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2019 Oscar Nominated Short Films
U/A: Action, documentary
Director: Reyka Zehtabchi, Rodrigo Sorogoyen, Marianne Farley, Jeremy Comte, Vincente Lambe, Guy Nattivi
Ratings: 

This anthology film features five Oscar-nominated short films each in the Live Action category and one short documentary set in India. The live action line-up includes Madre, Fauve, Marguerite, Detainment, and Skin.

The documentary film Period. End of Sentence by Reyka Zehtabchi from the USA, tells the story of women, in a rural village just outside of Delhi, fighting the deeply rooted stigma of menstruation in India. It's factual, hard-hitting and exposes India's hinterland underbelly that puts premium on dogmatic tradition and self-defeating old school beliefs.

Stills from Detainment

Madre (Mother), a stirring short from Spain directed by Rodrigo Sorogoyen, has a single mother enveloped in a living nightmare - having to deal with her seven-year-old son, who tells her he can't find his father who he was vacationing within the French Basque Country. The film is a taut, frightening thriller that grips you till the end.

Marguerite, the short from Canada, by Marianne Farley, opens up locked-up memories through an evolving friendship between an ageing woman and her nurse, thus allowing her a sort of redemption from all the hurt and guilt accumulated over long lonely years. It's a human story that allows emotions to creep in steadily and eventually makes the precarious journey through memory lane a fulfilling one.

Fauve, another Canadian short, by Jeremy Comte, deals with an innocent, seemingly harmless power game between two boys that eventually turns scary. It's a stirring indictment on the brash, confrontational, competitive arrogance that has enveloped every aspect of young life today.

The most shocking of the lot are, of course, Detainment and Skin. Vincent Lambe's Detainment, a short from Ireland, based on the James Bulger case - for which two 10-year-old boys are detained by police under suspicion of abducting and murdering a toddler. It's a gruesome and harrowing tale told through interview transcripts of the case and the tension-ridden treatment is bound to leave you disturbed and despondent.

Skin, a short from the USA by Guy Nattiv, spins a horrific drama that has its origins in racial incrimination. A black man smiles at a 10-year-old boy in a small supermarket in a blue-collar town, and all hell breaks loose. This one's a blinder about how conditioning rules the way we think and behave even in such harmless, innocuous moments.

This entire package is a delightful showcase of talent and diversity and therefore, rightfully enshrined in the nominations for the best and worthiest shorts of 2018. They are definitely winners!

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In 2017, Aamir Khan started a project to boost budding writers in the Indian film industry. The second edition of Cinestaan India's Storyteller Script Contest, a nationwide hunt for scripts where the five winners take home a total cash prize of Rs. 50 lakh was launched this February. From the past few months, the four-member jury consisting of Aamir Khan, Anjum Rajabali, Juhi Chaturvedi and Rajkumar Hirani has gone through numerous entries to choose five compelling stories that can be taken to screen. 

However, this time instead of the on-ground event to announce the winners, Aamir Khan will unveil the winners on social media. Meanwhile, Khan is urging writers to not let the prevailing situation dampen their creativity. He said that budding writers should write with more enthusiasm, especially during these times. 

Says Rohit Khattar, Chairman of Cinestaan Digital, “I am grateful to our esteemed jury in working with us to bring Indian storytelling talent to the forefront especially during these surreal times. Thank you to the thousands of writers who had applied. The quality of the work was stellar and we would like to congratulate the winners who are truly deserving and wish them success.”

Speaking about the winners, Anjum Rajabali, the Jury Chairperson said, ‘We started this contest with the larger objective of attracting more people to write scripts. It’s very important that we improve the quality of our scriptwriting so that the quality of our cinema goes up. The caliber of scripts in this edition was better than last year and it’s heartening to see that the talent is developing. Thank you to the jury members for giving their valuable time in reading and assessing the scripts. Truly appreciate the Cinestaan team’s hard work. I have not seen this kind of unconditional support and generosity before, with the only reward being to encourage good writing in this country.’

