“Itni Shiddat se maine tujhe paane ki koshish ki hai; ki har zarre ne mujhe tumse milane ki saajish ki hain”.

(re-posted with permission from Vipin Kandwal)
It was drizzling Sunday evening of July 2008 with a short film maker who recently owing to his diligence proved that he stands tallest amongst all around him. Last April, he marvelously brought to life his long cherished dream of organizing largest international short film festival of India. With infusion of life into his dream, the walled city of Ahmedabad witnessed the rising of a new name “Shiladitya Bora”. I was with him to chit chat with him on what next?

He was real warm in greeting and with all formal hospitality stuff settled on sofa across the table standing between him and me. Aviator fame ‘Howard Hughes’ peeping from a poster behind him, his room was fragrant with his passion for celluloid and every element inside testified his zeal of making a mark in film industry. With half finished cigarette butt held delicately dangling between his fingers, Shiladitya, told about what plan he has for future. He was still modest and had no sign of air of achievement. It was now he talked about ‘Zindagi 24 frames per second (Z24FPS)’, his maiden full length feature film. Believe it or not, as the conversation progressed, quite casually and friendly, I breathed, ate snacks, drank beverage, heard him and saw around but what Shiladitya did, I observed was, sipped, breathed, drank, saw, felt, ate and heard only and only his plan on how he will bring to life ‘Z24FPS’ exactly replicating his imagery of the story and creative aspirations. 

I was increasingly curious to understand why he is so passionate about just another project. Is it because Z24FPS is the first project, which can make or break his fortune in Bollywood? May be it because failure of the project financially will drag him several years behind and discourage him to take another leap? Or is it because he has dropped out of college placements which necessitates requirement of backup support? Can it be due to just another step to look like a passionate producer? I was really struggling to construe what Z24FPS really means.

My struggle was brought to halt soon when I realized that irrespective what Z24FPS finally comes out to look like, but Shiladitya wishes to create a masterpiece of art which shall frame by frame be enjoyed by audience irrespective of geographies, histories and language they come from. Z24FPS, Bollywood or Hollywood are not tantalizing terms for him. Due respect to all existent and non existent masters of film industry, he has a desire of being like nobody but himself. His style and persona like any individual is unique and if reflected in his movie shall essentially make Z24FPS more than a film. Keeping cost, revenue, star cast etc aside Z24FPS anything less than a grandeur is not acceptable to him. I was eager to meet the man after I recently joined the Z24FPS community on two of the social networking websites and read about him. About Z24FPS, if I divulge details it would be like stealing from audience a fun of enjoying a real treat, hence, I shall restraint myself from doing it, however, the audience agape I believe, will appreciate international treatment of the film, rich in content and full of finesse. Right from the first public imagery available on Orkut/Facebook, Shiladitya was personally involved in every small aspect of creative process and looks continuously doing so until Mr. perfectionist finds absolute alignment of his visualization and the engineered end product. When asked how he has managed to achieve all that he has, he shyly and modestly quoted “Itni shiddat se maine tujhe pane ki koshish ki hai, ki har zarre ne mujhe tumse milane ki saazish ki hai”

(re-posted with permission from Vipin Kandwal )

You owe it 2 your dreams.

Dreaming is a dangerous thing…more so when done with your eyeballs showing. It alters the norms, makes you think beyond logic (often uses a different kind of logic), overlook the sane voices and sides with the one that tugs at your heartstrings.  Ours isn’t a very different story.

Born out of a 4pm class banter, FulMarxx journey wasn’t all hunky dory. Shiladitya knew it wont be easy…the very concept of short films seemed unfeasible to many ..”too futuristic, not suitable  for Indian viewing sensibilities”… Some said.

