22nd Madurai Film Festival 2020 : Indian Short Films

22nd Madurai International Documentary and Short Film Festival 2020
6-10 Dec; Online and physical

Indian short films

1) GANTABYA - THE DESTINATION

Dir: Sahin Aktar; 27.36 min; Bengali with English subtitles; India; 2020

Piyali and Ajay, a lower middle-class newly married couple from Kolkata is going to meet together after two months as Piyali was in her parents' home. Ajay, a rickshaw puller, in his mid-thirties is capable of buying either Piyali's favourite cuisine 'Biriyani' or condom. This placed Ajay in a mental dilemma what he should buy.

2) Pakheru (The One Who Flies)
Dir: Nazir Khan; 22 min; Bundeli, Hindi with Eng subtitles; India; 2019

An old man who works in a junkyard strugges with himself and the societyaround him to get a good night’s sleep.

3) CHAK CHAGE IMA
Dir : JENISH SALAM; 4.50 min; Manipuri with Eng subtitles; India; 2020

The storyline is based on the life hurdles faced by a poor mother and her 4 years old son during the ongoing lockdown period imposed due to covid-19 pandemic.

4) Pe (The Umbrella)
Dir : Rakesh Moirangthem; 8.49 min; Manipuri with Eng subtitles; India; 2019

An old and torn umbrella, but a protection for this poor father and son in the days of rain and heat. The next moment of the fearsome wind blew that very umbrella down to the river. The son filled with excitement whilst the father trying his best from the river back to get his jewel bck. Seeing the father, the son remembers all those days where that old and torn umbrella protected them from heat and the rain. What does he do?

5) Akam
Dir: Remya; 3.42 min; No dialogue; India; 2018

Kathakali is something Mathu has been hearing since childhood from his grandmother's tales and father's childhood adventures.He never been to any performance yet. One fine summer day, his mother finally takes him to temple for one such performance. But what awaits there is beyond one's comprehension.

6) Home (Ghar)
Dir : Souvik Roy Chowdhury; 10 min; Hindi with Eng subtitles; India; 2019

A woman waits for the return of her husband from work and grows increasingly apprehensive as she is consoled by the old landlord whom the couple look after. They are a migrant couple from Bihar living in Gujarat now and it’s a riot like situation outside, following the rape and murder of a 14 month old child in the neighborhood - and since the culprit was a Bihari the local goons are after everyone who came from that area.

7) Prashna ( Question)
Dir: Santosh Ram; 23.24 min; Marathi with Eng subtitles; India; 2019

Ganga and her Husband Rajkumar work as seasonal sugar cutting Labourers on contract basis. They have to migrate from place to place for the work leaving behind their Native Village.

Their only son Ganesh (Age 10 Years ) has to accompany them because nobody is there at home to take care of him . This is a problem for Ganesh’s educational progress as he is absent every year for Three Months . How Ganga , a Third Standard educated woman overcomes the problem of Ganesh’s Education as well as finds a way of acquiring knowledge for her own Progress .

8) Inner Self
Dir: Shree Raj; 11.17 min; Tamil with Eng subtitles; India; 2020

The film tells the story about a lonely living drawing artist and his other side of strange and mysterious life. Even though the story is about an artist, superficially, it discusses current world's socio racial conditions, especially about the inner self of Indians and their socio-racial approach.

9) Miangsho (The Meat)
Dir : Tathagata Ghosh; 19 min; Bengali with Eng subtitles; India; 2020 

Rizwan, a migrant worker has walked back all the way to his hometown from Delhi due to the nationwide lockdown as the corona virus hit India. Out of job and belonging from the religious minority, he feels cornered. His wife Fatima works as a domestic help to bring food to the plate. Due to strict measures from the police, Rizwan hides his religious identity and takes shelter for the day at Sahadev’s place, an upcoming Islamophobic politician. But things soon take a dark turn.

10) Kadachit
Dir : Suraj Shelar; 16.43 min; Marathi with Eng subtitles; India; 2019

The film features young married couple from the middle working class and their formal city life in which their love is slowly waning. Sudden circumstances bring two echoed life to certain symphony.

11) Stains

Dir : Rhea Mathews; 30 min; English, Malayalam, Hindi with Eng subtitles; India; 2019

Stains’ is a Short Fiction Film based on Manjula Padmanabhan’s short story of the same name.

The film revolves around a couple from diverse cultural backgrounds, who are spending a weekend with the man’s mother for Onam. During the visit, the woman starts menstruating and stains her bedsheets. Her boyfriend’s mother’s extreme reaction to the event, his failure to stand up for her and in turn expecting her to adjust, results in a fraught environment. This conflict builds through the course of the visit, as she examines her own relationship with her blood and pain; while simultaneously examining her romantic relationship.