Give Up The Ghost
Zain Duraie
Jordan.  2019.  15 min

Salam’s dream of becoming a mother shatters when she finds out that she is unable to have children with her husband.

ZAIN DURAIE

Duraie was born and raised in Amman, Jordan.  Duraie graduated from the Toronto Film School.  She started her career as a trainee at Philistine Films with filmmaker Annemarie Jacir and producer Ossama Bawardi.  Her directorial debut short film Horizon, won the Best of the Festival Selects at the Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films, Audience Choice Award at the Franco Arab Film Festival and Best first young filmmaker at the Algeria’s International women film festival. In 2019, her second short film Give up the Ghost premiered in competition at the Venice International Film Festival and won the Best Arab Short Film award at the El Gouna Film Festival.

DIRECTOR,S  STATEMENT

Infertility and love together becomes a social stigma.  The film poses essential questions on how social pressure and the expectations that parents have on their children to rise up to a certain image could negatively influence a person’s character. Human actions depending on external judgmental forces can destroy your inner peace, but what if we stand for what we believe in, to become leaders and not followers to what society wants to make of us?  What if we already have the key to our cage in our pockets?

READ INTERVIEW TO ZAIN DURAIE

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POSTER

CONTACT

Alaa Alasad :    alaa@tabi360.net

Driving Lessons
Marziyeh Riahi
Iran.  2019.  12 min

According to the laws of Iran, Bahareh must have her traditional, chauvinistic husband accompany her to driving lessons so she and her instructor will not be alone.

MARZIEH  RIAHI

Marziyeh Riahi was born in Tehran (Iran). She is Editor in Chief of Short Film News (http://www.shortfilmnews.com/en), the first website specialized on short films and documentaries in Asia, was established in 2004.
She is graduated in Cinema, University of Applied Science and Technology, Tehran and graduated in Film directing, Iranian Young Cinema Society (IYCS), Tehran.
Also she is a member of The Network For Promotion of Asian & Asia Pacific Cinema (NETPAC) and member of Iranian Society of Film Critics & Writers (ISFCW).
“Driving Lessons” is her first short film.

POSTER

CONTACT

Marziyeh Riahi :    marziyeh.riahi@gmail.com

Metamorphosis
Rajdeep Paul,  Sarmistha Maiti
India.  2019.  30 min

Aasia belongs to a clan of Bahurupis – indigenous street cosplay performers – who dress up as Hindu deities despite being Muslims by birth.  She wants to adopt her father Ali’s art of metamorphosing into Kali, the black Goddess of Time, Power and Liberation, but is not allowed to do so because she is a woman. Instead, the now decrepit Ali, forces the traditional family profession onto his son Aslam who detests it fearing ridicule, persecution and its waning popularity.  Despite poverty and hardship the small family lives freely in the fringes of the village society in the lap of nature influenced by the religious syncretism of the Baul-Fakir mystics, tolerated by both Hindus and Muslims.  But a sudden surge of religious fundamentalism is raising a storm in the society that will transform their lives forever.

RAJDEEP PAUL – SARMISTHA MAITI

Rajdeep Paul and Sarmistha Maiti are independent filmmakers, alumni of Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI), India and recipients of the National Film Award from the Honourable President of India for the feature length documentary film “At the Crossroads Nondon Bagchi Life and Living” at the 61st National Film Awards, 2013. The duo has written and directed several documentary films, short fiction films, PSA, Animation and New Media films. They have worked with both international and national producers of repute like PBS & ShowOfForce – USA, Native Voices – UK, Films Division, Doordarshan, Prasar Bharti & Public Diplomacy Division, Ministry of External Affairs, Aurora Film Corporation, Krish Movies etc from India. Triambigram Arts happens to be their production company. Their debut feature film script “The Biryani Seller” has undergone mentorship in the first edition of Mumbai Mantra Cinerise Screenwriting Programme 2014-15 from the likes of Michael Radford, Audrey Wells, Sebastian Cordero, Sriram Raghavan and Anjum Rajabali, and was one of the 18 official selections in NFDC Film Bazaar Co-Production Market 2016 in Goa, India while their another feature film script “Pinjar” is in the competition for Cinestaan India’s Storytellers Script Contest 2018-19.

POSTER

CONTACT

Aurora Films :    aurorafilm@bharatmail.co.in

Halwa
Gayatri Bajpai,  Nirav Bhakta
India.  2018.  16 min

“Halwa” explores the life of a married woman in her 50s named Sujata, played by Vee Kumari.  Sujata reconnects with old friends by making a Facebook account, including her childhood sweetheart that she hasn’t seen or heard from in more than 20 years. Through their sweet messages back and forth, we see their pasts unfolding and their love for each other re-blooming again.

GAYATRI BAJPAI – NIRAV BHAKTA

Nooreh
Ashish Pandey
India.  2018.  22 min

Set in Kashmir, the film introduces us to young Nooreh whose life in a small village on the Indian-Pakistani border is disrupted by daily crossfire.  One night, Nooreh discovers that she can control the gun battle by keeping her eyes open and vows to constantly stay awake.

ASHISH  PANDEY

Ashish crossed the barrier of the spoken word with his first short THE CABIN MAN (2007), which dealt with the loneliness of an old railway cabin man guarding an abandoned cabin. In his second short OPEN DOORS, he learnt to camouflage the plot with the stillness of time and the oldness of the space. NOOREH, set in a border village, was actually shot in a border village, and won the Sonje award for Best Short at the Busan International Film Festival in 2018. Ashish graduated from Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute, Kolkata, with a specialization in Sound.

