Now a channel for short films

The launch of ShortsTV, a platform which is the only such channel dedicated exclusively to short films, was marked with a fancy do on Thursday at PVR, Forum Sujana Mall, Kukatpally. Film makers, socialites and TV personalities made their way to the do  which included cocktails and canapes before the screening of four award-winning short films. The guests of honour who also sat down for a panel discussion before the screening included Carter Pilcher, the Chief Executive Officer of Shorts International, Oscar-nominated filmmakers, Kristina Reed, Jon Bloom and Chintan Sarda.

ShortsTV collaborated with Royal Stag Barrel Select Large Short Films to curate and put together the best short films from across the globe to Indian Television through Tata Sky, under a subscription format. “With the attention span of audiences, and the time on their hands decreasing, ShortsTV provides the best of short cinema in its channel for people to enjoy, in their leisures,” says Carter Pilcher adding, “The platform ushers in a revolution in the short film industry in India by investing in high quality Indian short movies and reaching incredibly large audiences online. The short film industry has been growing dramatically owing to the changing viewer habits.”

Kristina Reed, whose animated short film, Feast, was screened at the event spoke about how short films come to life in her experience.“As long as someone has a story to tell, there will be those who listen. Anyone at the studio can come up with an idea, and work their way up to the approval. The need to curate and cull the ideas is because we will be putting in an entire team behind that idea and to be sure of the subject and to have the concept speak to you and invoke an emotion is essential,” she says.

Chintan Sarda on the other hand, believes contrary to a major opinion that short films can only be a stepping stone to the ultimat dream of feature films. “It is certainly a stepping stone, but it does not have to be only that. Short films can be stories in themselves that can put you through the same journey that a feature film can. It is a medium and a format in itself and there are many avenues opening up for short filmmakers. So much so that many award-winning feature filmmakers come back to make movies in short as their preferred medium. Each story picks its format in which it can be told best,” he says.Of the four short films screened that evening, Feast and Death of a Father were animated while Eleven o’ Clock and A Silent Child were live action ones.

— Srividya Palaparthi
srividya.palaparthi
@newindianexpress.com
@PSrividya53