New Delhi, July 2 (IANS) The 10th edition of the Osian's-Cinefan Festival of Asian & Arab Cinema, starting here July 10, is providing young filmmakers a platform to showcase their talent by adding a section on short films.

'A film festival should protect and exhibit those who have no platform. The audience is rejecting imitative cinema. A new kind of content is required that has depth. It is time creativity sprouts out of youngsters,' Neville Tuli, founder chairman, Osian's Connoisseurs of Art said at a press conference here Wednesday.

'The youngsters need to understand that they can create a new atmosphere and in that atmosphere we can move forward as a country,' Tuli added.

The 10th edition of the fest will showcase about 200 films and out of them 42 are short films. For the first time the festival has included short films, which were hand picked by the curator Monika Bhasin.

'Young filmmakers are using a new medium for making films and we are giving them a chance,' said Indu Shrikent, joint festival director Osian's-Cinefan.

While Johnnie To's 'Sparrows' will be the opening film, the closing movie would be an Indian anthology directed by 11 directors called 'Mumbai Cutting'.

The festival will also pay a tribute to well-known playwright Vijay Tendulkar, who died in May this year, by screening his critically acclaimed film 'Aakrosh'.