that experience,” the paper concluded.

WAM/MN