It’s curtains down for the biggest campus film festival in India, after a stupendous run in several colleges across Delhi. The 3rd edition of U-Special International Campus Film Festival was organised from September 23rd till Nov 5th, 2019. A youth centric festival, it was organised across campuses by a group of 30 Campus Ambassadors from Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies (VIPS), affiliated to Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University.
The festival saw the screening of 41 student films from 17 countries. Campuses and Institutions where screenings were organised included Delhi School of Journalism (DSJ), MERI College, Lingayas Lalita Devi Institute of Journalism and Mass Communication, Zakir Hussain College, Institute of Home Economics, Shaheed Bhagat Singh College, and Lady Irwin College.
Prominent universities which had their films in the festival includes Rochester Institute of Technology, New York, Sri Aurobindo Centre of Arts & Communication, University of the West of England – UWE Bristol, National Institute of Design, Symbiosis Centre for Media & Communication (SCMC), Whistling Woods International, Kyoto University, Sussex County Technical School, Central Washington University, Scottsdale Community College, School of Art and Design Kassel, Curtin University, University of Portsmouth, Marmara University, DePaul – College of Computing and Digital Media, New York Film Academy, University of Gothenburg, Napier University, University of Music and Performing Arts, EICAR, The International Film and Television School of Paris, Beijing Film Academy, Istanbul Sehir University and Iranian Youth Cinema Society.
It is worth noting that U-Special International Campus film festival is India’s only global campus film festival, promoting student films. The festival was launched in 2016 by Kirorimal College alumni and journalist Rao Narender Yadav, to provide a credible platform to student filmmakers from all across the globe. According to Rao, “This fest is a creative platform for the next generation of filmmakers to tell their stories, inspire hope and provoke change through filmmaking. Providing an exciting opportunity to various genres of young filmmakers this fest is poised to become the largest congregation of young minds in India.”
“U-Special remains one of the most unique film festivals globally with its focus entirely on the creative work done by college students through the audio-visual medium. Films from several prominent Indian and International universities and institutions were screened this year giving a good opportunity to students to understand the kind of creative trends emerging globally,” he further added.
The festival director acknowledged and expressed his gratitude to the students, faculty and management of Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies (VIPS), particularly Prof. Sidharth Mishra, Adjunct Professor, Media Studies for making this year’s edition a grand success.