* The First Ever Animation Film Competition in Eastern India *
Kolkata 26th February 09: The Animation Society of Kolkata (TASK) showcased the first ever animation short film festival in Kolkata, aptly named “Kol.Katha” which could be interpreted as a competition about story telling or about the tales from grandma’s lap, as the audience wishes to perceive it. This gift from TASK to the City of Joy, Art, Culture and Creativity was long overdue and was warmly received in the true Kolkata spirit by the audience. The early morning fog delayed our guests from Mumbai but that did not lessen the excitement and the enthusiasm in the 800 strong crowd that gathered at Kala Mandir to witness history being created.
CROWDS GATHER IN THE MORNING
The event promises to become a landmark in the cultural calendar of this city, being the only forum for expression of ideas and storytelling through the medium of animation which has many forms and dimensions.
“Kolkata has always been known for its creative geniuses and their contribution to all forms of art. Animation is the art form that has captured the attention of both viewers and artists in contemporary times. Kol.Katha is an initiative to encourage and promote the budding animators who would get a platform to showcase their talent through this competition. We hope this event would prove to be a milestone for all those creative people”, said Shilpi Chakraborty, Secretary, TASK.
“Kolkata experienced an animation festival of this kind for the first time and I am very happy to see TASK’s initiatives result in this event. I sincerely hope that animation students and professionals make the most of it.” says Mr. Vaibhav Kumaresh of Vaibhav Studios (Mumbai).”
TASK felicitates Shri Chandi Lahiri
The day started with the society felicitating the noted cartoonist Shri Chandi Lahiri who said “Kolkata, famous for its creative brains, may now find better avenues to express through TASK. Earlier we never knew where to show and sell.”
Next in line was a high voltage case study on “VFX in Advertising” by Mr. Aijaz Rashid from Prime Focus, Mumbai. He presented a case study on the “how to” of creating advertisements with high voltage computer generated special effects. Mr. Abhishek Chandra shared with the audience the story behind Cg Tantra’s motto of “LEARN INSPIRE GROW.”
VFX workshop
The 800 strong student and professionals from Kolkata bound together for their love for animation were glued to their seats when the screening of the entries started after the short lunch break. Their excitement was boundless in voting for the Viewer’s Choice Award in each category. The viewer being the best and most strict critic of any film, this was an integral part of the proceedings of the day.
The competition attracted more than 150 entries from all over India in the “Professional”, “Independent” and “Student” categories and was judged for overall impact of the Film, Story, Design, and Artwork. The winners and runners-up in every category were awarded.
The initial pre-screening was done by the members of the committee of TASK and thus shortlisted entries were sent for nomination to an eminent Jury panel comprising of Mr. Prakash Moorthy (Head of Animation, Miditech, Prosenjit Ganguly (Independent Animation Designer, Director, stop-motion animator and educator), Yunus Bukhari (The Chief of Artery Animation & FX), Mr. Arijit Dutta (Managing Director, Priya Entertainment).
JUDGES IN ACTION
On the day of the event, these entries were judged by an eminent jury comprising of renowned industry experts like Mr. Aniruddha Roychoudhury (Renowned Bengali Film Director), Mr.Bickram Ghosh (Noted Percussionist & Tabla Maestro) Dr. Madhuja Mukherjee (Faculty, Film Studies, Jadhavpur University), Sarbajit Sen (Independent Cartoonist and Illustrator) and Abhishek Chandra, (Co-founder of CG Tantra) and Mr. Aijaz Rashid (Vice President, Sales and Marketing of Prime Focus Ltd.).
This is what the Judges had to say about the event:
Dr. Madhuja Mukherjee: “I would have really missed something had I not been here today and I hope TASK will continue to strive for excellence in this manner.”
Mr. Bickram Ghosh: “I am not an animator but I am certainly animated. What I realized after going through these films is that as language is to poetry, animation is to film making.”
Mr. Aniruddh Roy Chowdhury:”I never expected the student community to do such good work and animation and VFX are an integral part of my film designs. Hence it is encouraging to see that TASK is furthering this cause in this region as well.”
Mr. Sarbajit Sen: “Finally there is a platform for art and creativity in our city.”
Mr. Aijaz Rashid: “It was a treat for the eyes to watch so many good films at a stretch.”
Mr. Abhishek Chandra: “Finally we are seeing a shift from tool based thought process to creative film making and it is very encouraging.”
AWARDS DISTRIBUTION CEREMONY
“Stick to the basics and respect your teacher. You may be more of an expert than your teacher but he is there to teach you the fundamentals. As a film maker, your fundamentals should be very strong, and your editing skills should be very sharp,” said Victor Banerjee, the celebrated actor, who boosted the confidence of the winners and all present by gracing the occasion during the Award Distribution Ceremony.
