“Motorcycle Diaries”, a recent and critically acclaimed film based on the diaries Che Guevara wrote during his long biking expedition across Latin America (while he was still a student and many decades before he became a revolutionary and achieved a cult status) has an interesting caption on its poster: “Let the world change you before you can change the world.” It's a statement that can come only from one who has personally experienced the world. It is exactly this statement that made Short Cuts begin wondering how many people that our own country's landscape must have motivated in their long journey toward their respective destinies. Or how many people that our own city, let alone country, must have influenced in their way up? Hyderabad, being what it is, is capable of doing anything. History can present numerous examples that serve as evidence. Be it the bridge across Musi that the Nizam constructed so that his son can cross the river at night, as is the latter's obsession, to meet his Hindu lover or Taramati - Baradari, the open pavilion atop a hill that Sultan Abdullah built for a singer and dancer or the very city of Hyderabad that is named after Bhagamati. It's never just a woman or an incident. It's always something and that catalyzing effect that the city adds to the whole process that motivate a creator. And as always, the accomplice must be given due credit. Hence, “Showcase : Hyderabad ”. An exclusive mini-festival dedicated to the screenings of movies made by our own ‘local boys'.

“Showcase : Hyderabad” was a unique chance to watch and analyze four films, each different from one another in subject, treatment and after-effects but bound together by just one common thread: all are made by young directors who grew up in Hyderabad and who never said no to chai in all those years of growing up. Not even once. And it shows! The following films were screened as part of the ‘Short Cuts Monthly Mini festival – 7th Edition' as part of the theme “Showcase : Hyderabad ”.

“Ek Aakash” by Sudhakar Reddy, an FTII student, focuses on how a game of kite-flying that creates fiction between two boys can also bring the same two boys together indicating at what we're missing in today's world, ‘Ek Aakash' is produced by UNESCO & FTII - Pune , and winner of “Special Jury Award” at the 51st National Awards, “Special mention” at International film festival for young and children in Argentina, “Best Youth/Children's Television Programme for an International Audience” from The Association for International Broadcasting (AIB).


In keeping with the ‘Short Cuts' tradition of promoting filmmakers of promise from Hyderabad, ‘Short Cuts' had the exclusive World Premiere's of “Me, Meera” by Subhakar, “The Lake” by Srikanth Chinnamatur and “The Jog” by Nikhil Acharya.

“Me, Meera”, a 53-minute tribute to Hyderabad by Subhakar breaks quite a few rules of documentary filmmaking with its utterly original and clever narrative style and brutally honest expression of thoughts on contemporary culture.

“The Lake”, a thriller by Srikanth Chinnamatur, an NRI-Hyderabadi(!), brings us a day in the life of two people even as they are pursued by a serial killer who in turn is followed by a reporter – an official entrée at New York International Video and Film Festival this year.

“The Jog”, a parody of a shoe ad by Nikhil Acharya portrays with the help of strong visuals and punchy lines, the angst of an Indian teenager disturbed by the Iraq War.

In other words, it' was an evening of serious cinema for serious lovers of cinema at Prasad Labs Preview Theater, 6.30pm on Sunday, 16th October 2005.

For more details about the films that were screened on 16th Oct 2005 please click the links below.