Page 54 - Report of ICFF 2017

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The UN Information Centre for India and Bhutan (UNIC) was the first UN Office to have
opened in India in January 1947. The Centre represents the UN Secretariat and its Director is
spokesperson of the UN Secretary-General. This was her inheritance when Mrs. Kiran
Mehra-Kerpelman assumed duties as Director of UNIC on 1 February 2011. Further, she went
on to interpret UNIC in a new way - by interpreting UNIC as UN-India Connect! Her
infectious energy and personal charm has kept Kiran Mehra-Kerpelman at the vortex of an
incredibly busy programme of activities. Her time is spent on catalyzing UN values of peace, development
and human rights, meeting new groups of youth activists; spreading the UN word in rural areas; bringing the
UN alive through new means of communications and especially through social media; promoting the We
Care film festival to bring effective change in public attitude towards persons with disability; pushing the
concept of Corporate Social responsibility in Indian Corporations; and holding aloft brand UN.
For all this and more she has been feted with prestigious awards in India. She received the Gandhi Seva
Medal from the Gandhi Global Family, as well as Ambassador for Peace Award of the Universal Peace
Federation, among others.

Golam Rabbany BIPLOB is a Filmmaker and Film Society Activist. He received “Best New
Director Award” at 10th Shanghai Int'l Film Festival and “Silver Peacock” at 38th Int'll Film
Festival of India-GOA, Best Film and Best Director Award, 07 by Bangladesh Film Journalist
Association, Best Director's recognition in Lux Channel-I Award, “Fazlul Huque Memorial
Award” for his debut film SWOPNODANAY (On the Wings of Dreams). BRITTER
BAIREY (Beyond the Circle), his second film received Best Film Award at 8th Third Eye
Asian Film Festival, Mumbai-2009. His two films were nominated as Bangladesh Submission to Foreign
Language Competition of Academy Awards (Oscar) and shown at 50 festivals including Toronto,
Rotterdam, Chicago, Dubai etc and received 12 awards in home and abroad. He is Vice-President and
Former Secretary General of International Federation of Film Societies. He has served as jury at a number of
film festivals including Karlovy Vary (Czech Republic), Cottbus (Germany), Liepjig (Germany),
Strassbourg (France), Manila (Phillipine), New Delhi, Bengalore (India), Vesoul (France), Fribourg
(Switzerland) etc.

P Sheshadri is a Postgraduate in Kannada Literature and a diploma holder in journalism. After
a short stint as Journalist he entered Film land in 1990 as Screenplay and dialogue writer. In
1995 he became independent director of television serials, documentaries and tele films. His
maiden effort as Director of feature film MUNNUDI (A Preface) in the year 2000 has brought
him great applause for his sensitive approach to cinema and was also hailed as a landmark
film. He followed it up with ATITHI (The Guest-2001), BERU (The Root-2004),
THUTTURI (The Bugle-2005), VIMUKTHI (Liberation-2008), BETTADA JEEVA (Man of the Hills-
2010), seventh film BHARATH STORES (2012), and eight film DECEMBER-1 (2013). All these
EIGHT films received National Award. He is the first director to receive eight consecutive National
Awards.

A National Award-winning film critic, screenwriter and editorial consultant, Saibal Chatterjee has, since

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