Last month, Terribly Tiny Tales, a pool of writers who create a "tweet-sized" story a day, launched Terribly Tiny Talkies in time for Valentine’s Day. Aimed at bringing together distinctive filmmakers, the collective released five films on love in the first season, each under five minutes. The films feature Mandira Bedi, Nimrat Kaur, Shiv Subramaniam, Tom Alter and Sayani Gupta, among others. The best of them is R.I.P. or Romance in Peace, a dialogue-less and funny short that shows two seniors competing for a last shot at love after waking up to the same matrimonial ad.
Here are five other short Indian films that have done the rounds over the years, and which deserve a second dekko.
175 Grams (2015)
Directed by: Bharat Mirle and Aravind Iyer.
"175 Grams" | Sundance Short Film Challenge from Sundance Institute on Vimeo.
175 Grams is one of the five winners of the Short Film Challenge at the recently concluded Sundance Film Festival in Utah. It pays a unique and engrossing tribute to the growing community of Ultimate Frisbee players in India by taking a close look at the lives of the members of the Ultimate Frisbee team Flywild.
Kamera (2011)
Directed by: Nijo Jonson
This film beautifully portrays the hopes and dreams of a child through the tale of a rag-picker's fascination with a camera. The child discovers the camera while working and becomes attached to it. However, it is when he loses it that the film really reveals another layer.
The Masterchef (2014)
Directed by: Ritesh Batra
"The Masterchef" a short film by Ritesh Batra from Sundance Institute on Vimeo.
Ritesh Batra, director of the universally acclaimed feature The Lunchbox, came out with a captivating short soon after. The Masterchef is the story of Akhil, a young boot-polish walla, whose aspirations of becoming a gourmet cook gain steam when he has a chance encounter with India's most popular television chef.
Swecha (2012)
Directed by: Uday Gurrala
This award-winning Telugu short is about a boy who realises the value of freedom. The cinematography takes center stage in the film as the viewer constantly follows the boy.
Amar (2012)
Directed by: Andrew Hinton
Amar (all great achievements require time) from Pilgrim Films on Vimeo.
In less than 10 minutes, this short observational documentary captures a day in the life of a schoolboy, Amar, in which he is awake for 20 hours. Amar aspires to become a cricketer, but that dream remains unachievable: he has the reputation of a class topper to live up to, and most of his time goes in school and work. The shots are inventively composed and the documentary does not stray from its central theme.
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Here are five other short Indian films that have done the rounds over the years, and which deserve a second dekko.
175 Grams (2015)
Directed by: Bharat Mirle and Aravind Iyer.
"175 Grams" | Sundance Short Film Challenge from Sundance Institute on Vimeo.
175 Grams is one of the five winners of the Short Film Challenge at the recently concluded Sundance Film Festival in Utah. It pays a unique and engrossing tribute to the growing community of Ultimate Frisbee players in India by taking a close look at the lives of the members of the Ultimate Frisbee team Flywild.
Kamera (2011)
Directed by: Nijo Jonson
This film beautifully portrays the hopes and dreams of a child through the tale of a rag-picker's fascination with a camera. The child discovers the camera while working and becomes attached to it. However, it is when he loses it that the film really reveals another layer.
The Masterchef (2014)
Directed by: Ritesh Batra
"The Masterchef" a short film by Ritesh Batra from Sundance Institute on Vimeo.
Ritesh Batra, director of the universally acclaimed feature The Lunchbox, came out with a captivating short soon after. The Masterchef is the story of Akhil, a young boot-polish walla, whose aspirations of becoming a gourmet cook gain steam when he has a chance encounter with India's most popular television chef.
Swecha (2012)
Directed by: Uday Gurrala
This award-winning Telugu short is about a boy who realises the value of freedom. The cinematography takes center stage in the film as the viewer constantly follows the boy.
Amar (2012)
Directed by: Andrew Hinton
Amar (all great achievements require time) from Pilgrim Films on Vimeo.
In less than 10 minutes, this short observational documentary captures a day in the life of a schoolboy, Amar, in which he is awake for 20 hours. Amar aspires to become a cricketer, but that dream remains unachievable: he has the reputation of a class topper to live up to, and most of his time goes in school and work. The shots are inventively composed and the documentary does not stray from its central theme.