Asian Hot Shots, a festival featuring short films and video art, was started in Berlin in 2007 by the Germany based Green Chilies Association, with the aim to develop and support cultural exchange between Berlin and Asia, primarily in the field of film and video art. The festivalwill showcase young talent from South East Asia, South Korea, China, Japan and South Asia.
The films — selected through contacts in Asia and by touring the parallel film festival circuit — are first attempts by young filmmakers or productions that have not received due publicity.
“The festival offers an eclectic insight into young Asian cinema, providing alternative images to match the powerful Asian film industry, giving a diverse programme,” explains Tina Lange, the curator.
Innovations in filmmaking and the easy availability of technology enable young filmmakers to translate individual perspectives on to a more public screen. There are adventurous experiments like Rewind, a reverse fiction film by Atul Taishete which starts at the end of a story and travels to its beginning, and Legs by South Korean film-maker Lee Hye-young, the winner in theAnimation category.
The one-evening event features 11 short films — documentaries, animation and fiction.Unlike the Berlin fest, which had a country focus (Philippines), Mumbai will have only “good films from Asia”, says Lange.
“The festival is good exposure for such short films, as it gets an audience who come with theintention of seeing ‘different’ productions. And it also encourages filmmakers to take up a variety of subjects,” feels Taishete.
Lange will also announce acall for entries to Asian Hot Shots 2009. Those who wish to participate can “enter their names or submit their films directly on the spot”says Lange.
Since Asian Hot Shots showcases work from across Asia, language could be a problem. But Lange clarifies that “all films have subtitles. In fact, the fest has a condition that the works submitted should either be in English, or should be subtitled.”
The Mumbai screenings will not showcase the ‘Gandhi Special’, films and photographs on Mahatma Gandhi to mark the 60th anniversary of his death.
Asian Hot Shots, Goethe Hall,Max Mueller Bhavan Mumbai,4pm onwards
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