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Student creativity came to the fore at Shashman, the documentary and fable fest
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The first thing one noticed on entering the IMA Hall was the atmosphere charged with creative energy. Only natural, considering it was the venue for Shashman, the one minute documentary and fable contest organised by college students and presented by YMCA, Coimbatore.
In memoriam
The documentary contest was aimed at identifying talented filmmakers, and was held in memory of Shashi Bhushan Gopal, a student of Bishop Appasamy College, who died in an accident last year.
The theme was the five elements — earth, water, fire, air and sky. Twenty-one teams from various colleges took part. The judges were the multi-faceted Abishek Shankar of Kolangal fame, and Subash Kavi, producer, Jaya TV.
For many of the participants, this was their first attempt at filmmaking, but the screenings barely showed their inexperience.
Each fable or documentary followed a unique line of thought and carried succinct messages.
Prajanand, student of C.S.I Bishop Appasamy CAS, and member of ‘Brilliant Fools’ that came first in the documentary contest (theme: fire) and won the ‘Best Team Name’ Award, said, “This was a new experience. We did the documentary just for our friend Shashi.”
As for the prize money (Rs. 6,000), Prajanand wanted to buy a copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. And, not without reason. The last time around, when his friends picked up a pirated edition of a Harry Potter book, Shashi c
ensured them, and asked them to buy only originals.
The second place (Rs. 4,000) went to Arul Selvan. His documentary on water featured the elements of water that makes us happy and sad. He was appreciated by the judges for his concept.
The third place (Rs. 2,000) went to ‘Ads’ from Karunya Institute of Technology. Their documentary on water compared the sound made by crystal clear to a baby’s gurgle, and the sound of polluted water to the choked cry of an infant.
Entertaining
The documentaries were entertaining, and the fables even more so. The first place in fables (Rs. 6,000) went to ‘Reformers’ from Karunya, who spoke about water and its misuse.
Said team member, Dominic: “This is our maiden attempt and is a great encouragement.”
They aspire to open an advertising agency in the future.
The second place (Rs. 4,000) went to ‘Sparkle’, again from the same college. They too had water as theme and their presentation spoke of how the message of water conservation should be entrenched deeply in people’s minds.
The third place (Rs. 2,000) went to team ‘Enlightening Youth’ for their beautiful narration of all five elements. Additional prizes were given for ‘Best Sound’ (‘Yes Yes’), Best Editing (‘O2’) and Best Camera (Blaze’s Ebin Xavier for his natural lighting). Young Akshaya bagged the Best Actor award.
The organisers, backed by the YMCA, worked on the event for more than a month, and designed the logo, certificates and passes. Rajan, a friend of Shashi, did a small documentary on him.
Heartening response
There were bits of other entertainment in between the screening, such as mimicry, balancing act and music. Thanks to the response the event generated, the organisers now plan to organise more such events.
ANUSHA R.
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