The fourth edition of the Smile International Film Festival for Children and Youth (SIFFCY) opened here on Monday with a screening of Priyanka Chopra's production Pahuna, which marks the directorial debut of Paakhi A Tyrewala.

The gala was inaugurated at the Siri Fort Auditorium, New Delhi, in the presence of Marketa Pasmova, Artistic Director, Zlin, one of the oldest Film Festivals, Festival Board Member of European Children's Film Association; along with Santanu Mishra, Executive Trustee of Smile Foundation and Chairman - SIFFCY and Jitendra Mishra, Festival Director - SIFFCY.

With the event, Santanu Mishra hopes to bring out the best of world cinema and inspire, motivate and create a lasting impact in the minds of children and youth, through new global associations.

"Our idea behind SIFFCY is to design a mix of impactful film programmes to build and support the growing interest in the infotainment industry," he said.

Filmmaker Lawrence David Foldes, Executive Committee member, Student Academy Awards (Oscar), appreciated the efforts to introduce young Indian students to the world of cinema, and how it can make a positive impact on the world around them.

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This year, apart from prestigious international juries, SIFFCY has been conferred the honour to introduce the prestigious European Children's Film Association (ECFA) Award category at its 2018 edition, which will be continued for years to come.

Apart from Foldes, the international jury consists of film festival officials from across the world.

SIFFCY is a reflection of Smile Foundation's efforts to use films as a medium for sensitizing masses. The film festival is also supported by BookASmile, the charity initiative of BookMyShow.

The week-long festival has a slate of over 150 critically acclaimed films from more than 30 countries.