The 5th National Science Film Festival at Regional Science City, Aliganj witnessed a plethora of films screened throughout the day. More than 1000 students from different schools across Lucknow were shown a special screening of the Science Films. This screening was divided into two slots, first of which saw films made by students pursuing degrees/diploma’s and in the second one, films made by the students from Class 6^th to 12^th on the theme ‘How Do I See Science?’ were screened.

“A Journey Through Space and Time” produced and directed by Mr. Vinay Kumar Sahu, gives a brief and simplified explanation on how the universe works. The film “Glow To Survive” revolved around the need for science communication in our society through observation and an open heart through which we can understand the hidden factors of nature. This was directed by Mr. Vishnu Haridas.

A documentary “Human Island” directed by Mr. Fasilul Farisa N featured the personal stories, challenges and triumphs of children with autism while an animated film “Love Story of Two Electrons” produced and directed by Mr. Vivek Singh explained the flow of electrons in the circuit.

“Rapan” directed by Mr. Sandeep Pandurang Mane showed the utility of ‘Rapan’ as a medieval traditional fishing technique that helps in preserving the ecological balance reflected by the aquatic biodiversity of Konkan.

In the second slot, films presented were made by children aged 15 to 19. “How Do I See Science” by Ms. Varsha Shanakar and Shreyaa Mohan of City International School Mumbai, touched the aspects of perceiving science such as Physics, Chemistry, Biology and even the supernatural.

A film directed by Ms. Bhawna Gupta on the “Wonders and Blunders of Science” portrayed the dangers of science and disasters caused by technology like e-waste accumulation, Bhopal gas tragedy, thalidomide tragedy, Uttarakhand floods, Chernobyl nuclear accident, recent Bangladesh oil-spills and population explosion.

Ms. Ashu Medapa’s film “Metanoia” was related to the journey of changing one’s mind, heart, self or way of life. It was a portrayal of the importance of science in the existence of an insignificant body such as a rock.“My Experiments” a film by Ms. Safia Ali showed some simple but interesting experiments done by the students.

“Science Behind Miracles” is a science based film by Mr. Kirat Singh Mokha wherein the students along with a teacher unfolded the magic behind various magic tricks shown by many ‘tantric babas’ to earn profit.

“U Turn To The Science” a documentary film by Mr. Devukrishna S. Nath is about a thirteen year old girl who spreads awareness among the people about the good quality food and especially for those who depend on junk food (fast food) for convenience.

The workshop organized today was hosted by Mr. Kapil Tripathi who is a scientist with Vigyan Prasar and Mr. Biju Mohan, Executive Director of the MBL Media School, Kerala. Mr. Tripathi’s session hugely focused on the “Challenges of Science Film Making” while Mr. Biju led his session on “Compositions” through which he taught the participants about visual language.

There was an Interactive session with scientists and science communicators which dealt with various topics on science film making which inspired and educated the young film makers. The session started with Prof. Indranil Bhattacharya of Film and Television Institute of India who took up the subject of “Science and Cinema”. He talked about how these two are connected and discussed the important points one should keep in mind while making a science film.

Science Communicator Dr. C. M. Nautiyal of BSIP, Lucknow gave insights on how to reach out to scientist while making a science film. These will in turn be beneficial for the film itself as it can mark the authenticity of the film. Mr. Santosh K. Pandey from Ramoji Academy of Film and Televisioninteracted with the audience on the topic of “Using Film craft to make films promoting scientific temper”.

Mr. Nimish Kapoor, the convener of this 5^th iteration of the National Science Film Festival said today that, “it is the most successful Film festival of Lucknow in many perspectives. In the year 2011, the first film festival had only 52 film entries whereas this year saw a milestone number of 152 films out of which 64 films were selected for screening.” He also suggested that such festivals should be organized at state levels as well. Seeing the popularity of Science-Fiction among science film lovers, there is a chance that the next iteration sees a new category for the same.

Tomorrow, the Beaver Awards and the felicitation ceremony would be conducted at the Regional Science City by the honorable jury members and distinguished guests.