City filmmaker’s flick selected for Cannes

Nagpur: A short film, directed by a city-based filmmaker, will be screened in the 70th Cannes Film Festival. Dhaaga, a twenty-minute flick by Raj R Gupta, has been selected for the festival’s ‘short film corner.’

Set in a small village of Maharashtra, the film tells the story of the bond shared by a young boy Shankar and his teenage sister Uma. Dhaaga focuses on the routines of children and their equations in a typical Indian family. As the film progresses, it delves into the psyche of common people and what their perception are of Indian traditions.

TOI had earlier reported about the release of the film, which features children from Bal Sadan orphanage.

“I sent the application 25 days ago and got their reply in a week. From nearly 4000 short films which come to Cannes, about 400 are selected for the said category. For a new filmmaker like me, this is definitely a boost. When I shared the news with the crew and the children of Bal Sadan, everyone was excited. We had less expectations about its entry since usually art films or the dark genre is given preference. Our film is simple,” says Gupta.

Dhaaga was screened in MAMI, the Mumbai film festival, and was one of the top ten shortlisted films there, contesting with over 350 films. It also received ‘special festival mention’ at 5th Delhi international Short Film Festival. The film was also screened at Melbourne, Australia as part of RMIT festival.

Cannes will be held from May 17 to May 28, the schedule for which will come in mid-April. Gupta will attend the festival. He is now working on a full length Marathi feature film, based on the relationship between a father and son.

A special screening of the film will be held on March 8 from 7pm to 9pm at Bal Sadan, Katol road.