Mobile phones have come a long way from being ubiquitous status symbols to all-in-one devices and sliver-thin trouble-shooters. Last week, the country played host to the 6th International Festival of Cell Phone Cinema at Marwah Studios in Noida. Karl Bardosh, professor at Tisch School of the Arts, New York University, says creativity should not be suppressed due to lack of equipment. A view Sandeep Marwah, of Marwah Studios, endorses.
“Back in 2006”, Marwah recalls, “when we went to shoot at a hospital with a cell phone for the first time people laughed at our ‘stupid idea’. Today, I see the change in behaviour. Now a movie made on a cell phone is no longer a laughable idea”. The 450 cell phone movies submitted for the festival this year, prove his point.
“In a country of a population of 121 crore, where approximately 20 crore have a cell phone with screening technology, even if each person has access to at least one movie for a nominal amount, the turnover would be unbelievable,” says Sandeep about the financial viability of such cinema.
On the threshold of this new brand of cinema, a significant part of ‘no excuses cinema’, the audience awaits this experience.
