It’s a special kind of magic watching your first film play out on a huge movie screen for the first time; the types of screens you’ve only seen,
graced by the faces of the Greats.
Last weekend, The Tent premiered at the wonderful Smita Patil Film Festival (@spiffpune ) held at the iconic @nfaiofficial . A warm, dutifully curated festival SPIFF is unique for its steadfast commitment to short films as complete art forms in themselves rather than the stepping stones most view them as. Thank you to the dedicated team behind the festival @sohilvaidya@babayojang@aneeshp_32@anuuvaidya@sawani_bohemian for including our labour of love and chaos in your fascinating line up!
And of course a big big thank you to all the friends and family who showed up on a Sunday morning to come cheer on our film’s first public outing in a city that many of us in the crew call home ❤️
#thetent #shortfilm #smitapatil #filmfestival #filmmaking
Hello people, happy happyyyy news 🎉🎆
'Halad' our konkani short film, wins Second Best Film and Best Director award at the Smita Patil International Film Festival 🏆
Like millions of others, I’ve always been a fan of the legendary Smita Patil ji. Winning an award for my film and as Best Director at a festival named in her honour feels truly surreal.
Grateful to the SPIFF team 🤍
#cinema #smitapatil #spiff #smitapatilinternationalfilmfestival #konkanifilms
It’s been a day since Ek Din Ka Mehman screened at @spiffpune , but I’m still buzzing from the experience.
The festival was beautifully curated, run by a team that truly respects and values independent filmmakers which is a rare. But the real highlight was the audience. I’ll admit, I didn't expect such a visceral reaction.
Hearing people say how much they related to the story meant the world. Interestingly, fellow filmmakers mentioned how refreshing it was to see a film that wasn't strictly 'issue-based,' noting it as a welcome break from recent trends.
I really wish I’d had a camera on me to capture those moments for my cast and crew. This experience has been a massive boost, inspiring me to work even harder while staying true to my integrity as a storyteller.
Starring
@jayasealghosh72@kumarjaihind@iamabhijit_majumder@sujataghosh295@om.ladha@tollyactressbose@sanketnikam2001
Producer- @pranaysinghsolanki
Chieft AD- @madhan_k19
Hair- makeup @bhaskar.sen.makeupartist
Music - @paragashtikar
Sound Design - @devashishpatil_
Editor - @heteshpanwar
Production Design - @sneha_malakar
Colour Correction - Xavier Joseph
Cinematography - @optimistic_nishant
Written & Direction - @rohitpatidarrr
Special mention to lala @mohittpatidarr for clicking these moments and being there. ❤️🫂
National Film Archives of India, has always been special to me.
I’ve watched films there with my batchmates, even brought my parents so they could understand cinema a little more… and somewhere inside, I always wished that one day I’d watch my film on that big screenn of NFAI.
Our college had also screened Dongar/Pani here for the first time…
but this time felt different.
Yesterday, seeing Dongar/Pani on that same screen honestly felt like the sweetest full-circle moment.
I also want to thank my team,I know this meant a lot to them too.
#Dongar/Pani Team 🥂
And thank you to the organisers and the programming team for this honour and for curating such a beautiful festival.
@aneeshp_32@babayojang@sohilvaidya@spiffpune
My heart is so full.
Thank you to everyone who showed up, supported, listened, and felt.
This day is going to stay with me for a long, long time. ❤️✨
Any good film festival is not possible without the vision of its programming team. And that's what makes @spiffpune tick- its incredible programmers! Kind, compassionate, empathetic, fearless and true visionaries!
Making films is one thing. We can choose to be bold and try to speak out in our works. But then the film needs to reach to an audience. In today's day and age, its convenient to play safe and cater to the power that be. But the programming team of SPIFF is anything but that. The films I saw over the last couple of days at the prestigious National Film Archives of India were bold reflections of the times we are living in. Films which put across stories of the marginalised. Films dealing with caste, gender, religion, sexuality and many other important themes. Films that are essential.
I read a wonderful quote a few days back in a book which said that artists should bring to the people what they need and not what they want. SPIFF is an example of that! I tip my hat to each and everyone of these souls you see in these pictures.
