It was only an hour since the two-day ‘Grad Film Festival’ at Annapurna International School of Film Media took off, but it looked like the rain gods were already pleased. Showcasing the best of short films made by final year under-grad and post-grad students in the institute, the nine-film lineup (picked and scrutinised by AISFM management) spanned across diverse genres and multiple languages — Arunodayam, Preme Madhuram, Talaari, Maut Ka Kuan, Bhetala,Understanding Moksha being a few. They weren’t works bearing facets of an aspirant-feature film; what stood out was their ability to dig deep into our cultural roots, yet being contemporary and having a voice of their own.
Sound in terms of technique, with due attention paid to detailing, the film duration ranging from 10-15 minutes weren’t a deterrent. The frames were poetry in motion, they weren’t for a passive viewer and required one to imagine aspects beyond the film’s context. Bhetala explored folklore, Preme Madhuramtalked of leaving things to destiny, Understanding Moksha, Kshayisu, Maut Ka Kuan captured the edgy space between life and death, while Arunodayam and Talaari highighted issues surrounding honour-killings.
