Five minutes to reform

Filmmakers Vijay Anand TR and Arun Kanth from Coimbatore who took part in the ‘YES! I am the change’ social filmmaking challenge

August 20, 2014 05:56 pm | Updated April 20, 2016 10:00 pm IST - Coimbatore

Armour

Vijay Anand TR was up at 6 a.m. on Independence Day. It was a moment he had been waiting for. That was when the topic for the ‘YES! I am the change’ 101-hour national social filmmaking challenge would drop into his mail box. He had to choose between two — animal care or women’s safety. Since he’d just made the moving Gnamali about stray dogs and their caregiver, Anand opted to make Armour — a short film about women’s safety.

A team of five people sat together and drafted a storyline that did not toe the traditional line. Instead, it showed how women could deal with issues in their own way. The film follows a non-linear format. It was shot within 24 hours, has a cast drawn from family and friends and an original score by Allen Sebastian.

Shots show a child furiously blowing a whistle given by her mother for use when she feels threatened; a middle aged lady voluntarily hands over her chain to chain-snatchers (because it is artificial, not gold!); a brother advises his sister to maintain her privacy on social media; and an old lady makes good use of a calling bell that alerts her neighbours to the presence of an intruder. “Two of them — the bell and the whistle — are ideas that can be implemented in our daily lives,” says Vijay. Chain snatching was tackled as there is an increasing number of such incidents in town, and social media was the other issue as everyone is indiscriminately posting information on it these days.

Taking part in the contest is a huge opportunity, says Vijay. “It offers national recognition, the chance to screen your film in various film festivals… it’s a great platform.”

Check out Armour on >www.youtube.com/s16news

The Human Animal

Arun Kanth chose animal care and decided to make a movie that made people laugh and think.

The independent filmmaker was caught up with previous projects and shot The Human Animal, his debut film, in just six hours, using live sound. He composed the background score too. The film debunks myths and superstitions about animals and speaks of the need to be considerate to animals throughout the year. “The film was born out of an argument with a friend a year ago about bursting crackers. It continued as a discussion on my Facebook page. I hate how we humans have taken on the mantle of deciding how each species must live,” says Arun.

Watch The Human Animal on >www.youtube.com/user/kanthisback

What shorts do

This is the second edition of >YES! I am the change challenge . It is being conducted by YES foundation, the social development arm of YES Bank. It aims to inspire and empower youth to make five-minute-long social films. The top films will be selected by a jury comprising directors Vikramaditya Motwane and Shoojit Sarkar, producers Guneet Monga and Pritish Nandy, National Film Development Corporation managing director Nina Lath, ad filmmaker Kailash Surendranath and MICA president and director Nagesh Rao. The winners will get a total grant of Rs. 25 lakh to make a film on a social issue. The best films will be screened across national and international platforms. From September 1 to October 2, 2014, participants will get an online platform to showcase their film and raise funds for a Not-for-Profit (NGO) of their choice.

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