The Sons of the Desert inspired chapters in other United States cities, and then in the United Kingdom and other countries. In keeping with the tongue-in-cheek “desert” theme, each local chapter of the society is called a “tent,” and each is named after a different Laurel and Hardy film. There are more than 100 active "tents" worldwide, mostly in the United States and United Kingdom. Members meet up regularly to enjoy Laurel and Hardy movies in an informal atmosphere. Many chapters formed in the 1960s are still active today. In addition to local and regional meetings, the Sons of the Desert holds international conventions every
11th Chennai International Film Festival was awarded the newly instituted Amitabh Bachchan award for "Youth Icon of the Year". The Chennai International Film Festival (CIFF) was instituted in the year 2003 by the Indo Cine Appreciation Foundation (ICAF), a non-profit organisation. ICAF is a registered film society and works for the promotion of meaningful cinema by organising country centric festivals throughout the year by obtaining films from Embassies and Consulates, and has around 500 members, including film directors, cinematographers and technicians. In 2008, the Government of Tamil Nadu began supporting the event by sponsoring a part of it. The fest was reinvented in 2010 following