Juhi Chaturvedi says, ‘As a writer, I understand the joy of being appreciated, especially on a big platform like this which motivates us to write more. Congratulations to the winners. I’m very happy that through this contest I was able to be a small part of your journey.’

Raju Hirani while congratulating the winners said, ‘I’m happy that the objective with which this contest was started, to inspire scriptwriters and give them a platform to send their scripts from all parts of the country - slowly and steadily we are moving towards our goal. The caliber of scripts this year has been better than last year.’

All the entries of the second edition of the contest went through a transparent and stringent process of evaluation at various levels. The shortlisted synopsis were asked to send in a complete script which were then assessed and then the winners selected by the jury. All scripts have been registered by the contestants with the Scriptwriters Association and other similar recognized bodies to ensure that the writers' content is completely protected.

‘Cinestaan India’s Storytellers Script Contest’ was launched by Cinestaan Digital Pvt. Ltd. and is India’s biggest Script Contest. The winners of the contest are awarded cash prizes worth Rs. 50 lakhs.

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he All India Football Federation's executive panel on Tuesday ratified its league committee's recommendations to cancel the remaining 28 matches of the I-league in view of the coronavirus-forced lockdown and declare runaway leaders Mohun Bagan as champions. The AIFF also said it is waiting to discuss with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) the feasibility of organising a shorter duration tournament next season with second division clubs for qualification to the Hero I-League 2020-21.

"The Executive Committee agreed with conclusions and recommendations of League Committee that this was a force majeure circumstance and the AIFF and all stakeholders must focus on a priority basis on safety and health aspects of players, officials and fans," the AIFF said in a release. "In fact, there is still no certainty of when sporting activities including football can be resumed across the country."

The league committee had on Saturday placed its recommendations in front of the all-powerful executive committee. As per the latest decisions, the 2019-20 season stays concluded and Mohun Bagan declared the I-League winners for the 2019-20. The remaining prize money in the league (apart from the champion's prize) will be equally divided among the remaining 10 participating clubs.

However, there will be no relegation and also no individual prize money for the league season. "All youth leagues in the current season -- the Hero Sub-Junior League, the Hero Junior League, the Hero Elite League, and the U-17 Khelo India Girls League ¿ stay concluded, and will start afresh from 2020-21 season. "There will be an extension of the deadline for submission of the requisite documentation for the AIFF Academy Accreditation process after the ongoing lockdown is revoked," the apex body said in the release.

The nationwide lockdown will remain in place till May 3. The COVID-19 pandemic, which originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan in Hubei province, has so far claimed nearly 600 lives while infecting over 18,500 people across the country.

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It's painfully humiliating for a 12-year-old to stand before his class during an extempore speech and fumble over words. The derision that one might invite can cripple an adolescent's confidence. But, it can also teach the child to face his demons, participate again in the same competition the next year, and then go on to win the district finals for three straight years representing his institution, which, in Siddhant Sharma's case, was a boarding school in Kurseong.

Siddhant Sharma

Ten years after that incident, Sharma has emerged as this season's winner of The Stage, a reality show that promotes western musical talent in India. This, though, was his second shot at the title, after he was unable to get past the auditions last year. Failure, in other words, seems to have been the singer's constant companion, only for him to climb every mountain that crops up in his path. "I am actually a man made of failure, so it doesn't scare me," he tells us over the phone, having just landed in Mumbai from Kolkata. He adds, "Even in life, a lot of things that I have expected haven't happened. Not all of us grow up in the greatest of situations, but the worst thing a rocker can do is give up. [Rock music] is about fighting failures. So, if I can do it in life, music and competitions are nothing for me to handle."

Those are strong words for a 22-year-old to utter. But Sharma comes across as someone who has truly internalised the rock 'n' roll philosophy of facing adversity with a show-me-what-you've-got swagger. He gives us an example of what that means when he says, "I have a friend who would party all the time and only listen to electronic music. She would never attend live concerts. After a bad phase, she started listening to Pink Floyd, and now she is more of a rocker [in persona] than I am, with all her locks chopped off. I mean, there was a guy who cheated on her, and she's like, 'You think I am going to cry? No. I don't give a f*ck about you or your existence.' That's rock."

