Short film fest starts at Xavier's College

KOLKATA: It was lights, camera and action at St Xavier's College on April 2 as members of the Xaverian Film Academy (XFA) organized the third edition of Cinematheque 2012, a national level short fiction and documentary film festival. With over 75 entries in the fray, filmmakers from Delhi, Mumbai, Baroda Kerala, Chennai and Ranchi are vying for tops spots.
At the event, Xaverian and actor Sabyasachi Chakraborty and Ashoke Vishwanathan shared nuggets about the world of filmmaking and the future of short films and documentaries in India.
The two-day festival kicked off with the screening of "My Three Best Friends" by third year student Aditya Sengupta.
Speaking at the event actor Sabyasachi Chakraborty said he was extremely happy to be back at his alma mater. "I was a part of the film academy in my college days. Being present here today brings back a flood of memories. I hope XFA flourishes in the days to come, "he said.
This year XFA included three new events - music video category, photography competition and film quiz to the already existing two events of short films and documentary. "Cinematheque is bigger and better this year. There are 5 competitive categories in total. This allows for greater variety in the competition and also allows a bit of fun to the event. This allows for film-buffs to also participate in this event and we are not restricting the competition to only film-makers," said XFA secretary Debosmith Chatterjee.
Actor and director Ashoke Vishwanathan said it always felt good to be back at one's college. "Being a Xaverian I know XFA has always been doing good work. I hope the mass communication and videography department produces some good filmmakers who will go on to make world class cinema," said Vishwanathan.
A total of 19 films will be showcased over the two days of the festival. Tiyash Sen, a first year student of mass communication and videography looked quite excited because both his shirt film 'Eka Ki' and music video 'Synedoche' were selected to be screened. "I was actually editing another film of mine when Eka Ki happened. It is a short film of 5 minutes which has filmed at my house. I hope to win in anyone of the categories," he said.