Short film contestat movie fest

NAGPUR: It was day four at the second International Film Festival of Nagpur. Many movie buffs from the city were present for the festival in spite of it being a busy Monday. Apart from showcasing some of the acclaimed films from around the world, the Nirzar Film Society also organised a short-film competition for aspiring movie makers.
"Aspiring movie makers don't get much exposure in a city like Nagpur.This is an excellent platform to show our talents," said a young and enthusiastic Ankit Bhuptani. "We don't have enough money to make a full fledged film. We also cannot showcase our films on a big screen. But due to this initiative, our short films are being showcased on the big screen. There are many directors coming for the festival. If our movies click, they might give us an opportunity," he added. Ankit has make a silent movie called 'Beware' which proposes an aggressive way to induce civic sense into people.
Sunny Bali is another film maker with a wild imagination. "My short-film 'Phoenix' is about two guys who have a religious argument. Their argument results in World War-III and destroys the Earth. After 2500 years, they re-incarnate and find themselves in the same scenario they were 2500 years ago. The run-time of the film is 11 minutes, but we travel 2500 years in that period," he said.
Sunny is not the only person who has imagination running wild. Nikunj Agrawal has made a 12-minute film about a man who wants to make his nightmare come true. "I want to contribute to the field of film-making," said Nikunj. "I have seen three movies at this film fest so far and I have learnt something from each. It is a great opportunity for us that these movies being screened. I saw 'Mee Sindhutai Sapkal' yesterday and it was an amazing experience. Such movies are not shown in theatres in the city because they lack the 'glamour' factor. To see the story of Sindhutai Sapkal was truly awe-inspiring. Hats off to director Anant Mahadevan," he gushed.
"The Indian movies being shown attract the crowd but there are hardly 20 people to see an international film," said Harshal Tidke, another cinephile. "It is indeed sad when people vacate their seats when an international film begins. When 'Children of Paradise' was being shown, I was the only person left in the theatre," he said.
Some 600 delegates have registered for the film festival and there were 75 entries for the short-film competition. The results of the competition will be announced on Thursday during the closing ceremony.