Maximum City in minimum time at Mumbai film fest

Mumbai, Oct 22 (IANS) Movie buffs, who have gathered here from all over the world, got to see the city from the eyes of Mumbaikars when 25 short films were rolled out at the ongoing Mumbai Film Festival.

The films were screened in Dimensions Mumbai segment that provides a platform to young, talented and passionate local filmmakers under the age of 25 years.

From undergraduates to film students to aspiring directors -- the youngsters did an impressive job by bringing forth different facets of the city in less than five minutes with films made in Marathi, Hindi and English. Some even presented silent movies.

For some it was the first time, while for others it has become a routine to screen their films at the festival.

One film that caught the attention was silent movie "Kaarwaa", made by best buddies Aditya Sawant and Errol Marks.

"Kaarwaa" chronicles the journey of the illustrious city by showing all the joys and sorrows it has experienced since 1820.

It starts with black and white and then moves on to colour.

"Through the film we have shown the journey of Mumbai. It is a stop motion film. It took us more that 4,000 pictures to make it and everything else was done on the editing table," Marks told IANS.

With almost 70 television commercials to his credit, 25-year-old Marks has done small roles in films like "Luv Ka The End". He will next be seen in Neil Nitin Mukesh-starer "Shortcut Romeo" and plays John Abraham's best friend in "I, Me Aur Main".

But filmmaking is a passion that he can't ignore for the sake of acting, says Marks. His short film "Rasta" was screened at the festival in the same category last year.

His co-director Sawant was the assistant line producer for "Rock On!!!" and "Luck By Chance".

Dimensions Mumbai is the brain child of Jaya Bachchan, trustee of Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI), which organises the festival.

Some of the films screened in the category include "Harmony", "Dresswala", "Mumbai, A Long Live Local", "Aankhon Dekha Haal", "Bombay Kulfi", "Mumbai Geometry", "Mumbai Healing", "Hero", "Aayega Ek Sunday", "Dreams... Under Construction", "Tunes", "The Essence of Mumbai", "Aajoba", "Dreamweaver", "Aath Aana", "IF", "Local", "Do Rupaye Ka Pen", "Numbai", "Safar", "BSNL", "Maooli" and "Ek Artist Ki Maut".

The competition segment will be judged by an eminent panel comprising of Pune-based ace filmmaker Unmesh Kulkarni (jury president), actor Sanjay Suri, animator, filmmaker and theatre actress Gitanjali Rao and director Reema Kagti.

"Dimensions Mumbai" not only gives a platform to young directors but also encourages them to make good films. We got almost 200 entries out of which these were selected. I have to light a spark. If I can spark one fire every year that is a great achievement for both me and the festival," Srinivasan Narayanan, festival director, told IANS.