| TRAILBLAZER | Ujan Chattopadhay | |
| DREAMSPINNER | Arkojyoti Basu | |
| MASTERCRAFTER | Diganta Dey Pulipati Sandeep Pallabi Das |
Trailblazer Award
Excellent. An intelligent and dispassionate rendering of a real-life romantic, pursuing his passion in poverty. Impressive script, cinematography, editing and music. The title is significant in multiple senses. The ‘spark’ from the turning wheel of the means-of-subsistence equipment. The ‘spark’ of talent of the poor struggling poet (the passion) and the ‘spark’ for penchant for life (the ecstasy).
With a notable economy of expression through simple yet telling images – the man with the machine, obsolete manual technology, and the protagonist picking up stray papers flying in the open – the film maker captures the fascinating life of an exceptional character.
The superb cinematic skills and captivating style of the filmmaker promise greater renderings of his creativity in the future.
DREAMSPINNER Award
An experimental film. A bold attempt at capturing the inherent conflict between the common-place practicality and a deviant passion. The film stands out for its visual narrative, though at times complicated, and the complete absence of dialogue.
The difficult and challenging theme called for many more signifying imageries to communicate better the tension and tribulations between the twin brothers’ psyche and the manifestation of their talents and calibre. In this regard, the film can be said to have achieved partial success.
The filmmaker is expected to make more exciting films in the future.
MASTERCRAFTER Award
Monalisa Feeling by Diganta Dey
A fairly potent idea. The film is based on the theme that creation in any art form is driven by a passion drawn from life. The idea, though not very novel, has an element of originality in the way it is expressed in the film.
Very impressive visuals. Some of them bear signs of competent cinematography, particularly for their perspectives and compositions. Reasonably good editing. But, extremely poor script, voiceover and very poor acting leave a lot of room for improvement in execution of the idea.
Good idea (“We all wear a mask”), but not quite elegant or smart execution. The film narrates the tragic tale of how unmasking spells disillusionment and disaster in one’s life. The dismaying feeling “we all wear a mask” that overwhelms the protagonist is a commonly dealt with idea. But, the compassion with which the ensuing anguish and despair are portrayed is rather special. Intelligent combination of camera, editing and style of narration. But, there is an excessive use of blue overtone and message is not well conveyed.
Megh – A song by Anupam Aich by Pallabi Das
An interesting experiment using stop motion technique. This is not merely a reproduction of the song in visuals. Application of creative imageries and a thin story line gives the film the distinction of an artist creation on its own. Repetitive shots, narrations in Bengali and blurb in English could have been avoided. Use of more innovative ideas could have made it much more engaging.
