[Reader-list] A Review of Diploma Films of SRFTI Students (Courtesy: upperstall.com)

[Sagnik Chakravartty]

The following information calls for an interesting
reading as they are reviews of some of SRFTI's diploma
films. These were screened in Mumbai last year. This
information can be seen at
www.upperstall.com/srfti.htm
This also shows how SRFTI,Kolkata has equalled Pune
Film Institute in terms of quality of diploma films
produced and also film equipments. 

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Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute Diploma Films
  
  
  
The Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute (SRFTI),
Kolkata recently screened the diploma films of the
first batch of students who have passed out from the
institute on May 24 at the Tata Theatre, NCPA in
Mumbai.

The package of 7 films (An eighth film, Y2K, was not
screened as it had faced censorship problems but
surely the SRFTI could have shown it as an institute
showing its body of work without worrying about
censorship restrictions) made for interesting and
varied viewing. Considering the enormous teething
problems this institute has faced since its inception
in 1996, it is to the SRFTI's credit that in its very
first lot of diploma films, its films picked up three
National Awards in the Non-Feature category.

The films screened ranged from the good to the
ununderstandable to the disappointing. The two films
that really stood out were the two National Award
winners Bhor and Meena Jha, both of which made for
extremely stimulating viewing while The Egotic Day in
spite of some evocative imagery sailed way, way over
one's head.

Bhor, directed by Rituparna Chudgar, look at a brother
and sister living in the unfriendly city suffering
from abject poverty. Poor and unhappy, they recall the
days when they were happy and content. This takes them
to the old house they once lived in, in the suburbs.
As they reach there they find the house deserted with
only an old man living there. The old man allows them
to spend a night there. The pair who have come to find
happiness in their memories find instead the past has
something else in store for them... Bhor won the
National Award for The Best Short Fiction Film and
according to its director Rituparna, it works because
somewhere it is a story of very real people - it could
be you and me, she says.

Meena Jha, directed by Anjalika Sharma, is about two
teenagers who study in a convent school in Kolkata.The
girls are thrown together even though their dreams,
realities and social set up are totally different from
each other. Ayesha is easily bored and is always on
the lookout for constant stimulation. In Meena she
finds a listener, one who believes all her tales
blindly, one who dreams and lives through her stories.
The film which is warm, insightful and perceptive is a
collage of shared expereiences, memories, dreams and
realities held by what the director calls an
'unpredictable non-linear structure.'And herein lies
the problem found in most of the films. As film
students ae exposed to all kinds of film they always
experiment with form and narrative structures. Not
that it's anything negative, in fact its extremely
healthy as they try to create their own brand of
cinema, but on seeing films like Meena Jha one feels
that it could have worked beautifully as a simple
narrative film but its breaking of narrative flow and
cutting to dream sequences and visual metaphors
(student films all over the world are full of them!)
seems too deliberate and contrived. However Meena Jha
still engages you with its evocative camerawork by
Amal Neerad C.R. and the inspired performances of the
two girls playing Ayesha and Meena. The film won two
National Awards - The Best Debut Film of a Director
and a Special Mention for Cinematography.

Apart from Mumbai, The SRFTI films are going to be
screened at the Kerala International Film Festival and
plans are also afoot for these films to be screened at
other major Indian cities. This is extremely
heartening for the students to not only have their
work seen by varied audiences but also to gauge the
reaction to their work which is equally important to
see if the film communicates with its audiences or not
as it is meant to. The Film and Television Institute
of India (FTII), Pune too used to screen their diploma
films in the distant past but over the last many years
this practice has unfortunately been stopped. Regular
screenings like this certainly help in young film
students getting exposure to their work and help in
their growth as filmmakers and should definitely be
encouraged and regularised.
 
  
    
 
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