City girl's short film goes to Cannes

Apart from capturing memorable and best moments, what more can you do with a camcorder? Well, if you have the talent, you can make it to international film festivals and win prizes.

This is what G.Anahita from the city has done. She has completed her tenth standard recently and is yet to join her college. But making good use of her camcorder, she made a mark at the ongoing Cannes Film Festival with her video and emerged as the only winner from the country.

Film-lover

An avid film-lover, Anahita was always looking for opportunities to exhibit her talent and Firefox Flicks, a global video contest provided her the platform. She submitted four videos for the online contest.

A jury comprising Hollywood stars such as Edward Norton and others at the Cannes Film Festival picked her video that lasts less than a minute as the best in Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC) segment. While other segments were open to all, including established film-makers, BAVC was exclusively for teenagers, says Vineel Reddy Pindi, Mozilla Representative Council Member.

Apart from screening her video at the Cannes Film festival, she will be presented with cash prize or equipment worth 5,000 US dollars, he adds.

“My animated video was about how a browser helps one maintain privacy and avoid being tracked. It was actually text animated video and developed with simple software,” explains Anahita.

Entries were called from across the globe in February and May 1 was the last date for submission. But, Anahita took just one week to complete her videos.

15 short films

“I like making short films and advertisements. I have already made over 15 short films and sent a few to Cannes Film Festival earlier as well,” she says.

Dreams

The striking aspect is that she has not joined any film institute or underwent any formal training in filmmaking.

“I learnt it through trial and error method and followed expert tips on the internet. I am happy that my video was selected by experts at Cannes,” says Anahita, who dreams to become a film-maker.