CHENNAI: With
themes ranging
from
caste and culture
, the cries of
disgruntled Maruti workers
to the lives of
literary giants
, the fifth Chennai
Short Film
and Documentary festival promises to showcase films that get straight to the point and hit straight at the heart.
While the documentary 'Iyakkunar Sigaram K Balachander' on the late filmmaker by Manohar Singh Bisht was screened on Friday as the curtain raiser for the festival, it is Malayali editor-director Renjit Kuzhur's 77-minute documentary '18 Feet' that will play as the inaugural film on February 13.
The documentary, about Karinthalakkoottam, an indigenous band of Dalits in a village in Kerala, working hard at keeping their musical culture alive, won its maker Ranjith several awards at other festivals including the Mumbai International
Film Festival
in 2016. "The title is symbolic of the distance that Dalits were to keep from people of the upper caste," says Ranjith, adding that the band is from his village, and one of its founders, a bus conductor named PR Ramesh, a good friend of his. "They don't earn from their music, they do it to keep the art alive. They all work sundry other jobs to make a living," he adds.
"We have films from many countries and ranging across themes," says film-maker Amudhan RP of Marupakkam, the organisers of the festival, adding that entry is free and 50 films will be screened over seven days across five venues from 10 am to 8 pm, February 13-19.
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