Results | Between Breaths

Finally the result is in our hands... Our Jury members really had a very tough time in deciding the marks and thanks to our readers, we got exception amount of votes. Could it have been better...

• Four movies were very close in marking by jury. Difference of just 6 cumulative votes. Heck.
• There was a tie too in Jury's marking.
• One movie was definitely loved by our readers... and the contestent did a lot of publicity.
• At second spot, two movies were very close in public votes.
• Two movies high on jury's marking fell short in impressing the readers.
• And last one... the difference of marks between last three entries was just 2 points.

After long discussions, we realised that the difference between last three movie is too less to for evaluation. We declare three second-runner ups:

• Vitesse, Amaranth and Zakhm (not in any order)

A citation of Excellence would be provided to all three participants. :-)

First runner up gave stiff contest to the winner. It was 2nd on Jury's list as well. Its...

• Avatars

Congrats Arun. So... its not a secret? Yes... The winner of First Between Breaths Short Film Fest is...

• End

Pushkar Kulkarni... you rocked Between Breaths. Spectacular performance. People loved your short... So... open the champagne...

Thanks to our amazing jury members Gyandeep, Yajur and Ali for their cooperation. Thanks to people who voted and retweeted our tweets.

To winners, we will get back to you in a while. Wait for our mail...

Yours Sincerely...

My Short Review of 5 entries of Between Breaths

It has been a decent start to between breaths. Hope next year we will have much more participation and of course we hope this years’ short competitors will up with even better films next time around.

Here’s my review of the shorts, in alphabetical order.

Avatars- ‘Avatars’ talks about how our online identities, help us tackle our busy schedules, to manage our personal lives. ‘Avatars’ completely succeeds in conveying its theme and does it with technical brilliance. I especially liked how it employs multiple roles of the same person in same frame. Also how character uses facebook to choose his glasses, surely a reflection of our times.

Amaranth- It starts out with good premise but didn’t work for me because I as a viewer was not sure what Amaranth was aiming at. Is it horror or horror comedy or message based film. My impression of ‘Amaranth’ is it has come out slightly cheesy mainly because it does not set a consistent tone to the short. Technically it is well done, with ghostly white effect towards the end. But I am sure ‘Amaranth’ team can dish out better short as they are not lacking in finish of the film.

End- Hmm what can I say!! This one is my personal favourite. Love the way it adds tackles a relevant message along with a good story. It affects you as a viewer. It does a good use of music and I could definitely see some homage paid to super films. I was impressed right from the start where blade highlights when surrounded with blood. Great effort, keep more movies like his coming!

Vitesse- Set in bustling Kolkata, and with music to add the feel of liveliness, Vitesse dedicates itself to people who can never be a part of this rush. You can feel that he maker is genuinely touched by problem these people face. I also like how music was used to contrast between two portions of the movie. In fact even if you notice, the lively face of Kolkata is shown not through posh frames but only using downtrodden people, and I like the irony implied here.

Zakhm- Adaptation of famed Kite Runner novel, the movie fits in as an extension of the novel. It squarely rests on script and acting, to which it delivers. Zakhm has good dialogue, as they feel real coming from a tortured man. I am actually interested to see how the same team would have adapted the whole film.

That’s all folks from this edition of between breaths. Results will be out in matter of minutes. Lets see who wins the 1^st edition of Between Breaths.

Written By Ali Naqvi

Thoughts On Entries | Between Breaths

Yajur on Amaranth:  Gritty but original.

Ali on End: Excellent attempt, has relevant message along with a good story. Good choice of music (including Watchmen theme), competent voiceover. In short, excellent...

Gyandeep on Vitesse: Relevant documentary. The jazz goes well with the facts.

Ali on Avatars: Interesting concept, technically very well executed.

Gyandeep on Zakhm:  A bit theatrical but still a solid adaptation of Khalid Hosseini's beloved novel. Only if the theatricality were toned down a bit. As it is, it is a good effort. Nevertheless.

Paleri Manikyam | Malayalam | Critique

Kerala got a communist regime. Three things happen that fortunate/unfortunate morning in a quintessential village of Paleri. A kid was born. A young man died by drowning in river. A girl committed suicide. Her name was Manikyam. The first two events went unnoticed but the last one being mysterious, became a part of folk-lore. The kid grows up as a detective cum writer Haridas and since childhood suffered a trauma of sharing a moment with such tragic incidents. At the age of 52, he decides to probe the event. The lead role of Haridas is being played by Mammootty.

