Pune Institute fi lms to be screened at short fi lm festival

GUWAHATI: A package of highly applauded diploma fi lms made by Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, students, some of whom went on to become renowned fi lmmakers, will be showcased at the 2nd Guwahati International Short Film Festival (GISFF) to be held here from May 4-6, celebrating the premier fi lm school’s golden jubilee. The specially-designed Golden Jubilee package, earlier screened at the Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF, 2012), comprise diploma fi lms made by the likes of Kumar Shahani, Girish Kasaravalli, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Sriram Raghavan, Rajan Khosa and several others, a GISFF release informed here on Thursday. These fi lms give a glimpse to the early promise that these fi lmmakers exhibited as student fi lmmakers who learnt their craft at India’s fi rst fi lm school that has over the years churned out many a big talent in both artistic and technical streams of fi lmmaking. The technical crew of these fi lms also comprised then students of FTII. Some of them later became leading lights of the fi lm industry, such as cinematographers Jehangir Chowdhury, Hari Nair, editors the late Renu Saluja, Rajkumar Hirani and others. The fi lms from FTII to be screened at the GISFF include 37 Down Manmad Passenger (Kumar Shahani), Deccan Queen (KS Raju), Murder at Monkety Hill (Vidhu Vinod Chopra) and The Eight Column Affair (Sriram Raghavan).