Films screened at 3rd Cut.in Festival

SHORT FICTION

Uttamda , Duration: 23 Director: Sudipto Nag

Synopsis- Uttamda was a security guard. He started working in electricity board office and showed some courage by maintaining all rules and regulations. Chotu a small local boy discovered a patriotic sole in him. When Uttamda dared to stop the minister’s car he became a hero in the campus. He requested Chotu for an arrangement of a tube-light in his room. Chotu always forgot to speak about this to his dad. One morning dad promised him and he went to meet Uttamda to give him surprising news.

Avargallukkaga , Duration: 7:05 Director: Alfred Prakash

synopsis- Arun a 12 year old boy, who is devastated by the loss of his parents recently, is being admitted in an orphanage by his uncle who thinks that he might overcome the depression if he stays with the children of his age. But there he encounters a strict deaf warden, who all the children hate. Finally the boy discovers the truth that the warden acted as deaf all these years just to overhear the problems of the children. From that moment, Arun overcomes the depression when he finds a fatherly figure again in his life, but he keeps the secret to himself.

All is well , Duration: 11:32 Director: Azad Alam

synopsis -Kunal and Debu were in need of money to pay off their betting debts. Kunal reluctantly agrees for male prostitution. However, he decides to give the money back to the woman but they find out that her husband was the man whom they owed and hence, they tell him that they had come to pay off the debt. The husband on the other hand, for fear of being public about his work and place, pays them double the sum.

Kal, Duration: 9:51 Director Manjunathan Subhramanian

synopsis- Raasu, 10 year old, self esteemed, innocent boy meets with Paandi, the stone quarry supervisor, who attracts him with the delicious eatable (vada). Raasu’s fantasy towards that eatable gets him in to the stone quarry, and at one point of time he goes to the hill top and plants bomb just for that delicious eatable (vada)..Will he survive???

Nothing of consequence to be responsible for , Duration: 22:55 Director: Apoorv Tomar

Synopsis- It was this tendency with which the character in this fiction is openly and forcibly brought to the stage from his everyday life. Where in, he seemed to lose life and color along with his ideal past. Here, his longing transcends a passing moment, maybe in his dreams while he was asleep. But before this passing moment could be recognized, he is accidentally dragged into a situation where he is himself held responsible for a reason which is not only alien to him but also finds him in an anxious state of mind. Now no comfort avails anymore and he tries to understand the situation, he is unavoidably affected by it. In the course of time he is again acquainted with the similar passing moment, however this time he gets absorbed within the reality and meets up to its highest consequence.

Reflections , Duration: 20:00 Director: Swati Khatri

synopsis- Aradhana is a sculptor and stays with her young daughter.As a sculptor, form, shape, contours and volume are her tools to infuse life in the lifeless. But how does she deal with the bitter realities of life when she suspects herself to have breast cancer!Does the fear of the disfigurement shake her self image? Or she recreates her new image?The film deals with overcoming the fear of being seen incomplete.

Titanic the Play Duration 16:03 Director Bishwajit Das

Synopsis- 14 year old Noyon, in a remote village in Assam, accidentally watches the film Titanic in a vcd player that his elder brother had borrowed. Seeing the film, he remembers watching Kohinoor Theater’s play Titanic in his school ground with his dad. He feels responsible and decides that he must inform Kohinoor Theater that someone somewhere has copied their play and made it into a film.He got the news that Kohinoor Theater is performing in a village 50 kms away from his place. Taking only his best friend into confidence, he sets out alone to complain about what he saw.As he progresses in his journey, he is faced with unexpected situations. Meanwhile we see the makers of the play Titanic, viz. Ratan Lahkar, Hemanta Dutta and Adya Sarmah narrate their story of how an idea became the most popular play in mobile theater history. The film ends with Noyon finally meeting Ratan Lahkar, the owner of Kohinoor Theater, traveling 150 km away from home.

Psyche Duration 19:07 Director Samir Patil

synopsis- On argument with friends over watching horror movie, Raghu plays a bet spending a night at an haunted haveli.While there, everything seems to be normal until a message pops up.Is it his mind or something beyond our understanding?

