They minimized their skype calls and chat screens. Some skipped lunch, some stayed back, some wise ones circled inside the pantry to discuss and script their thoughts. QISA, a short film fest for the techies has stirred the routines of many IT-ians. The first of its kind, this fest is organized by Prathidhwani, a four-month old film society who started their venture by screening ‘Byari’, followed by an open discussion with the film’s director, Suveeran.
Technopark resembles a gaudy ‘ulsavaparambu’ (temple premises) this week - Women clad in traditional wear with kohl- smudged eyes; pookalams in front of every building, on every floor, even near the stores. As Vishnu, an organiser of the fest and an employee of Infosys explains the basic rules, rhythmic beats of the chenda soar in the background. “The movies should not be more than 30 mins long. No language barriers, though English subtitles are a must. The director and writer have to be from any technopark-based company. The cast can be from outside as well. The last date for the entries to reach us is by August 31.” They have received a total of twenty five entries so far and have made space and provisions for double or more.
Manu S Kumar wears a solemn face. A native of Alapuzzha, it was but predictable for him to think of the problems faced by people in Kuttanad and thus the 5-min long ‘Jalam’ took shape. On a weekend, Manu, along with his colleagues, from UST Global, Kiran Bhadran and Shyam Lal, went to Kuttanad with a DSLR camera in their backpack. “Most of the locals were very helpful. They were patient and gave us extra inputs that helped us with the docu-fiction,” he says. He recalls how a six year old was spontaneously cast after they spoke to his father who rowed a boat.
The panel includes MF Thomas, Nooranad Ramachandran and Rosemary and the prize money is attractive and has categories like best film, best director, best script and best actor,” says Pyarelal, who aspires to make it to the tinsel town someday soon. For now, he is working with Infosys and is an organizer of the fest.
Suraj Parameshwaran Nair is determined. Both his short films, ‘Shoonya’ and ‘The Uninvited’ sound promising, sure to hold you at the edge of your seat for the short span. In ‘The uninvited’, as the name suggests, we see Suman, a recently engaged girl battling circumstances that are least predictable.
Nithin Nandakumar’s, ‘Mumbai Darshan’ is more than the name. It is not just a travelogue or a throb of the metropolis. Instead, through images of the hustle and crammed city life, a story unearths itself.
If you are keen on pocketing a few crisp thousand rupee notes, then send in your entries right away. And if you are one of those