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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Woman software employee murdered by ex-husband in Hyderabad
Hyderabad (PTI): A 29-year-old woman software employee was allegedly killed by her former husband at her house here on Wednesday, police said.
The victim's husband in a complaint stated that his wife was three months pregnant. However, police said it was not confirmed so far as the post-mortem report is awaited.
The accused, in his 30s, who worked as a software employee in Canada earlier, barged into the victim's residence and after noticing her in a room locked it from inside and allegedly stabbed her multiple times on her head with a knife resulting in her instant death.
The woman's mother-in-law was in the verandah of the house at the time of the incident.
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After being informed by her family members and neighbours, police reached the spot and found that the accused had poured petrol in the room, which he brought with him in a can, and had locked himself in the washroom.
He threatened to set off fire in the room with a lighter he was carrying and after being convinced by the police officials he came out of the washroom and was taken into custody, a police official said.
The couple got married in 2022 and mutually divorced in 2024. She had a second marriage in April 2025, police said.
Based on preliminary investigation, police said the accused bore grudge against his ex-wife as she filed domestic violence case against him.
Police said after their marriage in India, the accused went to Canada, and the deceased later joined him there.
"Some differences arose between the couple and after staying with him for five days she later returned to India and subsequently filed domestic violence case against him in Maharashtra," they said.
The accused came to India from Canada in March 2025 following the death of his mother, a police official said.
A Look-out Circular was issued against him because of the case and his passport was suspended and he was unable to go back to Canada since then and was presently residing in his native place in Peddapalli district of Telangana, without any work.
The accused felt that he and his family faced mental suffering due to the case. He also felt that his mother's death was due to the mental agony caused by the estranged wife, police said.
The accused developed a grudge against her and decided to eliminate her, police said. He managed to locate her residential address through her social media account and came to Hyderabad two months ago and stayed in a hostel.
He also "recceed" the victim’s apartment recently.
As per his plan, he came to the apartment on Wednesday with a bag containing two knives, a drilling machine, a can containing five-liter petrol among other items.
CCTV footage broadcast by local TV channels showed the man carrying a bag and walking in the corridor of the apartment.
