Stills from the films Aimway (top) and Image

To cut a long story short may have been an easy feat for Jeffrey Archer. But if the medium is film and time is as short as 15 minutes, even masters would have to key in a lot of thought into it. In short films a concept or a story has to be communicated within a much shorter timeframe.

A socio-cultural group, Adda, recently celebrated the 3rd Adda short film festival at Rajgarh Bihutoli in Guwahati recently. The festival proved to be a fascinating experience for onlookers.

A panel shortlisted 22 films of the 53 films that came to them for screening. Five other films were sent in from other states. The home productions presented a wide range, where everything from dramatic realism to thought-provoking conceptualisation were presented.

Films like Dadal’s Dream, Olop Morom Bahut Bedana and ABCD were in clearly narrative style, wherein the filmmakers directly communicated with the audience.

Yet again there were films like Aimway, Duporiya, Diaries, Image and Man at Work, which talked about common issues but were handled with great dexterity. The metaphorical elements in Debasish Bharadwaj’s Aimway comprehensively captures the activities of a young girl, who gets lured by the capitalist world, until one day she finds herself unable to cope.

Diaries by Suraj Duwarah aptly portrays the persuasive conduct of a typecast representative, whose life revolves around his scripted dialogues. The portrayal of an artiste disguised as a beggar in Jitul Sonowal’s Man at Work could not have been so convincing without the involvement of Moni Bhattacharjee. The way in which he internalised the role has raised the audience’s expectations from him. In Amardeep Gogoi’s Image, a subtle deftness was felt in the depiction of an intense realisation conveyed by the director. Some of the most impressive films showcased in the festival were Mumbai-based director Gitanjali Rao’s animated film Printed Rainbow and Avanish Upmanyu’s An Actor Prepares.

Gitanjali’s film centres around an old lady whose only company is her cat. Away from her gloomy existence, she weaves a fantasy world of her own through the pictures printed in her matchbox collection, where she and her cat roam around fancy-free. This film has also won the best short film award at the Cannes Film Festival, besides a host of others back home.

An Actor Prepares portrays a day in the life of a struggling artiste, who is part of the Mumbai film industry. Rajpal Yadav in the lead role beautifully captures the anxiety, desperation and hopes of an aspiring actor.

Wearing the Face by Joshie Joseph is a constructive documentation of the educated unemployed youth of Manipur who are compelled to work as rickshawpullers. The film portrays how in order to conceal their identity they mask their faces during the day.

Film festivals organised by Adda have played an important role in evolving short films as a popular medium of expression as well as entertainment. At a time when the Assamese film industry is passing through a lean phase, short films come as a great respite.