Paler Manikyam is an amazing movie. Driven by the motivation of finding the truth of death of Paleri, Haridas starts with material evidence present. He relies on documentary evidence and the hints in folklore to establish a strong doubt that Manikyam was probably brutally raped and killed by a local landlord Ahmed Haji (also played by Mammootty) who is Haridas’ illegitimate father. But there is no strong proof against him. With the help of people who were there when this crime happened, his doubt got more push. However, he was wrong. Ahmed Haji was a criminal of many charges but this one. However, with power and money he escaped the way to prison. If not him, then who has killed Manikyam. In last 15 minutes the suspense unfolds… and that too in an epic fashion.

Three things drive this movie: exceptional performance by Mammooty, Shweta Menon and Mythili, beauty of Paleri of 50s and strong script. Based on a novel by the same name, Paleri Manikyam comes alive in beautiful narration of Mammootty well aided by amazing cinematography and strong plot. Though in the first half a lot is made public and one might wonder how they will tell story for another hour, you will be pleasantly surprised by the second half. Ranjith set a new standard in direction. Bravo.

This movie has a strong impact on viewers and you might have a major hangover for next few days. I am still not over it.

My Rating: 4.5/5

Written By; Sujoy Ghosh

Mehmood | The Champion Of Comedy | Statesmen

‘Mehmood’, the Arabic word means ‘praiseworthy’ and that’s so true for the beloved comedian of hindi film industry.  He was the King of Comedy and in the 60s made the comedian’s role an integral part of the story line so much that it proved more interesting than even the hero’s romance.

He was not just a jester, he was an Actor. There were many other comedians before him, but they merely functioned to take the audience’s mind off the melodramatic plot for a few minutes. But he had a creative style to blend the comic and the tragic with innovative idealism.  None can forget his performance in “Padosan” and the Tamil-coated Hindi accent that sent everyone rolling with laughter. But you can also not miss out his emotional best in “Kunwaara Baap” where he successfully made the audience to come down with tears. He also became a sterling director with “Bombay to Goa”. This is sheer versatility!!

What is more, many of his starrers nearly always eclipsed the so-called lead characters, and a time came when main stars hesitated to act in a film that had Mehmood. Also, as the hits poured in, he began to command a price that was sometimes rumored to be much higher than some of the then lesser hero’s. This caused a lot of insecurity and anxiety in Bollywood acting circles. He was accused by many of downgrading the quality of comedy in Hindi films, which turned out to be one of the reasons for his premature decline.

But Mehmood knew his responsibilities towards film industry and had a strong touch of humanness in him that saw him encourage newcomers. He turned producer and director, and gave Amitabh Bachchan his first break as a hero in "Bombay to Goa". Bachchan remembers his days of struggle when Mehmood offered him even shelter. R.D. Burman and Aruna Irani were also given their first break by him.

By the time the 90s set in, Mehmood had played his entire hand -- as actor, director, storywriter and producer. Like all other contemporaries he had not made wise investments and his financial prosperity began to decline. He was now keeping indifferent health too. Death came to him silently in his sleep in 2004 in Pennsylvania, US, where he had gone for treatment of heart disease. The roars of laughter were no more, and his fans shed tears at Mehboob Studio in Bandra, Mumbai.

Written By: Neha Jain

VOTE PLEASE | Between Breaths

Watch these shorts at: http://www.thereelmag.in/2011/04/entries-between-breaths.html

Make The Short After A Thought | Candid Krishnan

First think if you can make it. If it’s a YES, then make it. If it’s a NO… forget everything else and give in your all to make it. You will realise how wrong you were… Shorts can also surprise the makers.


A good short is like a good sex tape. You don’t need celebrities/professional to make it perfect. You don’t need extra visual effect. You don’t need to invest a lot. A handy-cam is enough. All you need is to get the theme correct and everything else will fall into place. Now, before you jump into conclusions, I must warn you about two things… First, short is LIKE a sex tape but both are two different poles of creativity. Keep this in mind while hiring the actors. Second, short might have a smaller audience base and even fewer people to appreciate the details you worked hard upon. So, keep your expectations low.

I guess we have the context right.

Before jotting down the names of actors you might want to act with, get the script done. Once the script is written, sleep over it for a weekend. Like a wine it will mature and you will be able to shun your initial naïve thoughts about actors. You might change a few scenes or add some shades in the characters as well.

Once you are done with script and cast, do a small workshop with everyone on-board including your technical team. Discuss each character and each sequence, unless you intentionally want to keep things under wraps. Make it a point to discuss your story thoroughly with editor and cameraman. They are the most important people in your team.

Get a camera but don’t let the lack of resources become a show-stopper. If you don’t have a great camera, don’t bother. Many extremely popular videos on Youtube were made on mobile. Once you have a cam… say, action.

Post production work might consume upto 60% of entire span. It’s not about just cutting from rough cuts and adding them. It’s about getting each frame correct. Each second will have a minimum of 25 frames. So, you know how serious job editing is. If you are planning to go for dubbing, I will say ‘Go For It…’ but be ready for many problems ahead. Getting background score correct, getting the mood and flow of dialogs right and lip sync. Unless you can afford a specialist, dubbing is not a million dollar idea.

