We received loads of delightful entries in the First ChotaMota Art Program! We send our love and gratitude to all our participants. We bring to you the Award winning entries of the First ChotaMota Art Program. These entries stood out as visionary (TrailBlazer), imaginative (DreamSpinner), skilful (MasterCrafter) and promising (BuddingWeaver – for years 15-17 only). Congratulations!
Results of ChotaMota Art Program March 2016:

Award winning cartoons and caricatures:

Trailblazer Award (Rs. 5,000)

Name of Artist Name of Piece Jury’s Comment
Sneha Dasgupta Van Gogh This piece exemplifies the journey of art and the artist. It might very well be the perfect definition of ChotaMota foundation. To chase and capture the white whale you must embark on an epic journey. Every time we hold our pencils over a blank piece of paper we travel through worlds, dimensions, space and time. The hand doesn’t travel without the mind. Perfection in art is questionable but the journey isn’t.
The ability to marry a deep message with poignant visuals is a potent skill. I would love to see what else this artist brings to this world.

Dreamspinner Award (Rs. 4,000)

Name of Artist Name of Piece Jury’s Comment
Sonal Nagwani World with her A beautifully executed idea that captures the whimsical and pure imagination of a child. Just as a child grows into a leader of tomorrow, the tiny bubbles become accomplished works of art. In the same breath, it also signifies the ability to observe the big picture. A hopeful and inspirational message for the youth.

Mastercrafter Award (Rs. 2,500)

Name of Artist Name of Piece Jury’s Comment
Upasana Chakraborty My body sleeps next to me Poetic abstraction of the dream state. Simple at its core but open to interpretation. The title of the piece “my body sleeps next to me” conjures visions of astral projection.
Upasana Chakraborty Untitled Powerful, engaging and hard to look away from. There are landscapes of stories hidden in this dense architecture of lines. Delicate yet textural – looking forward to see where the artist takes this style in the future.
Souradeep Chakraborty Untitled There is something mature beyond the years in this intersecting design of the eye. The colours and geometry hearken of Kandinsky, whereas the line quality invokes a deconstructed quality of Indian handicrafts. Intriguing and refreshing.
Anuj Vashisht Afsanakar (Story teller) Highly unique character design. Evokes childhood memories of Bengali illustration fabricated into mandala-like pattern laced with symbology. A beautiful dichotomy of nostalgia and abstraction. This image captures the emotion and heritage of its culture in a few confident marks.
Anuj Vashisht Rodents Jarring and hypnotizing – this potent combo of prose and art captures unbridled angst and then multiplies it with the sharp uncomfortable geometry of a snake. The shape language of the snake and its portal-esque mouth are truly incredible.
Trinath Majumder Untitled How will your deity arrive this year? Perhaps dressed in jeans, covered in apathy and fueled by teen attitude? Love the modern and humorous take on a religious icon. Maybe the message is deeper than it looks – perhaps we all have deities hidden in our contemporary incarnations?
Ishika Chatterjee Untitled Splendid rendering of a timeless icon. The curious indignation expressed by Big B’s hand gesture seems to imply “Are you looking at me?” Instantly recognizable both in likeness and temperament.

Award winning Short Films

Trailblazer Award (Rs. 5,000)

None

Dreamspinner Award (Rs. 4,000)

Name of Artist Name of Piece Jury’s Comment
Ujan Chaterjee “Untitled” The film narrates the story of a mother who has lost her little son in a road accident with subtlety and sensitivity. The concept, though not very novel, captures the familiar tragedy of life. Read more

Mastercrafter Award (Rs. 2,500)

Name of Artist Name of Piece Jury’s Comment
Jennifer Sharmila “Way Back Home” The film addresses stylistically the difficult theme of the complex psychological fluctuation of the mindset of a young girl who has lost her father and has been searching for him. Fairly good concept and there is some noticeable mastery in the selection of images. Read more

BuddingWeaver Award (Rs. 1,000)

Name of Artist Name of Piece Jury’s Comment
Tarpan Sarkar “Tragedy” The film builds up on the idea of the tragic doom of writing pens. There are signs of deviant thinking and a suggestion of a subtle humorous approach in the beginning. But, at the end much of it is left to imagination of the viewers. Read more
Diganta Dey “KHELNA BATI” (My Toy World) An enjoyable fairy tale animation film for the children. It is simplistic but tries to capture the big picture. The message, though not very original, is well conveyed.
The story, apparently simple and innocuous, leads spontaneously to a serious lesson about the lost paradise of the beauty and liveability of our natural abodes and the increasing menace of wanton destruction of Nature adversely affecting our habitat and lifestyle Read more

