Only film from India at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival
Morung Express News
Dimapur | January 14
‘Angh’, a short film written and directed by Theja Rio from Nagaland has been accepted at the prestigious Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival in France.
According to the filmmakers, Angh is the only film from India this year to be accepted at the festival.
The Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival is the biggest international film festival dedicated to short films. It is considered the second largest film festival in France after Cannes and is also an Oscar qualifying festival.
This year, the festival is scheduled to begin on January 29 and end on February 6.
Angh is a fictional film produced by Theja Rio and Nancy Nisa Beso which was filmed in Nagaland in April, 2019.
Set in a village in Nagaland in 1963, the film follows the journey of a father and his son who were the last in their village to convert to Christianity.
It is a story about their struggle to hold on to their age old traditions and religion and their resistance against social pressure.
What makes it unique is not only that the film was shot with Kodak Super 16mm, a medium rarely used in filmmaking nowadays, but also that the cast were ‘non-actors’.
Speaking to The Morung Express, Theja Rio shared that the actors were all new with no prior experience in acting. They had to rehearse the script for 3 months before the shooting the film.
The entire post production phase of the film took place in Bombay.
Despite the subject of the story and the film being shot in Nagaland, the people who worked on the film were also from diverse backgrounds.
With an Italian cinematographer (Vincenzo Condorelli), an American/Indian music composer (Sagar Desai) and Iranian editor Hassan Hassandost best known for his work in the Oscar nominated film ‘Children of Heaven’, the 22-minute short film promises to pack some punches when it premieres at the Festival this year.
Sagar Desai, who has also worked in films like Death in the Gunj and Quick Gun Murugan composed all the music for the film. According to Desai, Angh is, “Probably the finest short film I’ve ever worked on.”
Earlier on Wednesday, the film’s producer Nancy Nisa Beso took to Facebook to share the news and congratulate the team.
“So excited and proud that our Short Film, ANGH - a story set and filmed in Nagaland has made it to the Prestigious Clermont Ferrand International Short Film Festival ( An Oscar qualifying festival ), I think we are the only Indian film to have made it to the festival this year…” she wrote.
This year, the festival is being held online due to the COVID-19 pandemic and will be held in a limited number of venues.
“…Although we are sad that we won’t be able to go the festival physically, excited that the films are accessible from anywhere in the world and we are up against some super amazing films out there but for us, getting to this platform has been an achievement in itself. Wish us luck!,” Nancy added.