Eidiyaan, Duration 18:00 Director Aman Kaleem and Mohammad Irfan Dar

synopsis- This is a story of an eight year old girl (Sadaf) who lives in remote town of Kashmir with her mother. It is about her mother’s longing for her son who is missing since past nine years, and Sadaf’s growing up in such a situation. The story is about all those Kashmiri families who have been struggling with the tragedy of disappearances since ages. The film looks through the glasses of an eight year old, the emotional struggle of such families and tries to understand the difference in their daily lives. It explores how this kid is looking at world differently because of the inherited tragedy.

Iduvum Love Story Danga, Duration 7:05 Director: Bharani G.

synopsis- There are two things to remember. One, some important events in our life is actually triggered by someone who is not at all related to us. And second, a very small mistake, which we might not even consider as one, can trigger a chain of events that may back fire at us. This Pathetic philosophy is explored in this most pathetic love story ever told about KARTHIK. How these two facts/statements play a vital role in his life is the sub plot of this short film. The main plot is, it is the story of a boy meets girl.

Devdasi , Duration: 13 min Director: Olena Shantokina

synopsis- A story is taken place in 1839 in South India. Orphan Nandini grew up happily in the temple under care of local priest. Once she  is 9 – she has been given to the marriage to Lord Shiva and same night priest takes advantage of her. After that she closes her heart even to her best childhood friend Shyam, keeping only dance and Shiva in it.One day at the mahoutsavam Tanjavur Raja Shivaji II, notices Nandini. Where the priest is weak in front of raja. Shyam offers Nandini to run away. She hesitates but agrees. They set the time and place.Priest comes to know about their plan, informs minister, who chases Shyam away from the village. Priest trying to pursuit Nandini go with him, but she refuses. In anger he tells her that Shyam is never coming back, and she has no choice as to go with raja.

Flying High, Duration 10:30 Director Sharofat Arobova

Kusum the flower bud, Duration 10:31 Director Shumona Banerjee

Synopsis- Can hope be found in the most unusual places amongst the most unlikely characters?A young transvestite prostitute, Kusum, locked up in her room, gears up for a regular night like any other, but just then enters Purab, an out- of- job English literature teacher suffering from tourette syndrome and obsessive compulsive behavior, without a clue of the local language. He has spent his meager savings to spend one night with a girl and finds himself stuck with a boy!!On the other hand Kusum is at a loss with this man who sees as a “freak” madly going about cleaning her room while throwing things at her in the middle of the night and furthermore insists on blabbering in English! Both can’t understand what the other is saying. Needless to say, all hell breaks loose! But as the night proceeds insecurities and appearances and prejudices slowly give way, but just a little.Will these two people, alike as desperate misfits but otherwise so different manage a connection? Perhaps like a flower bud bursting through a crack in concrete wall, an unexpected beginning will see them through.

SHORT DOCUMENTARY

City Contemplating, Duration 23:11 Director Tanima Das

Synopsis- This is a tale of a city which is becoming modern day by day. This film looks into what modernism has led to, that is consumerism and in turn what consumerism is further leading to. Consumerism has resulted into huge unmanaged waste which has killed a small tributary called Bharalue and which is now dumping its polluted water into the river Brahmaputra as a drain of the city. The Bharalue was and is polluted by the people of the city and if not taken care of will also turn the river Brahmaputra, also the city lifeline into another drain. We also look into a huge dump yard which is only a small portion on the Guwahati waste and also look at the people working there. It arises a question, what is our consumerism leading to and what are we consuming for a better life?

Kadaisi Naadagam, Duration 9:30 Director Manuja Tyagi

Neverland , Duration: 11:30 Director: Sharofat Arabova

Synopsis- Beena was an Indian girl of 13 years old when she got an opportunity to go to Soviet camp ARTEK.  She can’t forget these vacations and memories that were published in a book “Russia as seen by Beena”.

Ojharti Valu, Duration 36:00 Director: Taarka Patil

Synopsis- The film focuses on the current issues of commercialization of Alibag, a small town near Mumbai. Through this film I have tried to create awareness about the cultural and environmental aspects of the place that are being overlooked for tourism prospects. I have tried to tell stories of Alibag by voicing the people who belong to this place and thus help in growing sensibility towards the local culture of Alibag.This film is the journey of the once infamous expression “Alibag se aya hain kya?” (Are you from Alibag or what?) To now a favorite holiday destination and the expression “wow, you are from Alibag!” The change is inevitable for any place but will this fame of Alibag help in the betterment of its future?