Jury’s Comments

Dreamspinner Award: “Untitled”

The film narrates the story of a mother who has lost her little son in a road accident with subtlety and sensitivity. The concept, though not very novel, captures the familiar tragedy of life. Making of the film, with a theme somewhat melodramatic, is indeed exceptional. Use of cinematic imageries, camera angels, focusing and editing too is of a near-perfection quality. Use of light music is fairly professional. Superb acting of an accomplished actress in the mother’s role has lent credibility to the filmmaker’s imaginings.
The animated affection for the child is depicted beautifully. This mood of joviality and the following tragedy has been mingled so well that the intensity of the tragedy has been heightened without making it melodramatic. The changeover of moods and flavour is smooth and effective. The treatment is very cinematic right from the opening scene with excellent cinematography, editing, and to a good extent, the sound. The visuals are rich and impressive without being distractive; this has been ensured by an intermittent use of black-and-white shots with the shots/ sequences in colour. The attention to details and a fairly good sense of proportion has lent the film an excellent rhythm. The film leaves a trail of subdued pain even in the mind of the critical and discerning viewer.
We would love to see the filmmaker, with his captivating style, give free leash to the daring imaginings of his sensitive mind.

Mastercrafter Award: “Way Back Home”

The film addresses stylistically the difficult theme of the complex psychological fluctuation of the mindset of a young girl who has lost her father and has been searching for him. Fairly good concept and there is some noticeable mastery in the selection of images. The use of masks is significant. So also is the use of black-and-white. But, without the one-liner in the beginning, may not be comprehensible to all viewers.
The girl tries to fill the immense void by associating herself with a number of young friends but discovers the hard reality of short-lived ‘friendships’ of convenience. Finally she finds her father within her psyche as an alter ego. The subtle suggestiveness used by the filmmaker in the opening sequence of the girl’s room is superb. It has a painting by the famous and then criticised American pop artist Roy Lichtenstein; some of her most discussed significant paintings like “Drowning Girl” and “Whaam” show women steeped in emotional stress. The film starts with this premonition and subtle suggestiveness. The apparently disjoint images gradually introduce the viewer with the mental unrest of the protagonist (girl).
It is a difficult and challenging theme which has been fairly well handled by the filmmaker. The present attempt demonstrates the filmmaker’s superb cinematic skills and promises greater rendering of her creativity in the future.

Budding Weaver Award : “Tragedy”

The film builds up on the idea of the tragic doom of writing pens. There are signs of deviant thinking and a suggestion of a subtle humorous approach in the beginning. But, at the end much of it is left to imagination of the viewers.
It starts with a shot displaying the Chotamota Card, inviting for entries in its Art Program. Then, it sets out to suggest that it is a continuity of the theme or essence of Shakespearean tragedies. But, as it appears, the intended humour fails to reach most of the viewers. In the concluding shot, the protagonist film maker is shown passing by on a bicycle humming a devotional song of resignation and surrender to the Almighty underlining the insignificance of human beings, as the yellow ball point pen that stood him in good stead in the hour of need keeps lying by the wayside with its cap opened and broken. Viewing the film as a modern day ‘tragedy’ of a writing pen in the digitalised world made in a sarcastic manner, it must be said that it is indeed a bold attempt, but the sarcasm does not come across. Use of camera and light leaves much room for a lot of further improvement.
We trust, the filmmaker’s innovative desires and liking for digging into unexplored areas will bring much more exciting, if not path-breaking, films to the viewers.

Budding Weaver Award: “KHELNA BATI” (MY TOY WORLD).

An enjoyable fairy tale animation film for the children. It is simplistic but tries to capture the big picture. The message, though not very original, is well conveyed.
The story, apparently simple and innocuous, leads spontaneously to a serious lesson about the lost paradise of the beauty and liveability of our natural abodes and the increasing menace of wanton destruction of Nature adversely affecting our habitat and lifestyle. While being enjoyable (especially to the children), the film maintains the simplicity and spontaneity fairly well and drives home the important message without imposing the latter. The film is minimalist in treatment, which is fair enough; but the animation leaves room for a lot of further improvement, and the film could have been more gorgeous and vibrant, especially in the first half.
We are keen to see the filmmaker, with his dreams for a harmonious world, exploring newer ideas.

Chota