MUMBAI: The second Al Jazeera International Television Production Festival, under the patronage of the chairman of the board of directors, Aljazeera Network H E Hamad bin Thamer Al Thani, is to be held from 27 to 30 March at the Doha Sheraton.

The festival's aims is to promote better cooperation and understanding among people and cultures, by offering a platform for cross-cultural communication and interaction, as well as bringing the work of independent film makers to the forefront.

In a press conference Al Jazeera channel's public relations and media department director Jassim Ibrahim Fakhroo, managing director's administrative assistant Mohamed B al-Sada, and Al Jazeera Production Centre's director Abbas Arnaout outlined the networks plans for the festival.

The competition will cover four categories: Documentaries that portray facts through the use of video tape or cinema technology; Current Affairs including investigative programmes that tackle political or social issues with analysis of their various aspects; and features that convey a clear picture of an event. There is also an opportunity to promote a channel or a programme through promotion category.

As many as 94 films from various countries will be screened at the festival "This includes 34 films in the competition section, and Chinese, Iranian, French, and Latin American films," officials told a press conference.

The competition films are from satellite channels, television stations, production institutions and independent filmmakers. Gold, silver and bronze awards will be provided to the following categories: 3 for non-Arabic documentary films; 3 for non-Arabic investigative reports; 3 for non-Arabic features, 3 for Arabic documentary films; 3 for Arabic investigative reports; 3 for Arabic features and 3 for promotions.

"A salient feature of the festival is that entry is free to all screenings," the officials explained. The competition films are being shown in Sheraton's Majlis hall from 28 to 30 April, whereas others would be screened in Salwa 1, 2 and 3 halls, starting from 10 am and going on up to 10.15 pm.

Last year's golden award winning films are to be shown on 28 March. They are 'Road to a Lesser Sunset,' 'El-Tantora,' and 'Living Among Us,' all in Arabic with subtitles in English. There will also be a book fair in which Arabic and non-Arabic books, and documentaries on CDs will be available to the public.