Films in cans, off to Cannes
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| JHINUK MAZUMDAR | ||||||
This summer, five lucky students from the city are headed for Cannes. Later this year, another two will be due in France for a year-long stint at some of the most famous film schools in the country.
Annesh Bilas Thakur, who won the second prize at the national short and animation film competition, is off to Cannes with four members of his film team. R. Srinath of Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) and Satyaki Kundu of St Xavier’s College had participated in the same competition, held from August to December 2009, as part of the French festival, Bonjour India, organised by the French embassy, in association with Campus France. A film course is on the cards for them.
When they submitted their entry in November last year, they had little expected to emerge joint winners in the live action (short and documentary films) category. “To make a film, we have to bear all the expenses, so I sent it to the festivals to win prize money. But I did not expect to win. In fact, when the prize was announced, I was disappointed because there wasn’t any prize money. But I realised later that there was something bigger in store,” gushed Satyaki.
Satyaki’s classmate, Annesh of St Xavier’s, won the second prize in the same category. The trio’s win was no easy feat, given that the competition received 267 entries in the live action and animation categories from 30 cities across the country. Annesh and four of his team members will go on an all-expenses-paid 10-day trip to the Cannes film festival from May 12 to 23, while Srinath and Satyaki will go for a 12-month degree course in film schools in Paris.
Srinath, who has completed his post-graduation in direction and screenplay writing at SRFTI, will do a 12-month course in cinematography at EICAR in Paris. “I do not want this to be a pleasure trip, so I opted for a specialisation, where I will get to learn something I do not know about,” said Srinath from Hyderabad, who is soon to embark on a project as assistant director there. “It will give me an opportunity to participate in film festivals throughout the year and a chance to meet film-makers,” he added.
Joint winner Satyaki is ecstatic about his 12-month course at Conservatoire Libre du Cinema Francais (CLCF), with specialisation in editing. “Coming from a middle class family, I couldn’t have afforded to go abroad for higher studies. From CLCF, people have the opportunity to go to Hollywood or other parts of Europe but I plan to come back to the city and make films and also represent my country in the international circuit,” added the third-year student of Mass Communication and Videography. While Srinath won the prize for a 25-minute film, Pocha Aapel (The Rotten Apple), a love story of two mentally challenged vagabonds, Satyaki won the prize for his 26 minute film, Pakhi, a lesbian love story.
The two will not be going for their higher studies before September, but their friends at St Xavier’s are already packing their bags for the May visit. “It has still not sunk in that I am going to the Cannes Film Festival. You imagine so many things but hardly any of them comes true,” said an ecstatic Annesh, who directed the seven-and-a-half-minute film called Telephone, based on a short story of the same name by Satyajit Ray.
Annesh will be accompanied by his cinematographer Debabrata Bhattacharjee, who chose film-making over chartered accountancy against his family’s wish.
“We never thought we will win the prize, but sent it thinking the film will get an exposure. I am looking forward to see premieres of the latest film at Cannes, which might take some time to be released in India,” who is eyeing a master’s degree in cinematography either at SRFTI or FTII.
- | Friday , April 16 , 2010 |
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Saturday, August 27, 2011
Films in cans, off to Cannes
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