The star: ARJUNN DUTTA, an ex-student of Assembly of God Church School who majored in sociology from Maulana Azad College before completing his masters from Presidency University in 2011. The 31-year-old is now a full-time filmmaker and scriptwriter.

Claim to fame: Arjunn’s 33-minute film, The 6th Element, was selected for the Short Film Corner, Court Metrage, at Cannes 2017. The film also won the Best Cinematographer Jury Award at the Mumbai Shorts International Film Festival and the Netpac Jury Nomination at the International Short & Independent Film Festival (ISIFF), Dhaka, among others.

The film: Shot at the Belgachhia Rajbari in north Calcutta, The 6th Element is a poignant tale of two women, centred around the themes of companionship, friendship, attachment and, above all, liberation. The film stars Tollywood actress Debjani Chatterjee as Mrinalini, a 40-something childless widow and the sole owner of a huge ancestral house, and German theatre actress Verity Danbold as Catherine, a member of the LGBT community. “I wanted my leads to be classy as well as intellectual and the two actresses did an incredible job,” said Arjunn, for whom Rituparno Ghosh’s films have been like textbooks.

Starting point: His first film, Maid in Crisis, dealt with the crisis of domestic helps in upper middle-class families. “I believe in creative ways of visualising and presenting issues plaguing our society,” he said.

The journey: The 6th Element is Arjunn’s second short film. “I am happy the film has made it to Cannes. It is every filmmaker’s dream,” said Arjunn, who has also written the story and screenplay for the film.

Turning point: This Presidency boy has always had a thing for films. “I was bitten by the filmi keeda. As a student of sociology, I have been a keen observer of my social surroundings, which reflects in my films,” he said.

Beyond films: Apart from watching films of every genre, Arjunn, a foodie, loves cooking and baking.

On the agenda: Are feature films. “The first film that I have in mind would be festival-oriented and based on a contemporary topic. The second one will be a light-hearted comedy,” he said. Producers, knock, knock.

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The star: ARNAB CHATTERJEE, a Class XII student of La Martiniere for Boys, and a filmmaker by passion.

Claim to fame: Vertex Duo, a short film directed by the 17-year-old and his friends Rohan Basu, Srijan Chakrabarty, Rohin Mukherjee and Tridib Mitra — all Martinians — won the Best Director International Junior (U-25) and Best Editor Junior (U-25) awards at the Arizona International Film Festival of Chandler in January. The film was also screened at the Texas International Film Festival and Wendy’s Awards in Chicago last year.

The film: The 23-minute film, made two years ago, is the story of a failed singer and an incompetent clerk, played by Arnab’s friends Rohan Basu and Srijan Chakrabarty, who audition for a stage show and perform together. “Thrillers always fascinated me. I have been greatly influenced by Alfred Hitchcock, Edgar Allan Poe, Agatha Christie, and Satyajit Ray’s short stories. Vertex Duo made me realise that simple life stories can appeal to viewers,” said Arnab.

Starting point: Arnab was in Class III when he got his hands on a Nikon point-and-shoot camera and went shutter-happy. At a family get-together, he decided to shoot videos instead of photographs and that’s how it all began. “I laid the videos on Windows Movie Maker and the idea of writing a script for the visuals struck me. I formed a group with my friends and together we made a film,” said Arnab.

The journey: Even though Arnab loved playing cricket, nothing fascinated him more than movies. In his early films, best buddy Adnan was the constant actor. Soon, he managed to convince his teachers to be part of the cast too. Kamal Dutta and Quentin Pope, both teachers at LMB, have acted in Vertex Duo. “The teachers became best friends on my film sets. They are always the most dedicated ones, giving their 200 per cent,” Arnab said.

Turning point: Forming his own banner ACJee Productions in 2013. The inspiration for the name came in a physics class in Class VII. “My physics teacher had called out my name as “A…C…jee” as it appeared on my drenched lab coat. That stuck on.”

The balancing act: Juggling studies and filmmaking comes naturally to Arnab. “It depends on how you are going about it. It isn’t difficult if the films are made on a small scale and with minimal technical involvement.”

Beyond films: “I love to write and travel. I am also a hard-core SRK fan but at the same time influenced by Akira Kurosawa, Roman Polanski, Federico Fellini and Satyajit Ray.”

Coming soon: Arnab’s next is a short film titled Unsaid, which is in post-production.

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The star: RAHUL ROYE, a former student of BE College Model School, Shibpur, who graduated in English. The 24-year-old is now a full-time filmmaker.

Claim to fame: Rahul’s 23-minute film, Poesy and Peace, was selected for the Short Film Corner at Cannes 2017.

The film: With a small cast of seven, Poesy and Peace is about a poet who seeks to be an absurdist. Set in the backdrop of war, the film tracks the journey of poetry to different continents as they prepare for war. “This surreal film has a theatrical setting, more like a morality play. The four protagonists — Poet, Poem, Memory and Imagination —  do not speak but we see them in sync with the voiceover,” said Rahul, whose all-time favourite film is The Red Balloon by Albert Lamorisse.

The journey: Poesy and Peace is Rahul’s first independent film, completed in a month. “Filmmaking is my forte. I believe that if I have to be in the realm of arts, then it has to be films because it is a cluster of art forms and on its vast canvas I can play with my creativity,” said Rahul, who self-funded his film when he couldn’t find a financier.
Starting point: Rahul always wanted to be a writer and contributed regularly to school magazines, besides writing the draft for his school plays.

Turning point: Being picked up by Cannes. “I just couldn’t believe that my first independent short film had made it to such a big platform. We did not aim for anything when we were making the film and sent it to Cannes with no expectations,” he said.

Beyond films: He writes poetry.

On the agenda: Is an adaptation of Tagore’s Guptadhan and also Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot.