Paid Proposition

While veteran filmmaker Mrinal Sen’s Khandar is being screened under the ‘Classics Section’ of the Cannes Film Festival,you don’t necessarily have to be as prolific,or as acclaimed,to have your film screened at the Cannes film festival. This year,Chennai based banker Kalyan Seervi’s short film Gulli Danda,which is the cinematic adaptation of Munshi Premchand’s short story Gilli Danda,has found a place in the Short Film Corner of the Festival. The 18-minute Hindi film with English subtitles,which evolves around the contrast of the simplicity of yesteryears to contemporary lives,is Seervi’s debut project. So how did he make the cut? Simple: He paid 95 euros (Rs 5,523) to the organisers to have his film screened in that particular segment at the festival. Seervi is not the only one though. A group of 25 Indian filmmakers have opted for the pay and screen section at the Festival,a non-competitive segment of the festival. “I was looking to enter the film in a festival that is recognised globally. Since this festival was around the corner I chose to screen it here,” says 30-year old,who finished shooting in March.

Screenings are held in one of the three mini-screening rooms with an audience of five to six professional filmmakers. The perks: hobnobbing with the cream of the international film fraternity,and a listing of your film on the Digital Film Library of the Festival. Held annually since 2004,this section serves as a platform for short film professionals to network and ‘develop their career’,according to Alice Kharoubi,project manager. “We have over 1,700 registered entries this year,with 25 films from India alone,” says Kharoubi.

For 28-year-old Delhiite,Abhishek Joshi,Cannes was the perfect avenue for his two-minute and two-second long Crowded Lives,an abstract depiction of how an individual reacts to crowded situations. “When I finished the film,the Cannes Festival was near. Since I had nothing to lose I registered my film and fortunately it got selected,” says Joshi,who quit his job with a software solutions firm to take up filmmaking. While Joshi might be an amateur,Nagaland filmmaker Vikeyeno Zao has over 15 documentaries to her credit. Her entry,the 15-minute Last of the Tattooed Headhunters,captures the traditions of the remaining handful of Konyak head-hunters of Nagaland. “It took me two years to convince the tribes men to participate in the film. I overcame resistance from the Church for this film,” says Zao,hoping the Festival finds her international buyers. Even Rima Amarapurkar’s award winning short,Jananee,which was awarded at last year’s IFFI,Goa will be at the Festival. It is an important achievement,says Amarapurkar,“since this is the mecca of cinema. I want to reach out to the market through this.”