There’s no greater sorrow for a director than to see his film not getting screened. G. Venkatesh Kumar, an award-winning short-film maker, knows this pain. “I started making short films in 2010, and it was so disheartening to not have them screened for the public,” he says. And that’s why he’s now joined hands with the Russian Centre of Science and Culture and come up with Indo-Russian Cinemas, a club that will help novice short and documentary filmmakers screen their films at the Russian Cultural Centre and at no cost.
Venkatesh, whose Kannadi Bommaigal , a short film on lightmen in cinema, won the Best Documentary award in Norway Tamil Film Festival 2015, has been associated with the Russian centre for a few years now. “I was one of those picked to represent India in Russia as part of a Generation Next programme by Rossotrudnichestvo, a Russian federal agency, in 2013,” he says. During this journey, he met short filmmakers and also shot a documentary there. “Indo-Russian Cinemas will also be screening Russian shorts and documentaries.” An apprentice of Balu Mahendra, Venkatesh approached the centre with his idea a couple of weeks ago. “They were as kicked as I was and agreed immediately.” The club that will be formally launched on May 15, will screen about five short films or two documentaries every fortnight. The emphasis will be on Indian content and on debut filmmakers.
For more details, contact >indorussiancinemas@gmail.com