POSTER

CONTACT

Ashish Pandey :    ashish@sophiyafilms.com

Aapke Aa Jane Se
Shiladitya Bora
India.  2019.  17 min

In May 2018, a video of ‘Dancing Uncle’ went crazily viral. The man, Sanjeev Shrivastava, became an overnight sensation after his carefree dance to Govinda and Neelam’s hit number ‘Aapke Aa Jane Se’ from Rakesh Roshan’s Khudgarz (1987) was appreciated by one and all.

Aapke Aa Jane Se takes place in a town in north India and follows the life of Rammo Babu (Manu Rishi Chadha) who lives with his wife and two children. He is an ordinary man who goes about his mechanical life between work and home. In other words, he is just a face in the crowd.

One day he is forced to dance at a wedding. After much hesitation, he finally gives in and dances to ‘Aapke Aa Jane Se’.  Somebody records the video and it goes viral. Rammo Babu is now no longer just a face in the crowd.

SHILADITYA  BORA

Shiladitya Bora es un productor y distribuidor de películas. Es el fundador de Platoon One Films, un estudio de producción cinematográfica con sede en Mumbai. Es alumno de Berlinale Talents.

POSTER

CONTACT

Shiladitya Bora :    shiladityabora@gmail.com

Sunny Side Upar
Vijayeta Kumar
India.  2020.  18 min

The most ironic thing about us is the way we live our lives.  We sacrifice our health, our time with families and those we love, to make our careers/money.  We are too anxious about the future to enjoy the present and are never happy with what we have. We live like we will never die and one day we die, having never really lived. One would believe, nobody understood this conundrum better than a doctor. But this pretty much sums Dr Kavya Menon’s life.  She’s an oncologist and her job is her biggest priority. There is no time for her own family, or for herself.  Treating cancer isn’t easy, and she gives it all she has.

This is the story of 24 hours in her life, and how a phone call shakes her up, making her take stock of what she has, whom she loves, and how to live.

What it means to really see life sunny side up.

VIJAYETA  KUMAR

Vijayeta Kumar – After studying film making from AJ Kidwai Mass Comm. Research Center in New Delhi, Vijayeta has assisted several directors on their Hindi feature films and TVCs.  She has now ventured out to do independent work as a Director, making short films, branded content and music videos.  Sharpening her skills as she develops a full-fledged feature film script to direct.  She’s also currently in the middle of post-production for her first documentary.

Her first short film, Blouse won the ‘Best Short Film’ award at the New York Indian Film Festival in 2014.

POSTER

CONTACT

Vijayeta Kumar :    vijayetakumar@gmail.com

Steam
Harsh Hudda
India.  2019.  5 min

STEAM portrays the harsh reality of the subtle normalisation of patriarchy in the life of many women living in India.  It puts us as an audience in the life of a middle-class housewife living in one of the endless small spaces of Mumbai.  In a series of just seven frames, it not only captures the very mundane routine of the woman but also hints at a larger social issue that is persistent underneath.

HARSH  HUDDA

Harsh Hudda, born in a small town in Gujarat, is currently studying Film Direction at Whistling Woods International. He has previously studied design in Bengaluru, which has contributed significantly to his aesthetics as a filmmaker.

CONTACT

Harsh Hudda :    hudda.harsh.wwi@gmail.com

U for Usha
Rohan Parshuram Kanawade
India.  2019.  22 min

Usha is a single mother and farm labourer in rural India.  Unable to read or write, she finds herself drawn to her children’s English teacher in ways she never knew possible, and this attraction fires her passion and her determination to learn.

U for Usha is a subtle portrayal of sexual awakening, and how naïve attraction can empower a woman to take control of her life, and make each day something to look forward to.

ROHAN  PARASHURAM  KANAWADE

After completing a diploma in Interior Designing, Rohan Kanawade spent as much time as possible honing his storytelling craft despite having no formal training in filmmaking.  In 2010 he left his full-time job and began working as freelance interior designer to give time to film writing and direction. Film after film the quality and technique of his storytelling improved, and in 2017 his short ‘Khidkee’ got selected in Indian Panorama section of 48th International Film Festival of India, 2017.  Impressed by his work, mythology writer Devdutt Pattanaik extended his financial support to Rohan’s next short ‘U Ushacha’ which he completed in mid-January 2019.

POSTER

CONTACT

Rohan Kanawade :    darkkurves@gmail.com

Meal
Abhiroop Basu
India.  2018.  30 min

Amidst communal tension outside, a dysfunctional family sits together for their customary morning meal.

ABHIROOP  BASU

Abhiroop Basu is an award winning Director and Screenwriter based out of Calcutta, India.  A student of South Point High School and St. Xavier’s College Calcutta,  Abhiroop went on to study films at the prestigious Prague Film School in Czech Republic.  Some of his award winning shorts include ‘Afternoon with Julia’, ‘The Paperman’, and ‘This is when we first met’ which went on to win accolades overseas. His most recent work includes ‘Meal’ starring Adil Hussain  and ‘Laali’ starring Pankaj Tripathi.

POSTER

CONTACT

Abhiroop Basu :    mailmehereoften@gmail.com