It was a gloomy, grey morning yet there was a crowd, a crowd whose eyes were glued to the big white screen; savouring the various films on the screen at, St. Anthony’s College, 10th April, 2012. The programme was critiqued by the three esteemed judges Mr. Gautam Syiem [Independent Media Production Professional], Mr. Julius Basaiawmoit [SRFTI, specializing in Sound for Film] and Mr. Conrad Syiem [Independent Film Maker].Apart from the judges, the crowd included teachers who helped in the production of the films, the cast of the screened films, the producers and a handful of their loved ones and ofcourse the fans. Why not! 😀
The screening started off with ‘Few Angels in hell’ a film that documented the whereabouts of the unfortunate minors whose home is the open street. From Khyndailad, Police Bazar to Lady Hydari Park the film documented the heart-rending stories of these young souls whose lives are entangled with the explicit side of the world and marching their way to this downward spiral of not only drugs but all sorts of abuse.
When asked to talk about the filming experience, one of the producers said ‘’They have no idea of their childhood. Filming the movie was a journey for each one of us; it was funny, it was sad, it was emotional. It was everything’’. The documentary is indeed an eye-opener, a glimpse of a child’s innocent smile substituted with drugs and abuse.
Collision
The second film in line entitled ‘Collision’ is a fiction based on folklore. The storyline revolves around the lead character ‘Rakseng’ – caught up between the realms of reality and dreams.
The thing that amazed me most about this film is the fact that it managed to elevate the significance of a myth as small as – killing of an insect may kill a living person’s soul to a higher level. Close enough where the crowd could relate or atleast I could. Local concepts and ideas put on an international level, what brilliance! On enlightening the crowd about the film, the team addressed that ‘’This film is adapted from what we experience in our everyday life. It gives a sense of reality of how people do not have the sense of belonging’’.
Native Plate
‘Native Plate’ – a documentary on the ‘authentic’ way of producing local cuisine, UN adulterated. This was no ordinary clip of a trip to the indigenous food hub. These guys went to the root of it. I’m talking, Nongpoh and Mylliem and other nearby villages.I have to admit it made me a little embarrassed of how meagre my knowledge was about khasi food was. Seriously, my Aha! Moment. 😀 And yes, the sight of delish food across a huge white screen on a rainy day was too much to handle. Lol ‘’We chose the subject because we (the crew) are not khasi yet we really enjoy eating khasi food. Many of our khasi friends are familiar with the dishes but they didn’t know the authentic way of preparing them.’’Hence the exploring they did and looking at the clip, sure looked like they had tons of fun.
Timepass
Next in line, ‘TimePass’ A film that tracks down the lives of three individuals and their wide-ranging forms of ‘escapism’. The three individuals or the cast includes a shopaholic, a gamer and a social network addict.A coup d’oeil of their everyday life. More of a diary cam; The audience is automatically led inside their day to day life and the indulgence of what is known to the modern man as ‘Timepass’ or leisure sake.The quirky girl who loves her shopping spree , the chap who rules the domain of the cyber gaming world and lastly, the ‘online’ guy who proves to be more socially active on his monitor screen rather than in the real world. On an overall, the film is witty and humorous. A serious topic on a not so serious note. What fun in no laughter right? 😀
Actum Ne Agas
‘ACTUM NE AGAS’- Translation: ‘ Don’t do what you have already done’. This fiction based film tells the story of ‘Lily’ who envisions a dream, a dream more of a nightmare where her ‘another normal day’ leads to her decease. Waking up from this surreal experience she realises that she is having a sort of a Déjà Vu experience. If the day in stored for her follows the same pattern as in her dream perhaps she can do her part of altering fate. Thus, not consequently leading to her death. Although the film revolves around a single fictional character. It proposes a higher message to all; of how everything we do fills in like little dominoes leading us to exactly where we are. A pattern that may or may not be evitable. Judging from the title of the film, the suggestion to the audience is to take measures to not let a bad experience reoccur.
The documentary movie DREAM which stands for ‘D’iscovering ‘R’eal ‘E’ssence ‘A’ttaining ‘M’yself is based on the concept of Dreams and their interpretations. The study also includes vox pop from all over the city and interviews with Dr. M. F. Hussain and clinical psychologist Dr. Jasmine Lyngdoh who give a thorough understanding of the relation of dreams to reality‘’.
The outcome of the film is that there is a definite connection of the psyche to the dreams and that dreams speak of the unconscious and conscious desires and emotions. The role of the ID, EGO and SUPER EGO in a person’s life is the culmination of real self in the dreams’’ –Shashank Shekhar Das, Quadruplets Production House.
The screening programme was hands down entertaining as well as very insightful. Thank you! Media Department, St. Anthony’s College Shillong for hosting an event showcasing local talent and top-notch concepts; because ‘’there’s certainly more than meets the eye.’’ Hence, life needs to be portrayed on a wider screen.
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