Un Deux Trois Quatre
France, 2013, 18 mins, HD, French
Direction, script Kartik Singh'; camera Gregory Rodriguez; editor Karen Cerutti; music Denis Volte; cast Philippe Ohrel, Azuki, Vincent Demoury, Aline Huber
Although Frank’s wife needs to be put in a home, he has a desperate plan to circumvent it, which will either cure her illness or leave him scarred.
Paris-based Kartik Singh intended to be a diplomat. While pursuing a B A in Economics and International Studies, Singh took up acting and film classes and enrolled at a cinema programme in Sorbonne. His first short film Saving Mom and Dad screened in over 100 festivals, winning over 16 awards. Un Deux Trios Quatre is his first foray in French cinema. He says, “Cannes is where audiences first discovered Pather Panchali. To be featured on the same stage is an immense privilege."
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Shifting Sands
India/UAE, 2013, 29 mins, HD, Konkani
Direction Sonia Filinto; camera Gautam Deva; editor Shibish K Chandran; music Brenton Alfonso; producer Sonia Filinto and Shaista Baig Productions
On the life of the fishing community in a popular tourist village in Goa, the film aims to give voice to community members, how they perceive themselves, their trade and the constantly changing life around them.
Dubai-based Sonia Filinto, with a Masters in Communication Studies from Pune University, has worked in Mumbai and Dubai in documentary production and non-fiction programming. Shifting Sands has been filmed in her home state, Goa. She wishes to tell stories of Goan people to the world. Sonia Filinto says, “My film tells the universal story of the uncertainty that the traditional fishing community is going through in Goa. What better place to showcase this story than at Cannes. I’m looking forward to it.”
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Karma Currency
India, 2013, 17 mins, HD, Malayalam
Direction, script, editor, camera Vinod Bharathan; music A J Michael; cast Vinay Forrt, Ahamed Shaheen, Rone David Raj
A sequel to the short Karma Code, this film sees two policemen confronting two rich kids who are driving without a licence. The senior officer lets them off on an easy bribe. The incidents that follow affect each one of them.
Vinod Bharathan, award-winning Indian filmmaker, is based in Copenhagen. His short Limbo, shot on an iPhone, won Best Film at Indie Fone Fest, USA. His earlier short Karma Code, made in India, screened at the Short Film Corner. He is working on his first feature film titled Karma Cartel. He says, “Although one can learn a lot from the Internet, being at Cannes gives you the real deal on how to prepare your project so as to target the global audience and monetize from it.”
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Sita
India/USA, 2012, 20 mins, HD, Hindi
Direction, script, sound, production Arpita Kumar; camera Premanand Bhagiratan; editor Rashi Bose, Arpita Kumar; music Neelamjit Dhillon; cast Garima Bhardwaj, Alexandra Morgan, Anita Sharma, Rita and Mairaa Jhanjee
When Sita rents her womb out to a Canadian couple, she opens a legal and ethical can of worms. With everything at stake, Sita makes a choice that is both disruptive and dignified.
India-born Arpita Kumar, now based in California, holds a MFA in Film/Video from California Institute of the Arts, MA in Comparative Literature from The University of Iowa, and a BA in Film/Literature from Hampshire College. Her short experimental narratives and documentaries have screened at many film festivals. She worked on the Oscar-nominated Sundance Audience Award documentary, The Invisible War and is one of Film Independent’s 2013 Project: Involve fellows for her film, Sita. She says, “Cannes Short Film Corner will be a great platform to showcase Sita to a global audience but also to raise seminal questions about subaltern rights, the female body, and reproductive technology.”
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A God of Sinners
India/UAE, 2012, 20 mins, HD, English
Direction, script Tagore Almeida; editor Raghu Naik; camera Arjun Sorte; music Rahul Bhatt; cast Akshay Mittal, Shashank Arora, Sandhaan Chowdhury, Salman Maqsood Khan; production The Uncultured Company.Cine Banana
Four lads on a Friday night. Time to meet women, time to get wasted. Then the world as we know it comes knocking on their door. Whatever happens, they must not let anyone in, because in no scriptures can it be said, that you and I have the right to turn the living into dead.
