SCO Film Festival

In News

• Recently, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Film Festival has  highlighted the diversity of India.

About

• The SCO Film Festival is being organised to mark India’s Presidency at SCO .
• India’s goal of organising the festival is to showcase the diversity of films and various styles of film making from the SCO region.
• Aim: To build cinematic partnerships, have exchange of programmes, nurture young filmmaking talent and act as a bridge between the cultures of this unique region.
• The SCO Film Festival 2023 commenced with the world premiere of the Tamil film “Appatha”. 
• The film features National Award-winning actor Urvashi in the lead role and will be benchmarked as her 700th film and 51 years in the Indian film industry
• Official Language: 
  • The official language of the SCO i.e., Russian and Chinese will also be the official language of the SCO Film Festival Mumbai.
• Functional Language: 
  • English will also be included as the functional language of the festival as it is being hosted in India.
• Cinema in SCO Region:
  • The SCO region is a confluence of diverse civilizations and a cradle of rich traditions of art and culture. 
  • This has been reflected in the cinemas made in SCO countries, which has been globally appreciated and awarded

Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO):

• About:
  • It is a permanent intergovernmental international organisation of Eurasian Nations with a secretariat in Beijing.
• Aim:
  • It is a political, economic and military organisation that aims at maintaining peace, security and stability in the region.
• Origin: Journey from Shanghai Five to SCO 
  • Shanghai Five emerged in 1996 from a series of border demarcation and demilitarization talks between 4 former USSR republics and China.
  • Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan were members of the Shanghai Five.
  • With the accession of Uzbekistan to the group in 2001, the Shanghai Five was renamed the SCO.
  • The SCO Charter was signed in 2002 and entered into force in 2003.
• Inclusion of India & Pakistan:
  • India and Pakistan both were initially observer states.
  • Both were given full membership in 2017.
• Iran and Belarus:
  • 2021 SCO summit in Dushanbe agreed for Iran to join the SCO. 
  • Belarus has also begun the membership process for SCO.

Source: PIB