JOIN USWe get TV channels which showcase Hindi movies with subtitles. When in school, I watched Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Baadshah and Aradhana which impressed me a lot,” says Sankha Malwaththa, a student of Digital Film Academy in Sri Lanka. He was recently in the Capital to attend the two-day First Frame film festival at Siri Fort Auditorium.
Malwaththa’s film Love Park is inspired from his encounter with lovebirds in public parks, who are only allowed to talk amidst high security. “Like we get to know about the culture of India through its films, I too wanted to present Sri Lanka’s culture through my films.”
The influence of Hindi films on this youth from our neighbouring country is just one
odd example of the palpable talent among youngsters, when it comes to filmmaking. The international film fest organised annually by students of Madhubala Institute of Communication and Electronic Media, thus becomes a platform for aspiring filmmakers to express their thoughts through their cameras.
From a total of 103 entries received this year, the jury shortlisted 44 and 42 were finally selected for screening at the festival under various categories. “The rest two were rejected by the C B due to unacceptable content,” says Devesh Tiwari, PR coordinator. “Some of the films we ourselves had to reject keeping in mind the censor rules in our country,” he said.
Few among these touched hearts and few others won awards too. But it was the
dominant presence of social issues that caught the fancy of both the judges and the audience. For instance, the film Kasak by Anil Chandaliya from State Institute of Film
& Television, Rohtak talks about the concern of acid-attack victims. “In Haryana, there is a girl Ritu Saini, who was a victim of acid attack. I read about her in newspapers and decided to make this my subject,” says Chandaliya who won the Best Documentary Film (National) award.
Even the Best Ad Film (National) award went to ‘Living Star’, a film on road rage by Saniuddin Khan. The technique of sand art used by this student of AJK MCRC, Jamia Millia Islamia is undoubtedly impressive.
A new feature at the festival this year was the ‘Photo Story’ competition. Students from schools and colleges across the country were asked to narrate a story through five to 10 photographs clicked on one of the seven themes – health, education, environment, tourism, gender equality, social issues and sports.
“The Last Fibre is the theme of my story,” said Adrish Roy, a 17-year-old from DAV Public School, West Bengal who bagged the first prize in the school category. His pictures of migratory birds shot through Canon 1200 D camera required him to travel
2.5 kilometers to get that perfect frame.
When a toddler in the present age tries to touch the mobile phone that he/she sees in hands of an adult, the child isn’t really encouraged. But when the child grows and learns how to click a picture with a phone, the images get etched in our memories. Though not really in the same age group but the first few frames shot by these youngsters echoed the same joy at this film festival.