Watch powerful films like Giddh (The Scavanger) and Last Days of Summer, interact with film personalities Muzaffar Ali, Adil Hussain, Faisal Malik and others, and learn more about rural India at Chitrashaala, Village Square’s short film festival.
Village Square is turning the spotlight on rural India in a unique way – through its short film festival, Chitrashaala, where filmmakers and aficionados will gather to discuss cinema, rural issues and how the two connect and intersect. Acclaimed movie personalities such as director-photographer-fashion designer Muzaffar Ali; actors Adil Hussain and Faisal Malik; short filmmakers from across India, including Ladakh, Meghalaya and Rajasthan; and film students, critics and fans will come together at this event, being held in collaboration with Film Critics Guild. The day-long festival, being held as part of Transform Rural India’s annual India Rural Colloquy (IRC), will take place at Alliance Francaise, Lodhi Road, New Delhi on August 3.
The inaugural edition of Chitrashaala, the short film festival on rural India, has an exciting line-up of celluloid outings celebrating two vital aspects of rural life this year – Arts and Crafts; and Climate Change. A third category of Village Square Jury’s Choice will feature two acclaimed award-winning films – Giddh (The Scavenger) by Manish Saini, starring actor Sanjay Mishra, Karishma Dubey’s Bittu, which was among the 10 films shortlisted in the Best Live Action Short Film segment of the 93rd Academy Awards.
You can also look forward to participating in lively panel discussions and interactions with filmmakers, and watching the work of up-and-coming filmmakers who have won the Village Square competition for student film category. A three-member jury comprising Film Critics Guild members Suparna Sharma, Arnab Banerjee and Shomini Sen went through the 50-odd entries to select three of the winning short movies, which will be screened at the festival. The young directors will also be felicitated by the special guests.
This being a short-film festival, all the movies being screened will have a run-time of less than one hour. The Arts and Crafts category will feature films like Muzaffar Ali’s Dastaan-e-Dastkari — Moradabad, Wooden Tales from Thammampatti by Vivi Raaj and Khiew Ranei (Black Clay) by Riah Taipodia. While Vivi Raaj’s film showcases the fine wood carving practised in the small of village of Thammampatti in Tamil Nadu, Nanda’s Craft of Khamisha tells the story of a lac craftsman in Kutch, Gujarat, and Taipodia’s Khiew Ranei is about the black terracotta pottery of Meghalaya.
The looming impact of climate change on rural India takes centre stage at the event through films like Coral Woman by Priya Thuvassery, Last Days of Summer by Stenzin Tankong, Wade by Upamanyu Bhattacharyya and Kalp Sanghvi, and Aravali: The Lost Mountainsby Jigar Nagda.
Coral Woman documents the filmmaker’s journey with Uma, an artist and a certified scuba-diver, who seeks to draw attention to the threat posed to the coral reefs of the Gulf of Mannar. Tankong’s Last Days of Summer is set in Ladakh and shows how the nomadic culture of Changthang is on the brink of extinction and the real issues that the local community is facing due to climate change. Coming from another part of India, the 2D animated film, Wade, depicts climate-change refugees in Kolkata who are attacked by Royal Bengal tigers, while Nagda focuses on marble quarrying in Rajasthan’s Rajsamand district in his Aravali: The Lost Mountains.
Chitrashaala will also bring to you interesting panel discussions and fireside chats featuring the film personalities attending the event, including Muzaffar Ali, Adil Husain, Faisal Malik, Priya Thuvassery, Stenzin Tankong and Jigar Nagda.
Seats are limited, so do make it a point to register here for the Chitrashaala short film festival. See you there!
Also Read: 5 must-see films that show rural India differently
Village Square’s Chitrashaala short film festival focuses on stories from rural India.
Date: August 3, 2024
Venue: Alliance Francaise, Lodhi Road, New Delhi
The lead image on top features Sanjay Mishra from the film ‘Giddh’ (The Scavanger) directed by Manish Saini.
