Stills from films screened at the short film festival. Telegraph pictures

Bhubaneswar, Feb. 25: If you love films and have always wanted to make one, but basically balked at the thought of finding the moolah, there is some hope for you.

A short film festival that began this evening will give you a chance to be inspired by some top-notch films and also interact with short film-makers from across the country.

Short films are gaining in popularity all over the world and many of them are made on a shoestring budget. The International Short Film Festival that began in the city today aims at encouraging this genre of film-making.

The short film fest organised by MXReach and KIIT School of Film and Media Sciences, on at the KIIT Convention Centre, will showcase 37 films and also hold interactive sessions with the film-makers.

“Short film-makers from all over the country are here. Many of these films have been screened at international short film festivals across the world. Film lovers will get to know a lot about making short films during the interactive sessions,” said founder and director of the film festival, Jabanashwa Mishra.

Short films from Germany, Italy, USA and China will also be screened. The event was inaugurated this evening and the major attraction was the play When God Said Cheers that was staged by film and theatre personality Tom Alter and actor Cyrus Dastur.

The play, a comedy, was based on a man’s meeting with God in a pub, where they start discussing life. Both Tom, who played God, and Cyrus, who played the man, captivated the audience with their remarkable performances in a play that had just two characters.

“It was so different from the regular forms of theatre we usually see in the city. The most interesting was the script, which was based on serious issues but had comic punches,” said Swayam Tripathy, a viewer.

Films Mokshya, Pirates of the Gutter (German), Khara Karodpati and Kingdom of God were screened.

“The short films were interesting and, while I thought they would be like documentaries, each of the films had an intriguing script,” said Sushmita Patnaik, a viewer.

Film lovers will also get a chance to interact with Paresh Mokashi, director of Marathi film Harishchandrachi Factory, at the festival tomorrow. The film, which was the official nomination for Best Foreign Film at the Academy Awards a few years ago, will also be screened.

“Mokashi is a dynamic film-maker and his creative vibes will be loved by the viewers. He will be conducting a workshop on film-making,” Mishra said.

Among the 480 minutes of screening, films like Baiano (Italy), Main Zindagi Hoon, Ek Aur Banwaas, U Turn, Dwandva- The Duel and Indoor (Malayalam) will be screened.

The three-day festival continues till February 27.