Films at the Time of Corona: Carrot Films’ Lockdown Film Festival

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    Lockdown Film Festival

    Online screening of movies has almost become the new norm. As more and more big-budget movies get released on OTT platforms, which should short films not get a moment to shine? With that in mind, Carrot Films had organised an online short film festival, in order to pursue what we all love – films.

    The company, in an effort to unlock the creativity of the people during the lockdown, held a “Lockdown Film Festival.” It’s a one-of-a-kind pursuit where participants can shoot and submit a short film – all within the comforts of their home!

    The theme of the Lockdown Film Festival was “Perspective.” The goal here was to show how something as simple as “staying at home” unified an entire country since it was (and still is) a way of curbing the pandemic.

    Carrot Films wanted to highlight real people and their stories. Thus, the Lockdown Film Festival was a great way to achieve that.

    Although organising did play a huge part, it was people’s response that truly made the journey memorable.

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    This day is very special to us. And not just us, but for all the cinephiles out there. So we take the sanctity of this day and we bring to you, our much awaited Jury Panel!✨ . . . We couldn't think of a better day to reveal this than the day the maestro of cinema #SatyajitRay was born. A human, who through his lens of cinema, established a tradition of realist filmmaking in India and inspired generations after generations. We are all his disciples. . . . #aparnasen #sharmilatagore #prahladkakkar #ratnapathakshah #kenghosh #niveditabasu #gautamrode #hitentejwani #modhurapalit #iqbalniyazi #idaali #lockdownfilmfest #carrotfilms #jury #jurypanel #filmmaking #filmmakers #film #aparnasen #sharmilatagore #prahladkakkar #ratnapathakshah #kenghosh #niveditabasu #gautamrode #hitentejwani #modhurapalit #iqbalniyazi #idaali #filmfestival @primevideoin @disneyplushotstarvip @netflix_in @zee5premium @adage @festivaldecannes @campaignsoftheworld @campaignmagazine @afaqsdotcom #censorship #censorboard @altbalaji @balajimotionpictures @sakpataudi @imtiazaliofficial @khemster2 @saraalikhan95 @iakpataudi @konkona @kareenakapoorkhan #filmfare @filmfare

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    There were over 1000 registrations over a span of a week! Notably, the team decided to keep the registration free of cost, since the whole point of such an initiative was to imbibe hope and give people the chance to vent their creativity.

    Carrot Films got together a panel of select jury members including eminent and veteran actors, directors, cinematographers, content creators and celebrity influencers. The panel included: Sharmila Tagore, Prahlad Kakar, Ratna Pathak Shah, Adil Hussain, Hiten Tejwani, Iqbal Niyazi, Gautam Rode, Ken Ghosh, Nivedita Basu, Modhura Palit, and Ida Ali. The panel was chaired by seasoned filmmaker Aparna Sen.

    The team also collaborated with names such as R. Balki, Raza Murad, Mahima Chaudhry, Usha Uthup, Sachin Pilgaonkar, JD Majethia, Kubbra Sait, Sawan Dutta, Sonali Kulkarni, RJ Archana, Piyush Pandey, Indraneil Sengupta, Sona Mohapatra, Anubhav Singh Bassi, RJ Khurrafati Nitin, Sushma Seth, Parambrata Chattopadhyay and other eminent personalities. They were there to encourage the participants with lots of positive messages.

    The results of the Lockdown Film Festival, whose registration started on April 4 and went on till April 10, were out on May 28, 2020. The eminent jury panel decided on the following movies as winners:

    First Place:
    Anjali
    Second Place:
    Mirage
    Chor Ki Daadi Mein Tinka
    Bhram
    Third Place:
    CitiGold

    The prize sponsors included Aahana Resorts, Jim Corbett, and Hats Off Productions, Mumbai.

    In an official statement, the organisers had said, “Making films while staying indoors might seem like a tough challenge, but so is work from home, which requires a revised approach towards work, and a sense of heightened responsibility. And that is exactly why we thought of this festival.” They went on to add, “Take up the challenge of making films while following all the rules that the state has designated for you. Make films to express your innermost desires; to represent your highest aspirations; and to narrate your deepest stories that you always wanted to tell — all at once.”

    Check out Carrot Films’ Instagram page for more information.

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