SHORTS-’24: 17 years of thought-provoking celluloid fanfare in Jamshedpur

Mail News Service

Jamshedpur, Nov 24: The evenings of November 23 and 24 saw a jam-packed Centre for Excellence (CFE) auditorium almost bursting at the seams, greeting the 17^th edition of ‘SHORTS’ – a short film festival – that has been gathering fans through the years thereby becoming one of the most looked-forward-to annual events in the cultural and sports capital of Jharkhand. In fact, ‘SHORTS’ is the longest running short film festival in Jamshedpur and the state.

To make things more comfortable for buffs of this genre of films, the last few years have seen to the setting up of a special screen in the foyer of the auditorium. The seats here too were occupied to capacity in spite of the initial winter chill which the audience did not seem to be aware of. However, the tea at the break was a sipping delight.

Twenty films spread over the two days added to the delight of the audience who came to see good, creative and meaningful cinema. Each movie probed the inner-most recesses of the mind with the makers prodding the audience to think over what was narrated on celluloid long after the festival was over. Each narrative was powerfully expressed in the briefest time spanning between two and 27 minutes.

The appreciation for each movie could be gauged with the resounding applause heard in the foyer and auditorium. Each film was a pick of the basket and the selection panel must have faced trying times while selecting the best from the best. Each of the 20 selected films froze otherwise unobtrusive moments of regular and irregular living and passing observations, in a manner so as to rebound in fleeting memory.

It is impossible to pluck out flowers from a bouquet of exquisite presentations. All aspects of filmmaking were brilliantly inlaid in each film. The lucidity of the narratives gave the impression of soothingly flowing mountain streams.

Communicating a piece of the mind is story telling. One can speak it out, write, paint, enact on stage or celluloid – it is the manner in which it is done that measures the success or otherwise of the entire exercise. The 20 representations in this form of story narrative in the 17^th venture of ‘SHORTS’ were examples of brilliance in the art of even the most intricate story telling. The only difference that can be emphasized here is that these films were stories narrated differently albeit very effectively. Each film had an intrinsic value of knocking on the heart and mind.

Kudos to the Society for the Promotion of Professional Excellence (SPPE) Tata Steel and Take5 Communications of Kolkata for the 17 years of an exciting ride through time that has given shape to many a dream on a platform that has ensured the birth, growth and maturity of budding filmmakers, many among whom have been leaving their marks in tinsel towns across the country. Film lovers have their fingers crossed for the 18^th version of ‘SHORTS’ and the ones to follow.