Short Film News (SFN) - The Federation of Film Societies of India (FFSI) is all set to celebrate its golden jubilee, announced the FFSI general secretary Sudhir Nandgaonkar.

Special events will be held at Kolkata, Thiruvananthapuram, Pune and Bangalore, where film society activists will be honored and challenges before film societies in the wake of world cinema television channels and DVDs will be discussed.

FFSI will hold a three day event in Kolkata starting December 30, and West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee will inaugurate the celebrations and honor renowned critic Chidanand Dasgupta, who founded the FFSI along with Satyajit Ray, Vijaya Mule and Mrinal Sen.

A seminar will also be hosted during the celebrations where new challenges before film societies will be discussed.

Western region of FFSI will hold a day long seminar in the premises of the National Film Archive of India (NFAI), Pune on January 18, 2009. Seminar will be presided over by FFSI president and renowned filmmaker Shyam Benegal where the emerging challenges before film societies will be discussed.

Benegal had officially announced the golden jubilee celebrations on the sidelines of International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa last month at Open Forum, an event held by FFSI.

The central office of FFSI is also bringing out a book on the 50-year history of film society Movement and producing a 30-minute digital film on the Film Society Movement in India.

An international seminar will also be held in August 2009, where international federation of film society’s president Poulo Minito will deliver keynote address.

The Federation of Film Societies of India which started on December 13, 1959 as Satyajit Ray its president and ex Prime Minister Indira Gandhi as its vice president, has been screening films from all over the world through its more than 300 affiliate film societies across the country.