May SPIFF grow from strength to strength. I feel seen and heard with two of my films being programmed in the last couple of years. I feel deeply honored. Not only as a filmmaker. But as a human being. I return home empowered. My respect!
Missed @existential_innuendo and @anuuvaidya in the pictures! Thank you SPIFF! Thank you, Pune! ❤️
@sohilvaidya@babayojang@sawani_bohemian@aneeshp_32
Completed yet another screening of @pilot.shortfilm at @spiffpune . Had very good time connecting with the organizers, programmers and supporters of the festival. Met interesting filmmakers and watched excellent films from around the world.
After the screening, an old man came to me and handed a pen and attar and gave a lot of blessings. And this made my heart full. This is what stories can do on this planet. It creates connections!
With our Producer @sadikkeshwani , Assistant Director and Editor @katha.kanupriya and Cinematographer and Colorist @dop_jaskirat
Congratulations Team once again!
#pilotshortfilm
Proof that our programming team survived two hectic days, questions, emotions, and very serious cinema conversations 😌🎥
(And loved every second of it.)
#SPIFF #FilmFestivalEnergy #CinemaPeople
Day 1 at SPIFF wrapped ✨
A day full of powerful stories, bold voices, and unforgettable cinema.
Thank you to the filmmakers for trusting us with your work, and to our incredible audiences for filling the halls with curiosity, warmth, and conversations. More films, more moments, more magic to come. 🎬❤️
#SPIFF #Day1Wrap #ShortFilms #CinemaCommunity #IndependentCinema
@sachindheeraj has joined SPIFF team as an advisor for international films.
Sachin is a Directors Guild of America Student Award-winning filmmaker whose work has been screened at prestigious film festivals such as Hot Docs, Raindance, EnergaCAMERIMAGE, and Kraków. He finished his MFA in Film & Media Production from The University of Texas at Austin. His short documentary film, TESTIMONY OF ANA, won the National Film Award (Swarna Kamal/Golden Lotus) for the Best Non-Feature Film issued by the Government of India and was qualified for the 95th Academy Awards in the Best Documentary Short category. The film also secured distribution on reputed platforms such as Vimeo Staff Picks, MUBI, SIMA Academy, and Kinoscope. Sachin won the competitive Panavision New Filmmaker Program Equipment Grant and the UT Graduate Continuing Fellowship (an award given to support the final year of an outstanding graduate student) to implement his short narrative project, MEN IN BLUE, which was shortlisted for the 2023 Yugo BAFTA Student Awards. It also won the Grand Jury Prize at the 21st Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) and the Special Jury Prize at the 22nd International Student Film and Video Festival (ISFVF) organized by the Beijing Film Academy.
@sohilvaidya will be jury for our International Competition.
Sohil is a Writer and Director based in San Fransisco Bay Area. He has won multiple awards such as 70th National Film Award(Rajat Kamal/Silver Lotus) awarded by the President of India, Grand Prix at Melbourne International Film Festival, Directors Guild of America’s Best Student Short, Leo Award at Da Vinci FIlm Festival, Best Short Film at National Film Division Corporation(NFDC) Film Bazaar and Artistic Excellence Award at SCAD Savannah Film Festival. His films have been officially selected for more than 100 film festivals worldwide like Rotterdam, Melbourne, Chicago, Raindance, Indian Panorama at IFFI, Palm Springs, Newyork Indian Film Festival, etc.
Too emotional to articulate the rush of emotions I faced today as "My Comrade" screened today to an overwhelming response at the prestigious National Film Archives of India as a part of competition in the 12th Smita Patil International Film Festival, Pune.
Huge turnout, incredible responses, great ovation and people walking up to me and congratulating me for the story that we told on screen. What a feeling! What a freaking great feeling!
To see our work on that historic screen of NFAI was a blessing! To hear such kind words about our work is an even bigger blessing. This Pune trip and this festival screening will forever be etched in my memory as a filmmaker and a human being.
Deeply grateful to my team, my audience and the incredible programmers of SPIFF who gave our film a chance. Thank you Movie God! Thank you Pune! ❤️
@spiffpune@sohilvaidya@babayojang@existential_innuendo
#pune #screening #filmfestival #film #movie
