Bitter are the tears of a child: Sweeten them.
Deep are the thoughts of a child: Quiet them.
Sharp is the grief of a child: Take it from him.
Soft is the heart of a child: Do not harden it.
~ Pamela Glenconner

Childhood. The age of innocence. The years of wonder. The world of magic. The moments of mirth. The time one starts sketching memories on the brand new canvas of life. The time one starts one’s journey without the slightest knowledge of where the path leads one to. The time of making one’s life. Or breaking the same. Childhood. Life in its most vulnerable phase.

It is these thoughts that made us at Short Cuts to search for some short films that captured the agonizing moments of troubled childhood in all its variety. From as shocking as child prostitution to as irritating as generation gaps to as tragic as mass HIV deaths, these hundreds of search results left us disturbed and at the same time motivated to bring to Hyderabadis’ notice the voices of many bruised hearts of children as voiced by many young filmmakers devoted to children's issues. Hence the theme – “Children of a lesser God”for the 10th edition of ‘Short Cuts Monthly Mini-Festival’. An array of four short films that reveal some naked truths about what childhood ought to be like and what it is like for some. If the following brief summaries of these films don’t leave you gasping for air, the films themselves will choke you to death!

The films screened include Aadesh Srivastava’s ‘Sanaa’ featuring Aayesha Kapoor (Black fame), Seema Biswas, Akhilendra Mishra etc., had its India premiere exclusively at ‘Short Cuts’ after its acclaimed world premiere at the Berlin Asia-Pacific Film Festival recently. Last year’s entry to the Indian Panorama ‘Just above the Pond’ by SMA Vasanth, Jordanian film ‘A divided City’ by Ghayda Nawrus and finally the highly acclaimed ‘I promise Africa’ by Jerry A Henry were screened as part of the 10th Edition of the ‘Short Cuts Monthly Mini-Festival’ screenings held at Prasad Labs Preview Theatre on the 22nd Jan 2006.

For more details on the filmmakers and the films that were screened on 22nd Jan 2006, please click the links below.