THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It was a week-long festival that enticed and enthralled the children, leaving a lasting imprint of movies and filmmaking on the young mind. The children were on a high even as the curtains came down on the first ever International Children’s Film Festival of Kerala on Sunday. The film festival would continue to charm the children with its eclectic array of movies in the coming years as well, the organisers announced to a jubilant crowd. As many as 140 movies were screened, including classics. Among them were movie shorts crafted by children too. Express speaks to two such dynamic young delegates whose films were screened at the ICFFK.
Being labelled as ‘Bengalis’ and ‘Biharis’, and hanging on to the fringes of society, North Indian migrant workers suffer hard to survive in Kerala. Ekthara, a short film directed by 19-year-old Muhammed Safwan K, features the hardships they face in everyday life. Screened at the International Children’s Film Festival of Kerala (ICFFK), Ekthara became an eye opener for all. Safwan, who recently passed out from Government Higher Secondary School, Vettathur, plays the lead role in it too.
“I directed the movie, with the help of our school film club. The main motto of the film club is to make short films based on incidents and events that go unnoticed by society,” said Safwan.
The student-director, who started acting at an age of 12, says he has always been drawn to acting and that’s one reason why he decided to play the protagonist in Ekthara. “The plight of North Indian students here caught my attention. Their struggle to find an identity in our place inspired us to create the film,” said Safwan who is doing his degree in Interior Designing at Al Salama College, Perinthalmanna. It took Safwan and the team a year to complete the movie.
Shot within four days, Ekthara, according to the Safwan, implies the poverty the migrant labourers face. “The literal meaning is ‘a star’. But then, Ekthara is a musical instrument used in Bangladesh too. It implies a lot of things,” says Safwan. “Though the short film was a joint venture of the film club, Safwan single-handedly took up direction. He has proved his talent as an actor in dramas held at the school. So, we felt he can play the lead character and helm it at the same time,” said Radhakrishnan T K, a Malayalam teacher in Govt Higher Secondary School Vettathur.
He is visibly excited about Ekthara being selected for the first-ever ICFFK. “The selection committee found that Ekthara has elements that instil values in children. We are excited about it and the move has prompted us to come up with more projects,” he says. Safwan, who is basking in the adulation post the screening of Ekthara, is thrilled. But, he has a complaint too. “Though it is a children’s platform, it has screened only two or three movies made by children. It would be nice if ICFFK decides to promote more films directed by children,” he added.