Maya Academy of Advanced Cinematics (MAAC) hosted the debut edition of ‘Take 1’, a short film festival, on 3 December, which was also a prelude to the Annual 24FPS Awards, one of India’s most coveted animation awards.
The seats were quickly filled up with film experts and enthusiasts alike. After a short address from the organizing team, the much awaited short films were initiated. With small punches of humours, Tisca Chopra’s much acclaimed Chutney took audiences by surprise, as the conclusion of the movie was a shift from the rest of it. The critically acclaimed short-film, featuring Naseruddin Shah, Interior café was up next. Directed by Adhiraj Bose, the short, yet compelling story which aimed to deliver the message of seizing the moment enthralled the audience.
Amid the numerous short films that were being screened, a panel discussion was scheduled featuring various personalities from the industry. It consisted of Bijaya Jena, Pune FTII Graduate – National Award Winner feature film maker; E .Suresh, National Award Winning Animation director and founder of Eeksaurus Studio; Cyrus Dastur, founder of India’s biggest short film club Shamiana Shorts; Sameer Mody, founder of Pocket Films , biggest distributor of short films in India’ ;Adhiraj Bose, film maker and asst director of Talvar, and director of the acclaimed Interior café night starring Naseeruddin Shah; and award winning animation film maker, Shilpa Ranade, whose last animation film Goopi Gawaiya Bagha Bajaiya was funded by CFSI and premiered at Toronto International Film Festival apart from screening at Bhusan, Dubai MAMI India.
Moderated by Yes Foundation, VP, Rohan Das, the panel provided a comprehensive idea on how short-films have come a long way, while also touching on the topics on how to get funding for a film and how to commercialise it. Shamiana Shorts, founder, Cyrus Dastur explained how their efforts have been assisting short film makers to churn revenue out of their content. The discussion was concluded with thoughts and questions from the audiences.
All the panelists were presented with a memento of appreciation and the screening resumed. The multiple award winning, ambitious short ‘The Jockstrap Raiders’ told the story of a bunch of misfits, who take up the charge of foiling a German invasion plan during World War I. After a few more shorts, the event concluded on a positive note.
Events like these can be a decent platform to promote the short film industry and provide the aspiring film makers with tips about the industry. We would definitely look forward to more events of this kind.