Winners at Kol.Katha’09:
| | Category | Film | Winner |
| STUDENT | Best Film – Jury (Winner) | Sikuaq | NID |
| Runner Up | Dugdugi | Mukesh Pachauri | |
| Best Film – Viewer’s Choice (Winner) | Dugdugi | Mukesh Pachauri | |
| Runner Up | C9H13NO3 | Palash Vaswani | |
| Best Story – Winner | Roop | Shyam Sunder Chatterjee | |
| Runner Up | “g” | NID | |
| Best Character – Winner | Dugdugi | Mukesh Pachauri | |
| Runner Up | Make Laugh Not war | NID | |
| Best Poster - Winner | “g” | NID | |
| Runner Up | The Bushman & The Egg | Picasso Animation College | |
| PROFESSIONAL | Best Film – Jury (Winner) | Samba Mamba | Vaibhav Kumaresh |
| Runner Up | Flying Menace | Vaibhav Kumaresh | |
| Best Film – Viewer’s Choice (Winner) | Samba Mamba | Vaibhav Kumaresh | |
| Runner Up | Laadli | Metaphor Studios | |
| Best Story – Winner | Samba Mamba | Vaibhav Kumaresh | |
| Runner Up | Music Binds All | Pushpendra Prakash Sagar/ Sharad Mante | |
| Best Character – Winner | Samba Mamba | Vaibhav Kumaresh | |
| Runner Up | Flying Menace | Vaibhav Kumaresh | |
| Best Poster - Winner | Music Binds All | Pushpendra Prakash Sagar/ Sharad Mante | |
| Runner Up | Didi Bhi School Jayegi | Nandita Basu | |
| INDEPENDENT | Best Film – Jury (Winner) | Use Me | Anindya Basu |
| Runner Up | Drugs Will Wipe You Out | Copal Mathur | |
| Best Film – Viewer’s Choice (Winner) | Use Me | Anindya Basu | |
| Runner Up | Drugs Will Wipe You Out | Copal Mathur | |
| Best Story – Winner | Use Me | Anindya Basu | |
| Runner Up | Drugs Will Wipe You Out | Copal Mathur | |
| Best Character – Winner | Drugs Will Wipe You Out | Copal Mathur | |
| Runner Up | My Friend Noju | Kirat Gurung | |
| Best Poster - Winner | Drugs Will Wipe You Out | Copal Mathur | |
| Runner Up | Use Me | Anindya Basu |
The icing on the cake was “Teen-Phodon” - an interactive workshop on animation production conducted by the three musketeers of the animation world – Sekhar Mukherjee (NID, Ahmedabad), Mr. Vaibhav Kumaresh (Vaibhav Studios, Mumbai) and Prosenjit Ganguly (Independent animation designer & NID Alumnus).
TEEN PHODON IN ACTION
Kolkata has a very famous ‘seasoning’ known as Paanch Phodon (Five flavors) ... using that as a theme, the Teen Phodon session at Kol.Katha will have the flavors of animation by Vaibhav, Sekhar Mukerjee and Prosenjit. Shared Prosenjit, “The session is going to have an exemplary introspection of work in terms of the way each of us approach animation including its cultural context as well as the treatment. The thing that we are looking at is variety, for e.g. Sekhar does a lot of comic work and cartoons and teaches as well, Vaibhav does a lot of commercials and I work with kids and on creating IP, we will give a wide palette to the audience and explain the range of possibilities”. “Overall we want things to be interactive, light-hearted and art centric” he added.
WE MADE IT HAPPEN!!!
Kol.Katha’09 marked a “small step for TASK, but a giant leap for the animation fraternity in this city”, said Mr. Ramesh Kumar Ruia, President TASK, for whom the feeling was equivalent to what Neil Armstrong must have felt when he landed on the moon. Indeed, Kol.Katha’09 marked the beginning of brand new journey altogether.
About The Animation Society of Kolkata:
The Animation Society of Kolkata (TASK) was formed by a bunch of animation enthusiast led by Ramesh Ruia and its prime objective is to share and spread knowledge in the field of animation development. TASK intends to conduct workshops, seminars and trainings in the various dimensions of the creative field of animation and intends to hold at least one such event every month for the benefit of the animation students of Eastern India.
TASK has already conducted such events every month since its inception on the 8th of November 2008 including a workshop on sand animation and Train the Trainers while introducing various forms of animation other than tool based to the student community. The enrolment of more than 300 students as members in a short span of four months is a testimony to the excellent job this society has been doing.
For more information please visit: www.taskindia.org
About KOL.KATHA:
Kol.Katha is an attempt to put the creativity of the people belonging to the field of animation in the Eastern Region of India on the world map, to expose them to the kind of work that is being done elsewhere. It is an initiative to provide some food for thought, to enable them to benchmark their efforts with the best in the business. Cinematic brilliance has always been Kolkata’s forte, thanks to a rich cultural heritage combined with an enormous pool of creative geniuses who dare to think out of the box. As animation captures the fantasy of the film-goers worldwide, it’s time an animation buff who dreams of making a masterpiece gets the opportunity to tell his story…and Kol.Katha is here to listen to, watch and applaud excellence.
“My congratulations to TASK and all those who are associated with organising Kol.Katha’09. The multi-faceted cultural brilliance that emanates from Kolkata has found a befitting ally in TASK to mesh technology with art. And what better way to present to the world that Kolkata is abundantly talented in both – technology and art – than to invite amateurs and professional both to present their creations and vie for recognition at a forum that will provide them visibility and recognition. Such events encourage everyone to excel and motivate others to try harder – and it is the selfless dedication of the people behind TASK and Kol.katha’09 that deserves recognition too. My best wishes for the success of the event and many more in the future.” – said Mr. Pramod Khera, MD, Aptech Ltd.
