Three kids playing in a village stream suddenly become curious about its origins. While two of them have set ideas on the origins, with one of them claiming that it originates from the sea and the another positing the theory that it flows from a place where the rain never stops, the third one has a more open mind and wonders as to which of the theories to believe. The three of them soon set off upstream, along the twists and turns of the stream, towards its origins.
National Institute of Design graduate J. Balaram’s 12-minute animation film Oru Thudakkathinte Katha tells this story that has something in it to keep both the elders and children glued to their seats. If it is the young curious minds and the absolutely gorgeous recreation of a village stream and its surroundings that would attract the kids, it is the differences that crop up among them, and the way it points to larger contemporary issues that would be of interest to the grown-ups.
The animation package at the 13th International Documentary and Short Film Festival (IDSFFK) this year has a few such gems like this, which has in it something for everyone. In Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute-graduate Rishi Bhaumik’s Megha, a young girl’s fear of her elder relative is visualised as a disorienting nightmare. The film highlights the issue of abuses happening within the family, in which the victims are often not heard or believed.
In Pahal (An initiative), directors Avinash Medhe, Swarup Deb, and Anuj Kumar tell the story of three women from different backgrounds having a conversation with each other, while waiting to pitch their ideas at a start-up funding event. Each has had their own struggles and overcome the many obstacles that a woman with ambitions have to face, to reach where they are now.
Their diverse backgrounds provide ample opportunity for the animators to display their skills. The fact that there is a separate animation team for each of their backstories points at the kind of work involved behind the 12-minute movie.
