NEW DELHI: The first-ever festival of films from countries on the shores of the Indian Ocean got underway here with Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma referring to the power of cinema to transcend the political boundaries and barriers of language.

He called upon the film industry to find ways of finding a mechanism to get commercial release of all countries making good films, irrespective of language. He said there was urgent need to learn from each other about the cultural practices to bring people closer, and no medium could do this better than cinema. India had already proved in its global reach through its films that creativity brings people together. Films, he said, had a motivating influence and an uplifting experience.

Information and Broadcasting Ministry secretary Asha Swarup said festivals of this kind could lead to greater cultural exchanges between the countries of the region.

She said that the Indian film industry was growing at an average rate of 16 per cent every year, and the government had facilitated this by permitting 100 per cent FDI along with industry status, and she hoped this would also lead to more co-productions.

Ambassador of Iran Syed Mahdi Nabizadeh and current president of the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC) said the objective of the association was to provide a common platform for cooperation. The exchange of films would also help enhance this cooperation. A good film should exhibit the life of the country it represents and show the factual position.

In her welcome address, the director of the Directorate of Film Festivals announced that this was the first film event of the year to be followed shortly by festivals of films from Hungary, Australia and China.

Others present at the inauguration were I&B Joint secretary (Films) VB Pyarelal; secretary (economic matters) in the External Affairs Ministry KC Singh, joint secretary Malay Mishra, and Australian ambassador John McCarthy, apart from Australia’s Stephen Michael Johnson whose film Yolngu Boy on the plight of the Aborigines was the opening film.

The Directors of the films from Kenya and Tanzania are expected to be present on the concluding day on 1 March.

The films being screened at the Festival include Yolngu Boy (Australia), Aha! (Enamul Karim Nirjhar – Bangladesh), We are all Good (Bijan Mirbagheri – Iran), Uppalavanna (Sunil Ariyararthna - Sri Lanka), 7/24 Seven Days (Hemun Chetmee – Thailand), Malooned (Bob Nyanja – Kenya), Faith’s Corner (Darrell James Roodt - South Africa), and Tumaini (Beatrix Mugishagwe – Tanzania).

The Indian film at the festival is the top film of last year, Chak De! India by Shimit Amin and Mauritius has entered a documentary on the Indian migrants to that island nation, From So far – The story of Indian immigration in Maurtius by Alain Gordon-Gentil and David Constantin.