President to give away 55th National Film Awards

Delhi: President Pratibha Patil will give away the 55th National Film Awards for 2007 on Wednesday.

The eminent music personality Manna Dey will also be conferred the Dada Saheb Phalke Award for the year 2007. The National Film Awards aim at encouraging the production of films of aesthetic and technical excellence and social relevance contributing to the understanding and appreciation of cultures of different regions of the country in cinematic form, thereby also promoting integration and unity of the nation. In the feature film section, the awards are given in 31 categories, which include Award for Best Feature Film, Indira Gandhi Award for Best First Film of a director, Award For Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment, Award For Best Direction, Actor, Actress, Editing, Lyrics and Choreography. In the non-feature film section, awards are given in 22 categories like Best Non-Feature Film, Best Biographical/Historical Reconstruction/Compilation Film, Special Jury Award and Best Audiography. National Award for Best Writing on cinema and Best Film Critic are also given. The awards aim at encouraging study and appreciation of cinema as an art form and dissemination of information and critical appreciation of this art-form through publication of books, articles and reviews. IANS