Short film

TRAILBLAZER	None
DREAMSPINNER	None
MASTERCRAFTER	Debanjan Deb Rajdep Dey Riha Das Shisshir Marathey Srinjan Majumder
BUDDING WEAVER	None

MASTERCRAFTER AWARD

LOCKDOWN by Debanjan Deb

“Well-intentioned and competently crafted. A very familiar idea treated with smart and elegant narrative skill. Excellent cinematography, music and editing. The opening visual of humans trapped behind a grill, is powerful.
The life is still during lockdown. But new life blooms within this gloom. Conveys a message of social significance without being too sermonizing, except the closing shot, which speaks directly to the audience, and that’s however a good thing. But, pinning the earth’s future on lockdown and display of ‘stay at home etc.’ message mar the effort.”-JURY

PAIN-TER by Rajdep Dey

“A brilliant idea for a short film. Very interesting choice for a visual creatively portrayed with commendable management of light and shadow. Use of a negative filter on (presumably) a giant hoarding beautifully captures, in silhouette, a slice of the hard, risky life of the toilers (here two painters) on a high bamboo scaffolding under the midday sun. The exaggerated use of the rough-effect sound of brushing along with the use of shadows gives a chiaroscuro effect to heighten the dull and drab work. The film is a poignant reflection of everyday life of painters at their job on the hoarding. An idea that could have been taken to a meaningful culmination”-JURY

“AR Life” by Riha Das

“Bright, refreshing! Very interesting choice to film delicate works of craft and nice choice of music too. The film is a beautiful experimentation in animation, combining live shots with animated line drawings, paper cutouts and colour paintings accompanied by fun-filled music that adds to the feel of soulful enjoyment of life. Along with, the film-maker could have made an effort to showcase the more unconventional routines of being at home to add an interesting perspective of relevance. “-JURY

“Gubbara” by Shisshir Marathey

“The tiny film has some visible flair. It is elegant, minimalist and sensitive. There is a silent message of the perils of planting high ambition in children’s mind. Shot mostly in close-ups and very big close-ups, in b&w with a tinge of colour used thoughtfully. The shot of the balloons flying away from the child, is a particulary interesting one that made me wonder how the makers shot it. Dedramatised cinematography, smooth editing and apt direction makes it a different kind of ‘music video’.The visuals could have been less literal and faithful to the lyrics of the song. The subject matter is good but doesn’t bring in any new dimension.”- JURY

MORE HAPPY THAN NOT by Srinjan Majumder

“This is a nicely made short film. It accurately depicts how some sections of the society are ‘allowed to breathe’ only behind closed doors. A fringe but burning issue, that of transgender identity, though not novel, is well-conceived from the unusual angle of the ‘other’, and superbly executed, except for the background score (towards the end) which is probably more pronounced than it should be,. The transition from the male to the female, from hesitation to happiness, b&w to colour, is treated intelligently and cinematically. Excellent editing, acting, cinematography, make-up and, above all, direction!”-JURY