Kolkata based animation studio, Metaphor studios recently won the Seagate Award for Excellence in Digital Technology for the PSA, Sand Castle.
Sand Castle talks about paedophilia and is primarily 2D animated with elements of 3D. The PSA starts with a little eight year old girl making a sand castle on a warm beach of Goa while her alcoholic uncle sits near her. A middle aged man approaches her uncle, gives him money and takes the girl away. This is a film about paedophiles on the beaches of Goa. “They come in all imaginable colour, age and size. Paedophiles are for real, and a grave danger.” This film appeals to protect the young and innocent, before more innocent lives are washed away by the barbaric practice of child prostitution that abounds in otherwise idyllic Goa.
The short film which was completed in a month`s time was worked on at Metaphor studios, Kolkata by twenty five artists. The PSA was made for the NGO, Save the Children India, an organization for children which was established in 1998. Since 2002, one of the key missions for the organization has been to prevent and combat trafficking in children from the rural areas.
On winning the award Kireet Khurana, Co-founder, Metaphor studios shared with Animation Xpress.com, “Sand Castle has been one of our best films in recent times. After having completed the PSA, we were hoping that it would pick up a few awards. Every sequence in the short has been painstakingly painted which comes out on screen as well.”
The Seagate excellence awards were instituted in India, in the year 2001, to recognise and reward the emerging excellence in digital technology in the film and video industry. After having won the prestigious award, Sand Castle has also been sent to various film festivals and was screened at the The Kolkata Film Festival as well.
Ranjini Mukherjee, Head of studios Metaphor concluded by saying, “The Seagate award was unexpected but a very pleasant surprise. We are jubilant and hopeful that we can do more exciting projects in future which will add value to society. At Metaphor we aim to bridge the gap between global animation demand and honed Indian talent.”