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Photo: M. Periasamy

Film director Ram At Milestones’08

The first day of this four-day festival was the documentary competition. The themes were entertainment, information and education. Twelve teams from various colleges across Coimbatore participated.

The chief guest, film director Santhana Bharathi, said he was proud that more students had opted for the visual communication course and had learnt film making. Talking of advertising he said, “It’s even tougher than film making as you have to communicate a lot in less time.”

The documentary from PSG College spoke of the ill effects of gadgets like mobiles, internet and computers on the lives of the youth. Nehru College presented an educational documentary on music therapy. A documentary on the mentally disturbed destitute on the streets of our city was presented by a team from PSG CAS.

Three special prizes were given away: best theme was won by UMT Raja for his documentary about a poor man’s dream for a luxurious life. The best camera work went to Sanjith and Saseen for their excellent cinematography and the best editing was won by Vivek of Ramakrishna College. The third place for best documentary went to Saranya Prakash of PSG for her documentary on eye donation and the second place was secured by the team from KG CAS, Madhu and Ashley. On the second day the chief guest, film director Ram said, “To be a true film-maker it is not enough to know just the technical aspects. A good film maker has to understand emotions, people and life. In fact I would ask students to travel across our country, meet and talk to people before making films.” He said his films reflected the mood of the society and if it was brutal, it was so because it was true. Speaking on what it took to become a good director, he said “A good director has to be flexible and street-smart. And, have good managerial skills.” He said films were not made to preach, they were just artistic expressions.

The screening started off with World’s Fastest Indian by Roger Donaldson, about a man’s passion for a speed record; Maria Full Of Grace by Joshua Martson about 17-year-old Maria, who carries drugs in her stomach from Colombia to the USA and The Bicycle Thief by Vittorio De Sica about the struggle of one man in search of his stolen bicycle.

Also screened were films likeDeath Proof by Quentin Tarantino, a psycho-thriller, The Downfall by Oliver Hirchbiegel about the final days of Hitler, The Motorcycle Diaries by Walter Salles about the young Che Guevara’s travels around South America and The Way Back Home by Jeong-Hyang Lee, a movie about a spoilt little boy who is sent to his granny in the village.

The final day showcased movies such as The Chorus by Christophe Barratier, about a teacher who tries to positively affect his students’ lives through music, and The Mirror by Jafar Panahi an interesting film on a little girl trying to find her way home. The final movie screened was Children Of Heaven by Majid Majidi, revolving around a brother and sister who have to share a pair of shoes — a film where small moments reveal big truths.

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