8th School Cinema International Film Festival 2025 kicks off in Bengaluru
Bengaluru (PTI): The 8th edition of the School Cinema International Film Festival 2025 began on Friday, marking the start of what organisers call the "world’s largest children’s film festival," held in celebration of Children’s Day.
The inaugural event, hosted at Delhi Public School, Bengaluru South, set the stage for a nationwide celebration of creativity, empathy, and learning through cinema, the festival organisers said in a release.
Over 1,000 students, educators, and dignitaries participated in the launch, including Nikolai Dann, Founder of Zero Plus International Film Festival (Russia); Alexander Shkolenko, Creative Producer, Zero Plus International Film Festival (Russia); Medha Kulkarni, Director of 'Sullinkayi–The Fruit of Lies'; and Ketan Pal, Director of 'The Garland of Ghughuti'.
Reanna Ranjan, SCIFF Participant 2022 and Child Jury Representative for India at the Giffoni Film Festival 2023 (Italy), was also in attendance.
Running from November 14-30, 2025, SCIFF 2025 will engage students from over 40,000 government schools and 1,000 private schools across India.
The festival will showcase more than 100 curated films from 25 countries, including France, Spain, Germany, Kyrgyzstan, the UAE, and Russia, in over 20 languages.
"SCIFF is more than just a film festival; it’s a movement to bring the world’s finest stories directly into classrooms across India. Cinema has the power to ignite curiosity, nurture creativity, and build empathy," said Syed Sultan Ahmed, Festival Director of SCIFF and Founder & Chief Learner of LXL Ideas.
"We are proud to engage over 41,000 schools this year, making SCIFF 2025 a truly transformative experience for young minds in the country," he added.
Through its unique "Watch, Learn, Make" framework, the festival encourages students to explore cinema as both an art form and a medium for dialogue.
Participants will watch age-appropriate films, engage in interactive workshops, and take part in a national-level filmmaking competition, all designed to nurture storytelling, empathy, and creativity among children up to grade 10, it added.
SCIFF 2025 has received support from prominent global film festivals, including the Annecy International Animation Film Festival (France), AniMela Festival (India), Giffoni Film Festival (Italy), and Zero Plus International Film Festival (Russia), further reinforcing its stature as a global platform for children’s cinema.
The festival is also supported by France and Spain as country partners.
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Two arrested in K'taka for assaulting minors, uploading CSAM content
Bengaluru (PTI): Two men were arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting two minor girls, recording the acts on mobile phones and uploading the videos online as child sexual abuse material, police said on Thursday.
The accused have been identified as Kiran Kumar (29), hailing from Chitradurga district, and Aditya M K (20), hailing from Shivamogga district, they said.
A probe was initiated after information was received from the NCRP portal regarding a suspected instance of creation of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) for online dissemination, police said.
Accordingly, a case was registered at Kaggalipura Police Station under relevant sections of the IT Act on May 10, they added.
Investigation revealed that two minor girl victims were exploited and videos were created and uploaded to the internet. The child victims have subsequently recorded their statements as per procedure and further necessary legal steps have been taken, Pronab Mohanty Director General of Police, Cyber Command, said in a statement.
Based on the statements of the victims, the accused persons, who allegedly assaulted the minors, recorded the acts on mobile phones and uploaded the videos online, were arrested, he said.
Following the probe, sections 65(2) (rape) and 70 (gangrape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant sections of the POCSO Act, have been added to the FIR, police said.
Officials collected relevant information and on May 12, arrested the accused persons and seized three mobile phones belonging to them, in which the videos had allegedly been recorded, he said.
The accused were later produced before the court and taken into police custody for further investigation, he added.
According to him, in CSAM cases, police usually apprehend offenders who have downloaded such content or have kept them in their possession after obtaining them from elsewhere, usually the internet.
"The present case is one of the very few instances where content creators and uploaders have been apprehended," Mohanty added.