One of the biggest adversities that Sharma himself faced was when his parents separated over a decade ago, a fact he had revealed in one of the later episodes of the competition. Talking about that difficult phase, he says, "I'm not a guy who speaks a lot and I anyway didn't want to trouble my mother with all of that. So, I ended up keeping things inside me, which wasn't a good thing since I developed serious anger issues. But art has always helped me. I was a painter and then I got into music, and that just let me be who I am."

Who he is now, having won the show, involves signing a contract with MTV and being flown around the country for concerts. The limelight is well and truly on him and yet, he keeps emphasising how failure is the clay that moulds a person's character. "Do you consider the people who have not got the trophy to be losers?" he asks us, before answering, "No, they are not. You never know, tomorrow they might be working in much bigger places and doing way better stuff than I am. The thing is, you have to be satisfied with doing what you're doing and yet keep trying to be better than who you are. That's really all."

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Veteran India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh on Thursday said the current Indian team lacks a match-winner down the order and is too dependent on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.

"This team is too dependent on Virat and you (Rohit). After Virat and you are gone, we lose 70 percent of the matches. Lower down the order few (players are there who can) win matches," Harbhajan said during an Instagram chat with India limited overs vice-captain Rohit.

"During our time, we had the trust that someone will make runs even after top three is out, taaki match na nikal jaaye haath se (match does not slip out of our hands). This is one area I think this team can work on. You need to find more match-winners," said Harbhajan, India's third highest wicket-taker in Test cricket.

"Like you (Rohit) had great World Cup (2019). But one had a great World Cup and we reach the semi-finals. Had we got three who did well in the World Cup, we could have won"

The ace offie, who helped India win the 2011 50-over World Cup, also heaped praise on K.L. Rahul saying he is another match-winner besides Virat and Rohit and can bat anywhere in the order.

"Apart from you (Rohit) and Virat, K.L. Rahul is a real match-winner. He can play at No. 5, No. 6 and can open as well," said the Turbanator, as he is fondly called.

Harbhajan also urged the team management to give longer ropes to players who can then express themselves better.

"They play well in the IPL but I don't see them playing like that for the national team. They are a totally different player in IPL. I think they are scared of their place being gone. If you give them a run of 9-10 games, they have a better chance to succeed," said the 39-year old.

"Same in Tests also. The team won in Australia we played well in India too. But in New Zealand you (Rohit) were injured, Prithvi Shaw was brought back which is a good thing. My concern is someone like Shubman Gill..he was in team from before. Now Rohit is a successful Test opener. But Gill...if he is not playing it is not healthy for him and the team as well. So he has to get a chance. It is not just for Gill I am saying."

Harbhajan also said it is good to see Shreyas Iyer doing well at No. 4 and the team management has done well by giving him a long rope.

On M.S. Dhoni making a comeback to the Indian team, he said: "When I was in Chennai Super Kings camp, people asked me about Dhoni. I don't know its upto him. You need to know whether he wants to play for India again.

"As far as I know him, he won't want to wear India blue again. IPL he will play but for India I think he had decided World Cup (2019) was his last."

Harbhajan, who now plays for CSK but has also turned out for Mumbai Indians, said while the former are a chilled out unit under Dhoni, the pressure of expectation is there in MI.

"It is a chilled out setup here. MI... we were under pressure that you need to win. There was pressure of expectation always."

Harbhajan also named the likes of Jacques Kallis, Mathew Hayden, Brian Lara, Younis Khan, and Inzamam-ul-Haq as the foreign batters he found it tough against.

As far as the best spinners are concerned, he named Nathan Lyon, Muttiah Muralitharan, Graeme Swann and Saqlain Mushtaq among those that come to his mind.

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This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

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