KOCHI: The documentaries screened at the SiGNS Short and Documentary Film Festival at Ernakulam Town Hall on Tuesday turned out to be a great tribute to the masters of Indian cinema. The biographical documentaries on the life of Dadasaheb Phalke, Father of Indian Cinema, legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray, cameraman V K Murthy and prominent actor, writer, and political activist Balraj Sahani were exhibited. A Dream Takes Wings, a biographical documentary on Dadasaheb Phalke directed by Gajanan Jagirdar, was the first documentary screened in this category.
The documentary was produced on the occasion of Dadasaheb Phalke’s birth centenary year. Creative Artists of India, a documentary on the life of Satyajit Ray, was directed by B D Garga. The 13-minute-long documentary deals with various techniques used by Satyajit Ray in filmmaking. Manohar Singh Bisht’s documentary on V K Murthy, Light, Shadow and Me, deals with the latter’s collaboration with Guru Dutt.
Portrait of A Humanist, a documentary directed by B D Garga for Films Division, about the prominent actor, writer, political activist and humanist, Balraj Sahni, captured the attention of movie buffs. Similar documentaries on Salil Chowdhury and V Shantaram will be screened in the coming days.Screenings at SiGNS Film Festival on Wednesday include Only Sometimes A God directed by Prateek Prajosh, Jhini Bini Chadariya by Anjali Monterio and K P Jayasankar and Miryavar Kahi Machine by Renu Savant (9.30 am).
Presentation of Best of Public Service Broadcasting Trust’s (PSBT) films, A Drop of Sunshine by Santana Issar and Eco-Dharma by Malgorzata Skiba (11.30 am). Arin by Mizgin Mujde Arslan, Houses with Small Windows by Bulent Ozturk, Blank Page by Ains Meredova, Clac by Fabien Ara, Ghuri by Nahida Sultana, Nostalgia For The Future by Avijit Mukul Kishore, Sandhya by Mohit Modi and Gi by Kunjila (2 pm). John Abraham Memorial lecture by Amrit Gangar and screening of Alternative - Baska by Nesime Karateke, Fidelity by Baran Vardar, Refugee by Husniye Vural Okur, Mavera by Vedat Oyan, Dar-B-Dar by Akash Basumatari, Arpita Katiyar, Radhika Agarwal, Sujata Sarkar, Saurabh Kumar and Rajendra Jadhav.