Now when everything is done… put the video on Youtube or social networking sites… or send to contests. And never forget, nothing beats word of mouth… coz… Short is just like a *******

Written By: Candy Krishnan

Intro To Entries | Between Breaths

Avatars: Ranjan is a smart IT guy whose work pressures are adversely affecting his relationship with Jo. As a desperate measure to make their relationship work, they plan a trip together. But Ranjan has an important client meeting that day. Thanks to a last minute breakthrough, their trip suddenly becomes possible. But Ranjan barely has any time left. All he has at his disposal are a few gadgets that are windows to his online identities. Will he make it? [Arun, Maker's Note]

Zakhm: The movie ‘Zakhm’ serves as a companion piece and extension, to the much acclaimed novel “the Kite Runner” by Khalid Hosseini. Zakhm is set after the ending of the Novel, where Amir tends to ailing Sohrab and confesses his guilt. [Ali, Jury Member's Note]

End: An interesting watch. Has bits of brilliance in concept and treatment of brilliance. [TRM's Note]

Vitesse: Life is all about speed. The best example of speed is the city and its daily chores, which symbolizes life is all about moving ahead, speeding ahead. However, there are people who in their lifespan never enjoy the thrill of speed on their own feet. This film is dedicated to them. [Shubhankar, Maker's Note]

Amaranth: Starts like a hard-hitting crime movie which opens itself to a very positiveambience of a part. As the story unfolds, you realise why its titled... Amaranth. [Sujoy, Third Person's Note]

Watch these shorts at: http://www.thereelmag.in/2011/04/entries-between-breaths.html

Some Amazing Shorts | Between Breaths

• Cashback: 2004. This short deals with fantasy of a person drawing people in a supermarket. The models of his work are real people frozen in time. The movie was made into a movie with the same title.

• Smooth Criminal: A short film on song by the same name from album Bad by none other than Michael Jackson. Its story of a woman who is attacked by an assailant.

• Stand Up For Justice- The Ralph Lazo Story: Humane story of a person who stand for a Japanese-American friend struck in a bad situation after Pearl Harbour.

• Tag 26: A highly appreciated story of two people who almost survived a biological hazard. When one of them is dying, the other removes his security gear to share moments of death.

• Doodlebug: An interesting work by Chris Nolan reflecting existence of multi-dimensional universe, each affecting other in a deja-vu sense. Technically strong, there is not much in story but is compensated by great concept and brilliant execution.

• Precious Images: Directed by Chuck Workman, this movie is a montage of American Movies. The scenes were sorted genre-wise and was highly acclaimed for its cinematic value.

• Purge: A brilliantly directed short speaks about a girl suffering from sexual abuse and her way to handle the trauma.

Amazing Short Makers | Between Breaths

• Anurag Kashyap: Poster boy of Indian new parallel cinema, Anurag is more known for his movies like Black Friday and Dev D. However, his shorts like Last Train To Mahakali are also highly acclaimed. Over the years, he has promoted short film making in India. With Thumbhi he is working on a series of shorts.

• Andreas Samland: Brilliant German short film maker who is known for his works like Tag 26 and Der Blindgänger. His movies have a humane side. The sensibility of his works have won accolades from everywhere his works has been shown.

• Ashvin Kumar: He shot to fame with Oscar nominee short Little terrorist. His shorts include acclaimed Road to Laddakh as well. His works usually have a larger than life moral told very subtly.

• Sean Ellis: Director of short Cashback, Sean is well known for his interesting thoughts and their cinematic adaptation.

• Christopher Nolan: World-wide acclaimed for cerebral value in his works like Memento, Prestige and Inception. His short Doodlebug reflects nothing else. His works are smart and needs some grey cells.

Between Breaths | The Wait Is Over

Entries | Between Breaths

Amaranth by Elango



Zakhm By Sujoy

Vitesse By Shubhankar



Avatars By Arun



End by Pushkar

Introduction To Jury Members | Between Breaths

We have three cine freaks on-board. They have one thing in common... immense love for cinema.

Ali: As co-editor of TRM, he has been doing an amazing job. His understanding of cinematic detailing makes him a perfect candidate to judge the quality of shorts. He tweets at: http://twitter.com/AliNaqvi86

Gyandeep: One word describes him... AMAZING. He amazes you with his indepth knowledge of cinema. Not everyone earns admiration of Rajeev Masand. He tweets at: http://twitter.com/gyandeep4a

Yajur: He is smart and quick. His blogs are interesting and shows his love for cinema. He tweets at: http://twitter.com/YajurKochhar