Critically acclaimed short films Half Full,
featuring veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah and Vikrant Massey, and Counterfeit
Kunkoo, written and directed by Reema Sengupta, were declared winners at
ShortsTV’s Best of India Short Film Festival 2019 being held in Los Angeles.
Organised by ShortsTV, the world’s leading short film TV service and official
distributor of the OSCAR nominated short films theatrical release, a special
screening was conducted in Mumbai to announce the winners. Present on the
occasion were veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah, winning directors Karan Rawal
(Half Full) and Reema Sengupta (Counterfeit Kunkoo), along with Chief Executive
of ShortsTV, Carter Pilcher.
Half Full is a 12-minute short film that focusses
on the trials and tribulations of a young man (Vikrant Massey) who is
undergoing an internal conflict. One night, he encounters an old man
(Naseeruddin Shah) and a strange vibe develops between the two leading to some
sarcastic and vague questions. The other winner, Counterfeit Kunkoo is a
15-minute short film which is based on the life of a middle-class Indian woman
named Smita who lives without her husband. The film offers an intimate
perspective on the identity of the 'Ideal Indian Female' in the urban India of
today.
Expressing his happiness on winning the award,
Half Full actor Naseeruddin Shah said, “It’s a proud moment for the entire cast
and crew of Half Full. I am happy to note that discerning Indian audiences are
moving towards short format content and ShortsTV has taken this initiative to
provide an ideal platform to Indian filmmakers and actors. I am also glad that
we finally have a destination where one can watch the best of curated short
format content from across the world.”
Commenting on the initiative, Mr. Carter Pilcher,
Chief Executive of ShortsTV said, “India’s love affair with short movies has
taken off since launching ShortsTV here late last year. Our audiences can’t get enough of them. Both
Bollywood and Hollywood are starting to take notice, and it’s exciting. We
created the Best of India Short Film Festival to get Indian talent into the
mainstream of the Academy of Motion Pictures Award consideration - and to give
Indian talent a chance to bring home an Oscar that was “made in India.” We are the only short film festival in India
whose prize is Oscar qualification, and the world better watch out —ShortsTV and
the amazing talent here in India are going to bring home an Oscar!”
Meanwhile the other short films amongst the
finalists selected to screen in Los Angeles and become qualified for Oscar
consideration were Unfamiliar by Rahat Jain and Maya by Vikas Chandra. These
are also eligible for a television broadcast deal on ShortsTV.
ShortsTV was launched in India in 2018 exclusively
with Tata Sky. With a catalogue of over 10,000 short films, ShortsTV provides a
single curated destination of the best shorts from India and around the world,
with a line-up including films recognized by the Oscars, BAFTA and Cannes. With
the Best of India Short Film Festival, ShortsTV strives to create opportunities
for Indian filmmakers to be recognized internationally. The winner last year
was Mumbai based filmmaker Chintan Sarda and his short film ‘Shunyata’,
featuring Jackie Shroff in a leading role.
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