“Of course, it is not numerology,” says 25-year-old Ajesh Shah of The Genesis Film Project, with an incredulous smile.
“Of course, it is not numerology,” says 25-year-old Ajesh Shah of The Genesis Film Project, with an incredulous smile. The project just gave 101 a new connotation, beyond Dalmatians and Cruella De Vil. It is a filmmaking competition inviting 101 amateur filmmakers to make short, five-minute films. The 101 concept doesn’t end here — films have to made on 101 NGOs in Mumbai and within 101 hours.
“101 is the traditional gifting ritual and this is our gift to those who are trying to change the city,” he says. Ajesh was an e-commerce manager in the US, but he realised that he wanted to give something back to society and what better place to begin than your motherland. Chucking his lucrative career, Ajesh returned to India in September, 2005. “I travelled across India as part of my research and realised that though we take pride in our art forms, we don’t do much to help them evolve.” And that is how Project Peacock with the goal to develop the arts scene (films, music, art, photography and writing) in south Asia was created.
Project Peacock then collaborated with MAM Movies, an international film organisation founded by Madhusudan, a US-based filmmaker, to craft Genesis. Filmmakers participating in Genesis will capture the NGO’s mission, its achievements and difficulties, and the heart of the people who make it work — all in five minutes. The shooting will take place from the January 2 to 6, 2007 and registrations are closing on December 30, 2006. At the start of the event, the NGOs’ will be randomly allocated to the filmmakers. Out of 101 films, 25 best films will be screened at Cinemax on 9th January 2007.
A panel of judges, including Anupam Kher, Nagesh Kukanoor Rati Agnihotri, Sachin Pilgaonkar and Khalid Mohammed, will judge the best films. When asked about what will he look for in a film that is done in the blink of an eye, Anupam Kher says, “More than the technical aspect, I’ll be looking for content and pure intention of the filmmaker.”
Project Genesis has already been invited to the Cape Town Film Festival and is hoping to distribute the movies internationally.
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