{"id":70765,"date":"2026-10-26T15:33:32","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T10:03:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/higujarat.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/26\/the-big-screen-is-here-to-stay-celebrate-cinema-2026-at-whistling-woods-international\/"},"modified":"2026-10-26T15:33:32","modified_gmt":"2026-10-26T10:03:32","slug":"the-big-screen-is-here-to-stay-celebrate-cinema-2026-at-whistling-woods-international","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/higujarat.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/26\/the-big-screen-is-here-to-stay-celebrate-cinema-2026-at-whistling-woods-international\/","title":{"rendered":"The Big Screen Is Here to Stay: Celebrate Cinema 2026 at Whistling Woods International"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Actor Aamir Khan, along with Film Maker and Chairman of Whistling Woods International, inaugurating the Celebrate Cinema 26 event<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Mumbai, October 14, 2026:<\/strong> <strong>Whistling Woods International (WWI)<\/strong> hosted the <strong>14th edition of Celebrate Cinema \u201926 from October 7 to 9<\/strong>, centred on the theme <strong>\u2018Impact of Big Screen Cinema\u2019<\/strong>. The three-day, open-to-all festival brought together <strong>over 4,000 students, industry professionals and creative minds<\/strong> to explore cinema\u2019s cultural impact, evolving technologies and power to unite audiences.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>Brought together over 4,000 students, celebrated filmmakers, industry veterans and leading voices from Google, Adobe, Sony Pictures and Warner Bros. Discovery, the festival explored the enduring magic of big-screen cinema, its evolving future and paid heartfelt tribute to veteran actors Shri Dharmendra and Nana Patekar\u00a0<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The festival opened with <strong>Aamir Khan, Aparna Purohit and the Sitaare Zameen Par team<\/strong> discussing storytelling, audiences and the theatrical experience. Khan said, \u201cI always look forward to coming to Whistling Woods because the energy of the students is remarkable. You have built an institution that has given countless youngsters the opportunity to learn cinema and pursue their passion.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Across three days, <strong>over 15 industry experts<\/strong> participated in discussions, alongside <strong>eight-plus masterclasses and more than 50 workshops<\/strong>. Speakers included <strong>Hema Malini; Aamir Khan; Aparna Purohit; Imtiaz Ali; Rana Daggubati; Jyoti Deshpande, President, Jio Studios and producer of Dhurandhar; Komal Nahta; Siddharth Roy Kapur; Sriram Raghavan; Abhinay Deo; Divy Nidhi Sharma<\/strong>;<strong> R.S. Prasanna; Rajesh Mapuskar; Shony Panjikaran of Sony Pictures; Sanjay Pisharody of Warner Bros. Discovery; and experts from Google, Adobe, InVideo and Neural Garage.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sessions explored <strong>global theatrical distribution through Spider-Man and The Odyssey, the making of the Dhurandhar films, and AI\u2019s transformation of filmed entertainment<\/strong>. Workshops covered AI Short Filmmaking powered by Adobe Firefly, Creative Cloud and AI, editing, VFX compositing, colour grading, screenwriting, production design, animation, photography, acting, sound, music production, creative advertising, lensing and lighting.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <strong>Immersive Studio<\/strong> showcased interactive installations featuring <strong>VR, motion capture, projection mapping, interactive games, generative visuals and real-time transformations<\/strong>, demonstrating how technology is reshaping creative experiences.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Actor and entrepreneur Rana Daggubati<\/strong> reflected on cinema\u2019s unifying power: <em>\u201cThe cinema theatre was one place where it didn\u2019t matter who you were, your caste, creed or anything else. That\u2019s what cinema meant to me, and that ability to bring people together is what makes it so powerful.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A moving highlight of the festival was the <strong>heartfelt tribute to veteran actor Shri Dharmendra<\/strong>, featuring <strong>Hema Malini, Subhash Ghai and Salim Arif<\/strong>. Hema Malini acknowledged Whistling Woods International\u2019s contribution to nurturing young filmmaking talent and spoke warmly of Subhash Ghai\u2019s vision in establishing an institution dedicated to cinema and its future.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"http:\/\/higujarat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/PNN-2026-10-24T120007660.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-90486\"><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Veteran Actress Hema Malini ji and Subhash Ghai paying tribute to the veteran actor Dharmendra ji<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The tribute featured an audiovisual presentation created by WWI students, celebrating Dharmendra Ji\u2019s unforgettable contribution to Indian cinema. In a significant gesture to honour his legacy, <strong>Ashish Shelar, Maharashtra\u2019s Minister of Cultural Affairs, announced mid-term scholarships in Dharmendra Ji\u2019s name for academically excelling WWI students.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Subhash Ghai, Founder and Chairman, WWI<\/strong>, said: <em>\u201cFor me, cinema has always been about the magic of telling a story that touches the heart. When the lights go off in a theatre, and the story unfolds on the big screen, hundreds of people laugh, cry, and feel together. That is the power of cinema. Technology will keep changing, and we must embrace it, but the heart of filmmaking will always remain the story and the emotion behind it. Through Celebrate Cinema, I want our young filmmakers to learn this craft, find their own voice and create stories that audiences will want to experience on the big screen.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The festival concluded with <strong>filmmaker Imtiaz Ali in conversation with Subhash Ghai<\/strong>. Expressing his appreciation for WWI and its students, Ali spoke about the institute\u2019s vibrant creative energy and the enthusiasm of its young talent. He also acknowledged Ghai\u2019s vision in creating a platform that brings aspiring filmmakers closer to the craft of cinema and the people who shape it. Ali\u2019s interaction reinforced the importance of nurturing creativity, encouraging young storytellers and preserving the emotional power of cinema.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Meghna Ghai Puri, President, WWI<\/strong>, said:<em> \u201cCelebrate Cinema is where education meets inspiration. Big-screen cinema remains vital because it creates a shared experience, amplifies storytelling and gives audiences the opportunity to immerse themselves completely in a filmmaker\u2019s vision. By bringing students face-to-face with industry leaders and emerging technologies, we prepare them to shape the future of cinema while preserving the magic of the theatrical experience.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Celebrate Cinema \u201926 reaffirmed WWI\u2019s commitment to bridging education and industry<\/strong>, empowering the next generation of storytellers to <em>innovate, collaborate, and keep the magic of cinema alive on the big screen.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>If you object to the content of this press release, please notify us at pr.error.rectification@gmail.com. We will respond and rectify the situation within 24 hours.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Actor Aamir Khan, along with Film Maker and Chairman of Whistling Woods International, inaugurating the Celebrate Cinema 26 event Mumbai, October 14, 2026: Whistling Woods International (WWI) hosted the 14th edition of Celebrate Cinema \u201926 from October 7 to 9, centred on the theme \u2018Impact of Big Screen Cinema\u2019. The three-day, open-to-all festival brought together&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":70766,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[73],"class_list":["post-70765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/higujarat.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70765","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/higujarat.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/higujarat.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/higujarat.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/higujarat.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70765"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/higujarat.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70765\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/higujarat.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70766"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/higujarat.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/higujarat.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/higujarat.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}