‘A group of passionate and in vogue short filmmakers’. That is how they describe themselves on their Facebook page. At a time when short filmmakers are a dime a dozen and social networking sites are bombarded with shorts, this online forum, Little Masters, is a collective where wannabe filmmakers, writers and technicians work towards a common dream of seeing their credits roll on the big screen.
They come from all over Kerala, but their destination is tinsel town.
“Little Masters is just a year old, with directors, cinematographers, editors, writers and actors on our rolls. The idea to form this stemmed from the fact that a lot of works of poor quality were being churned out as short films and posted on the Internet. We have cashed in on the popularity of social media by forming the online forum. We showcase good works and promote them,” says Rahul K. Shaji, one of the founding members of Little Masters. Hailing from Muvattupuzha, Rahul’s short film Kuliscene has garnered plenty of ‘likes’.
It was a game of cricket that set the ball rolling, says Aaryan Krishna Menon from Thrissur. “Once we all met in cyberspace, we felt that we should also have an avenue to get together. The cricket tournament for Prem Nazir Cup was on at Changanassery and there were teams featuring directors and musicians. We fielded a team at the tourney. Though we lost, the camaraderie was so strong that we decided to stay bonded,” he says.
That really helped when E-Kalath, a short film by one of the members, Jenith Kachappilly, was remade in Telugu and the original team wasn’t credited. Little Masters protested on Facebook and finally the film was re-posted with due credit given to Jenith.
Also, Little Masters support new talents. So, whenever a filmmaker needs help, say a camera or any form of technical help, the request is posted on the Little Masters page and circulated among the group.
The group is happy that many of them have already got their break in Mollywood. While some are assistants in different films, some are ready with their debut independent works. “Thanks to the group, we have been able to get in touch with people whom we never thought we would be able to meet. This platform enables exchange of ideas and we have a test audience who gives us genuine feedback. We may have different tastes but we all believe in the idea of being together as a team. Since we aspire to be associated with the big screen, we push our limits and for that to happen in a good way, we realise that it is necessary to stay together as a team,” says city-based Appu Bhattathiri, who has edited over 50 short films, directed the short Candle Camera and is currently working on Kunjiramayanam , the debut film of Basil Joseph, one of the founding members of Little Masters.
Many of the short films have established actors. “You can call it an attempt to reach out to a wider audience. Short films have still not got their space. Only a minority has access to internet where the short films are posted. So the presence of established names give that much-needed push for a product among this minority,” says Aaryan, whose Burn My Body has gone viral on the net. He has acted in Pranayam and Tournament , and is planning his first feature film.
The youngsters are also buoyed by the fact their works are appreciated and encouraged by the young crop of filmmakers such as Vineeth Sreenivasan and Alphonse Putharen. For updates log on to https://www.facebook.com/LittleMastersXI
Short takes
* Actor Ravindran was the first brand ambassador of Little Masters. Now Saiju Kurup is their ambassador.
* Some Little Masters who have joined/are joining the big league: Basil Joseph (director, Kunjiramayanam ), Ansal Aboobackar (editor), Ganesh Raj (assistant director of Thira and Thattathin Marayathu ), Rohith V.S. (direction and story of Adventures of Omanakuttan ), Livingston Mathew (editor of Adventures of Omanakuttan ), Vishnu Sarma (cinematographer of Escape from Uganda , Kunjiramayanam and Thattathin Marayath [Tamil])…
* Artistes who’ve acted in short films include Aparna Nair (Burn My Body, Oru Kuttichodyam), Nadhirshah (Burn My Body) , Aju Varghese (A Sweet Curse, Oru Thundu Padam, Oru Kuttichodyam and Unnimoolam) , Sunny Wayne (Candle Camera) and Vinod Kovoor (Athe Karanathal).
