Violinist and Grammy Award winner Manoj George has stressed that the government should take initiative to recognise small-time artists, who venture into filmmaking through short films to fulfil their cinematic dreams.

He was speaking at a memorial event for journalist and filmmaker Geo Sunny, which also included a short film award ceremony held at the Thrissur Press Club on Tuesday.

He recalled that when he won the Grammy, he had submitted a petition to the then Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, and later to successive governments, urging for recognition of such budding artists. However, no action has been taken so far. Mr. George noted that it is heartening to see organisations like the Press Club stepping forward to acknowledge and appreciate such talents.

Journalist Jebin Joseph delivered the Geo Sunny memorial lecture. Press Club president M.B. Babu, Secretary Ranjith Balan and others spoke.

Awards were presented to the best short films. Ludo’s Heart by Sudeesh Sivasankaran won the Best Film award, Kuttippencil by Hena Chandran won the Second Best Film, and Same One ‘s director Haridev Krishnan received the award for the Third Best Film.