Dubai-based Tagore Almeida was born in Goa, India. His higher education covered Computer Studies and part-time filmmaking. He has written, directed and produced feature films and shorts that have been to festivals. A God of Sinners is his third film. He says, “Going to Cannes is the dream of any filmmaker, but representing India at Cannes and that too in the year when Cannes is celebrating 100 years of Indian Cinema is the biggest honour.”
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Dilli Dreams
Germany/India, 2012, 9 mins, Hindi
Direction, script, camera, editor, production Etienne Sievers; music Carlos Bica; cast Mohammed Faizal, Ram Bihari
An aging man living in hardship in the crowded bazaars of Old Delhi reflects on his childhood spent in the countryside and the incidents there that changed his life.
Berlin-based Etienne Sievers spent his formative years in Bangalore and Delhi before moving to Germany and Portugal. After deliberations about becoming a jazz musician, he chose to channel his passions into film. He studied film in Germany and England. His next film is about a boy, a buffalo and an old man living in a coastal region in India. He says, “With India being this year’s ‘guest country’, I am especially excited that my film is a part of the Festival De Cannes 2013.”
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Mae and Ash
USA, 2013, 20 mins, HD, English
Direction, script Shuchi Talati; editor Oliver Harwood; camera Jasper Granderath; cast Kelsey McNamee, Milo Cawthorne, Natasha Sims
A young couple navigating an open relationship face problems when Mae finds Ash's date in their apartment the morning after. An awkward ‘breakfast-for-three' follows, pushing Mae and Ash's relationship over the edge.
Mumbai-born Shuchi Talati is now based in Los Angeles. While studying direction at the American Film Institute, Talati won the Bridges-Larson Production award as well as the Women in Film Endowment. Earlier, in Mumbai, Talati worked in commercials and feature films and was the core team member of a media content start-up in India, Indusgeeks. She is getting ready to shoot her first feature Guttersnipes. Talati says, “Cannes has a history of recognizing Indian filmmakers who are pushing the envelope. Screening my film at the Cannes Court Métrage as for some of the most discerning filmgoers in the world, is a great honour."
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Faux Depart
UK/France, 2012, 9 mins, HD, Turkish language
Director Shekhar Bassi; script Shekhar Bassi, Shalinder Bassi; camera Mateusz Golebiewski; cast Umit Ulgen, Ali Zaidi, Yonah Odoom
A one-shot film on Fahim and Haashid, friends born of necessity. Neither speaks the other’s language as they prepare for a journey to England for a better life. Haashid unexpectedly invites his girlfriend Nana to join them, which halts the preparations.
London-based Shekhar Bassi is an award-winning screenwriter/filmmaker. His first short, The Fairy Who Stole Eyes, won Huston World Fest's Gold Remi for Best Short. On obtaining his Diploma in Filmmaking and Production from Raindance, London, he freelanced with film production companies like Blowfish Entertainment. Currently, he freelances with IB Film Ltd. He says, “Being part of Cannes is being part of a great world cinema and hoping that your work garners the attention of your esteemed peers."
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Clay
USA, 2012, 12 mins, HD, Bengali
Direction, script,editor, producer Sushma Khadepaun-Parmar; camera Bill White; music Amie Maciszewski; cast Meena Serendib, Roger Narayan
The film follows a woman through her loss, juxtaposed with images of the Indian God Ganesha (elephant-headed God) symbolizing detachment. It explores the understanding of life and death, of the form and the formless with the symbolism of Indian mythology as a backdrop.
Sushma Parmar, with a degree in Mass Communications from Mumbai, started her career as a production intern. Moving to the US in 2005, she graduated from the Director’s Programme at New York Film Academy, and started Cutting Chai Productions. Her last short film Sarathi was screened at film festivals across the world. She says, “It's an honour to be back at the Short Film Corner for a second time. Cannes is quite a humbling experience. When I meet the stalwarts at this festival, I realize that I have miles to go before I sleep.”