The world is often unkind to new talents, new creations…the fear is not of the dark, but of the unseen. But dreams are crazy things; they cling onto you as if they are the only way forward; the only right path… and FulMarxx was never born to conform anyway…was it? 
7 months of toiling day-n-night, running from a sponsor to the other and putting all the acts together… on 26^th of April 2008 FulMarxx was a reality… bigger and grander than what the founders had ever imagined. Over two days, 43 entries out of a total submission of 189 shorts were screened and the quality of the films screened spoke volumes of the fest’s success. FulMarxx Shorts Fest is now India’s biggest short film festival, with a resounding international participation… and that, in the very first year of its inception…with renowned Bollywood personalities like Tanuja Chandra, Onir and Makrand Deshpande on the jury…media splashed the papers with FulMarxx bytes. When pan India visibility was unthinkable, participation from 18 countries is what it ended with!!

It was a bold start (at least we thought it was!) and a brilliant one too. India is a country in transition…for every handful of masala flicks we had a ” Iqbal”, a “Bhejafry”,” Aamir” and a “Tare zameen par”… all path breaking films in their own right. Even though the Bollywood potboilers continue to rule the roost the kafka-esque thriller NO SMOKING became hot topic for coffee time conversations.

FulMaxx is an offshoot of such changing trends. It realizes that a story doesn’t have to dwell on its audience for a whole 180 minutes to be told.  In times when more and more people desist from taking out 3 and a half hours for a flick, FulMarxx comes as a breath of fresh air. In its quest to encourage shorter formats of story telling, FulMarxx also raised a few pertinent questions…what makes a story worth telling, are there any standards? What makes it good or bad? And who decides?

As we move into the second edition of FulMarxx, here is hope that the insanity continues and a few more walls be shattered, in the discovery and promotion of the New. India will see the world with new eyes, eyes we never knew we had…and a dream lives on

See ya at the movies

FulMarxx Shorts Fest VER 2.0: 25th, 26th & 27th APRIL 2009


Submission starts 1st OCTOBER 2008

Cheers
Sherwan Ahsan


FulMarxx Shorts Fest : India’s Largest Short Film Festival

“Abhi nahin to Kabhie nahin”

A mechanical engineering graduate by qualification, a software engineer by profession, sadly enough I never felt at home at any of these places. My heart dwelt in the works of Satyajit Ray, my feet moved at the beat of Bollywood dance numbers, and my eyes searched for the cinematic expertise of Gurudutt’s camera in whatever I perceived. “Life mein ek milestone film banana mangta hai” I would say to myself. But I could never make a move beyond that thought. I could never clear the mental blockage set in my mind. What I could just do is shoot the videos for outings, picnics, celebrations and farewells. But when it came to professional work, my hands would tremble, my confidence would go down and I would say to myself “Phir Kabhie”.

But what do I see here!!! As I check the website and I read this blog, I get a feeling that this is the opportunity I waited for, all my life. If I don’t do it now, I would be losing a chance of the lifetime. This is the time to leave all inhibitions, assemble all your gadgets, put on your creative shoes, and set it rolling. This is the time to say “Abhi nahin to Kabhie nahin”. What am I waiting for …….. I just got to get a good script, get my crew and say

Roll Camera and Action!!!

Neha,Prospective Filmmaker and a Software Engineer with Infosys Technologies ,Pune

A Prelude.

The FulMarxx Shorts Fest is devoted to bringing together diverse film making talents in India and provide them with a springboard to fame and success, through a national event which would soon become a part of a filmmaker’s calendar of events. In this venture to promote and encourage our country’s independent cinema, we have chosen to embrace short movies.

We refuse to be yet another event on the festival circuit. Our purpose is to be a keystone in the empowerment of this country’s diverse talent and aspirations. We believe cinema has more power to shape emotions and passions than politicians, corporations or the state.

Apart from providing an overdue platform for the makers of short film of the country, the festival shall make every effort to evolve Ahmedabad as the independent film capital of India, drawing filmmakers from across the country and from various demographics, thus contributing to the vibrant cultural renaissance of the city.

Links

FulMarxx Shorts Fest ”Official” Website

FulMarxx Shorts Fest’s Orkut profile

Blog Promotion

Visit FulMarxx Shorts Fest