How much can one tell in a barely five minute film? To a large extent, five Indian women filmmakers have achieved success through their films under the ‘Itels’ package, which had its world premiere at the 14th International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (IDSFFK). The films were the result of a mentorship program at the Busan International Film Festival led by Iranian filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf, and supported by the AR Rahman Foundation.
Of the 30 filmmakers who participated in the event, the works of five were selected for the final package, which includes films shot on the iPhone. While there is no single overarching theme that links the five films, it is nonetheless a demonstration of what filmmakers do when they are limited by constraints, especially those related to time.
In Mulberry (Mulberry), Savita Singh tells the story of a migrant worker who has to travel hundreds of miles carrying his physically challenged son on his shoulders. It is a moving tale of an unforgiving mistake he makes while carrying his son. The man’s story becomes representative of the suffering of millions of workers who, following an undeclared lockdown following the outbreak of COVID-19, had to walk along wide highways to their homes in villages.
Someone given five minutes to film one would not normally think of a documentary on a subject that has many layers to it, but Rajshree Deshpande does just that. distorted mirror, She focuses on the Lavani dancers from Maharashtra, some of whom are now reduced to performing in front of mostly unscrupulous men at private events.
Pooja Shyam Prabhat why ma and Kutti Revathi agamugam Both share a common thread that both have writers as the central characters, though they face different kinds of dilemmas. In why ma, a writer facing deadline pressures, also haunted by the memory of a past, the death of his mother in the riots and the need to take revenge on his killers, at least through his writings. On the other hand, the author agamugam Inside a big house, he is troubled by his desires and loneliness.
Madhumita Venugopal empty space Quite different in tone from the rest of the lot, which are all gloomy. At the center of the story is a woman who pays special attention to how things should be kept in her house. Her attempt to maintain cleanliness inside her home almost borders on obsessive-compulsive disorder. But when her husband decides to help her handle things, it turns her world around. Madhumita uses humor to deal with a situation which is quite serious.
The package gives an indication of what these filmmakers are capable of doing even on a very large canvas.