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Hum Panchhi Ek Dal Ke. No, not the 1957 film or the 2006 one. It is a short film made this year. Just 9 minutes long, dialogue less, in colour & B&W. Directed by Manoj Srivastava, who is known more in his avatar of a Deputy Director with the Directorate of Film Festivals of Government of India in Delhi, it was one of the Indian films that were entered in the Short Film Corner section of the Cannes Film Festival this year. It was the only Indian film in the shortlist of 14 that were in the competition within the segment. The Short Film Corner section was started five years ago, to encourage filmmakers to create interesting work, and the buzz is that it could in the near future be hived off as a completely separate stand-alone festival. The prize money of Euro 10,000 and an offer from Fonds Sud to produce the next documentary went to a filmmaker from Morocco. I spoke with Manoj a couple of days ago, to know about his film. Here’s what he shared with me:

The idea: It’s an experimental film. The idea came to me one day, when I was walking to office from home. See, I have been coming to my office at Siri Fort Complex, which is about 2 km from my house, travelling in an AC shell, which is my car. As a result, I was cut off from the sounds, people, smell, heat and dust of the outside world. That day, as I started walking, I found a Rs ten note. As I walked, I realized this note didn’t have much value to me, but for somebody it could have been a day’s or even two day’s meal. As I walked down further, I saw near a traffic light some children fighting over some things which we don’t even value - as opposed to my children, who keep fighting with my wife for giving them just a Rs 50 note. So, possibly I wanted to show to my sons first through a film, that there is a world that comprises have nots. It is actually a blessing that they have been born like this – there is a huge difference between being born like this or like that.

The making of the film: I started shooting the film myself with a mini DV camera borrowed from a friend. Basically, the entire film was shot in a day from sunrise to moonrise, focusing on two sets of children - rich and poor. There is nothing special in the film. As the day breaks, the two sets of children get up, brush their teeth, take bath, get ready for the day. The only difference is in how they do things. One set is in colour, the other in black and white, one set has music the other hollow sounds. I tried to experiment with images and sounds. The story moves as the nature’s mood changes. The only commonality is the sun and the moon. In the end, both rich and poor boys are looking at the moon. I tried to portray the contrast in lifestyles in one city between two sets of boys. I wanted to keep it very compact. It was possible to prolong the film, but I thought the impact would go, because it’s very obvious in the first one or two minutes of the film what it is about. So, there is no point in pushing it again and again. Intentionally, I don’t want to make feature films because mentally I am not into it.

The entry in the Short Film Corner section of Cannes: I had sent a rough cut of the film to the festival, and they wrote back saying they don’t accept rough cuts and it can be sent to the Short Film Corner. When I sent the completed film’s DVD, it got selected to the competition section of 14 films in the section. The prize money was 10,000 euros and a deal to produce the next documentary by Fonds Sud. Finally a Moroccan film won. But some foreign buyers showed interest in all the competition films, so hopefully something will come up for my film too. My strong belief is that festivals look for something that is forward looking, so if you go beyond the limits, taking the cinematic art forward in terms of imagery, sound, content, etc., festivals get interested. Mine is a very, very simple film, and I have not shown something new. But maybe because of the parallel cutting or the sound, maybe the silence… that’s my guess. The film has already been selected for Brisbane, and I have sent it to Sao Paulo. There are about 10-12 film festivals which have shown interest in the entire competition package.

The budget: The total cost of making this film was somewhere around Rs 15,000. I didn’t have to hire a camera, as it was available with a friend with me. I shot the film myself partly. For some scenes, I took professional help. Editing of course took about Rs 8,000. Basically, such a film can be made by around Rs 20,000 if you know how much to shoot and what to shoot.

Sound design and colour scheme of the film: It was only natural to use black & white for the street children and colour for the more fortunate ones. I used hollow sounds for the street children and music for the better off kids. My son, aged 13, is very conscious of the food he takes, because he is a sportsman. As against that, one of the boys I interviewed, also 13, was taking drug for the past six years. So that was something that shook me. So, I wanted to contrast the two boys against each other – two boys, same age, different concerns, different outlooks and different ambitions – the boy on the street did not have any ambition, he said I want to become anything when I grow up, whereas my son says he wants to become a tennis player like Rafael Nadal. Here’s a boy who does not know what life has to offer, how long he will live, he might end up in either side of law. This is a problem we all know exists, but we tend to ignore these contrasts in life. We are aware but we don’t realise that actually Rs two can purchase a meal on the streets of Delhi, and we keep throwing one or two rupees here and there.

Info on Short Film Corner section, 2008 (from www.shortfilmcorner.com) :

From May 14th to May 24th 2008, the Festival de Cannes will present the 5th edition of the Short Film Corner, where you will discover an array of activities designed to help you develop your film projects. If you wish to propel yourself into the world of feature films, the Short Film Corner ensures you the visibility you need.

A meeting place for professionals from all over the world:Directors, producers, buyers and festival programmers attending the Short Film Corner in quest of rare gems. …Daily round-tables, workshops, happy hours… all aimed at providing filmmakers with concrete tools and keys to develop their activity, optimize their professional skills and enrich their contacts… The Short Film Corner proposes films from all over the world, most previously unseen, as well as the films included in the Official Competition, the Cinéfondation, the Director’s Fortnight and Critic’s Week.

Your film viewable during the whole festival:40 viewing booths in which all the registered shorts are viewable on demand on interactive screens during the whole event. On the spot, you will receive a daily listing of everyone who has watched your film….3 mini screening rooms (3/6/9 seats - on-site reservation) are available for you to showcase your film to a small group of relevant professionals….your film will keep on being viewable online, via private and limited access, after the Short Film Corner….Your film referenced on www.shortfilmcorner.com and in the Short Film Corner’s catalogue….Short Film Corner adverts in the daily editions of Le Film Français and Cannes Market News…Access to cinando.com, the largest film industry database.

Thematic programmes: Your film could be selected for a thematic program organized with one of our partners. It would then benefit from extra visibility and, for some of the programs, could be screened in one of the Marché du Film screening room. All the registered short films will be viewed by our partners and could be selected in one of the thematic programs.

Short Film Corner label: Each film registered at the Short Film Corner is allowed to use “Short Film Corner - Cannes 2008″ label. This distinction certifies the potential of the short film and its viewing by a wide audience of professionals during the Cannes Festival. The use of this label is strictly reserved to films registered at the Short film Corner.

Competitions: You can also take part in the competitions proposed by our partners, with the possibility of winning a prize.

There are more details in the website. I am sure many more films from PFC-ians (and non-PFC-ians too) could go there.