Ringa Ringa Roses , Duration: 5:00 Director: Jenifer Chacko

My Armenian Neighbourhood, Duration 27:00 Director Samimitra Das

Synopsis- Armenians are a community that landed in the city of Calcutta, much before this city had a name. They were some of the oldest builders and businessmen who came with a constructive effort at creating opportunities in building industries and hotels and literally erecting the city’s oldest buildings. Today, they stand as a small minority of only fifty individuals who are living with this legacy and old-world charm. However, their newer generations have found new voices and ways of living in the city without carrying the baggage of an identity. The crisis of lost identity among the youth is echoed by all the seniors of the community who form the dwindling mass of people and in search of a survival on their own terms which makes them quintessential an Armenian  living in Calcutta.

 

Beyond Barriers, Duration 10:00 Director Rasika Samak

Synopsis- Are public places still inaccessible to the physically handicapped?If yes what are we doing about it?Can this be considered as their human right to have access to the basic public services like transport?Are educational institutes, libraries, parks, temples and even cinema halls accessible to them?Don’t they have the right to read, pray, and have fun?If we make it impossible for them to use a bus, do we at least provide them with a good footpath to walk on?Are we responsible for making them feel excluded, inferior, introverted, mentally depressed? If we are blind to all this happening around us, are not we handicapped too?

What lies ahead, Duration 16:10 Director Sheeba Naaz & Sumiranpreet Kaur

Singaara Chennai , Duration: 13:00 Director: Sujeeth S.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

For your own benefit, Duration 2:00 Director Ashish Rampal

Synopsis- It’s about the side effects of smoking

Pitch for Dark, Duration 1:00 Director Maaz Kazmi

Synopsis- The ad film ‘Pitch for Dark’ explains how Earth Hour is a global event wherein people of various nationalities come together for the cause venting out their agony and fury against the usual ignorant attitude towards the environment by switching off the lights and supporting the cause. The color black is a mark of protest and a uniform support for the cause as well.

It is not too late, Duration 1:00 Director Kaavya Sunder

Synopsis- The PSA is on recycling. Here is a boy sitting in a library is bored and doesn’t want to study more. He notices the pretty girl and tries his luck by sending her a note but he fails miserably he looks to the left and sees another girl waving at him and tries his luck with her again using the same note, that way he saves paper and still gets his job done. RECYCLE AT EVERY SITUATION. IT’S NOT TOO LATE.

Save Electricity, Duration 0:47 Director Vishnu P. Bhaskaran

Synopsis- A direct public service advertisement that asks the viewers to switch off the lights and fans whenever they go out of the room, however busy they are, and also to save electricity as much as they can.

Sudoku, Duration 2:00 Director Amit Sahoo

MUSIC VIDEOS

My name is Luka, Duration 4:00 Director Ghulam Shafi Khan

Synopsis-  ”My Name Is Luka” is a song made famous by Suzanne Vega in 1986. The song deals with how a normal child faces sexual and physical abuse in the everyday life and tries his best to live with the pain and also the joy of a secret life.

A change, Duration 4:32 Director Alfred Prakash

Naa Jeeva Maharaj, Duration 4:51 Director Kaushal Oza

synopsis- In a village in Rajasthan a girl waits for a letter from her beloved. But with every passing day hope fades and expectations turn into an endless interminable wait. Will she lose her heart or will her faith triumph?

Song of Currency, Duration 4:00 Director Bharani G

City that never sleeps, Duration 4:13 Director Anupam Purohit

synopsis- City that never sleeps provides you with an outsider’s perspective towards Mumbai. It deals with the real essence of Mumbai that lies in its people. Apart from being a very fast metropolitan city and commonly known as “city that never sleeps”, the film asks several questions about the same. Even though every person here is running fast to achieve an imaginary goal, but in respect to achieve that, every Mumbaikar is sleeping from inside. Whether it’s being stuffed like cattle in local transport or tolerating issues like terrorism, corruption,pollution etc.With all the dreams, glamor  and glitter on the surface, there are many issues on which a common man needs to get awakened and that’s what city that never sleeps convey.

Tryst with destiny, Duration 4:20 Director Tegveer Singh

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