KOCHI:
Observing that makers of short films benefit from the greater freedom and dynamism afforded by the format, renowned director Shaji N. Karun said that the relative lack of constraints compared to feature-length works made it ideal for technical and aesthetical experimentation.
“As a feat
ure filmmaker, I am constantly anxious about finances and time but such concerns need not apply, or are not as pressing, to those making short films. They can be more fearless, dynamic and thoughtful,” the National Award-winning filmmaker said.
He was speaking at the inauguration of the specially curated film package, titled ‘Berlinale Spotlight’, at the Pavilion in Cabral Yard, Fort Kochi on Friday.
The three-day package, part of the Kochi Biennale Foundation’s ‘Artists’ Cinema’ programme, includes six works screened at the 67th edition of the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) last month.
Acknowledging the Berlinale’s effort to identify and capture the pulse of contemporary short film makers, Karun said, “Art can be redefined in terms of time that can be contained in one’s mind. Through short films, in particular, we could be able to achieve even our most abstract thoughts and memories in much more stronger and matured forms.”
“A conception of time is the most important tool to express oneself in artistic terms. This is very important as a film maker. I have always believed that time cannot be conceived if it is under one second, but video art and visual media has developed such an advanced conceptualisation of time that it can express even a half-second more powerfully than other thoughts,” he added.
The inauguration was attended by KBF President Bose Krishnamachari, KBF Secretary Riyas Komu, Goethe-Zentrum Trivandrum Director Syed Ibrahim and Berlin-based film scholar Ulrich Ziemons, who curated the cinema package that features 20 films screened in the ‘Berlinale Shorts’ and ‘Forum Expanded’ categories over the past three years.
Ziemons, a co-curator of Forum Expanded, said that the films being screened in the package were made by rtists who are caught in the divide between the arts and cinema worlds.
“Each film is distinct in style, format and aesthetics, but they all have one thing in common. All examine their own filmmaking process, particularly in relation to the performance and representation of political and social struggles,” Ziemons said.
Promising to facilitate more events to promote cultural exchange between Kerala and Germany, Ibrahim said, “Short films have been a part of the Berlinale since 1993. Since 2005, the festival organisers have constituted an international jury to evaluate short films from all over the world and have accorded equal importance to short films from outside of Germany.”
After the inaugural function, five films were screened on Friday beginning with the Indonesian film Lembusura (2014) by Wregas Bhanuteja, a Berlinale Short from the 65th Berlinale in 2015. The package will run till Sunday, March 12.
