''Whatashort'': Festival to focus on short films

New Delhi, June 27  

The bond between a mother and child is special, and Farooq’s bond with his Ammi was no different.

When he asked for a new school bag for his birthday, his mother pretended to remain unfazed by his requests, only to surprise him on the big day.

But, neither of them knew what awaited them.

“The School Bag”, a 15-minute short film, revisits the horrors of the 2014 Peshawar terror attack in Pakistan, that saw over 132 children of the Army Public School being killed by militants.

Directed by Dheeraj Jindal and starring Rasika Dugal, the film will be showcased at Whatashort Independent International Film Festival (WIIFF), this July.

The two-day festival beginning on July 8, is seeking to promote short films from across the globe.

“The significance of the festival lies in the very core idea of uplifting the indie and short film makers and their creations. It not only provides a unique platform to the shorter version of the motion picture but paves the way to the pinnacle it should achieve,” says Ravie Solanky, director of the festival.

40 films out of the 400 entries received from 34 countries over the past one year, will be showcased during the festival.

“Filmmakers from every corner of the world sent their entries to WIIFF and many have managed to impress the jury and find a place in our festival event,” says Solanky.

While Saraswathi Balgam from USA will showcase her film “Rinn, Baba”, Nisheeta Keni’s, “The Butterfly” deals with the repercussions of an arranged marriage.

“The movies are a mix bag of human emotions. Where on one hand some of the movies are a masterpiece of cinematography, others are packed with powerful performances and excellent direction,” says Solanky.

Unlike the previous editions, the organisers this year have accepted films in 17 categories. The films will be awarded with the best film certificate and award.

Chinese filmmaker Michael Wong will be an international member of jury, along with theatre actor, Anurag Arora who will choose the best out of the Indian entries.

The festival will be held at the Instituto Cervantes here. — PTI