Kerala - Kochi   

Forays into the wonders of filmdom

Staff Reporter

KOCHI: Children, these days, are searching for new media for their artistic expressions. And one library in the district is helping them in this, reminding one of the glorious days of library movement in the State.

The children's library attached to the V.N. Kesava Pillai memorial library at Valayanchirangara has completed a 30-minute tele-film. The best part of this project was that the members of the children's library did all the pre-production work. They prepared the story line, wrote the script and shot the film. The film Mazhathullikal (Raindrops) was completed in June this year. "We have been conducting information workshops for members and one session was on producing telefilms. The children were inspired by this," said Krishnankutty, assistant librarian.

The film was shot in three days after a core group of artistes and technical hands were selected from the members.

The 63-year-old library has a membership of 750-odd children, including students from schools in the neighbourhood like the Valayanchirangara Higher Secondary School.

"C Class membership is free for all students up to the 10th Standard," said G. Sasidharan, secretary of the library. "The children have formed a committee to plan their activities. Office-bearers of the library will be present at committee meetings, but decisions are taken by the children themselves."

The film has a simple storyline. It is about two students — one from a poor family and one from an affluent family. The former is expelled from the school following a misunderstanding that she stole money from the purse of the second girl. The latter, who is new to the village, finally learns that the protagonist is innocent. She too leaves behind the hangover of urban life and join the pristine world of the village.

The film was screened at the DeeCee Books on July 29, as part of Kid's Corner activities. "These activities used to be held on every Saturdays. The frequency has been brought down to two Saturdays in every month," said Jaison P. Mathews, manager of DeeCee Books.

The interaction with filmmakers after the screening also evoked good response.

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