Short film making has great future: Supriyo Sen

The director was speaking after the screening of his short film ‘Wagah’, which has won over 50 international awards including Karlovy Vary in 2009.

‘Wagah’ was screened as part of the ‘Beyond Frontiers’ art show – a two-day meet of filmmakers, photographers, music performances and discourse “centred on shadow lands of constructed geographical borders”.

Supriyo feels that coming from a refugee background helped him identify the angst of the displaced.

“I remember while making Wagah I did not get the visa to go to Pakistan. I was sitting in the visitors’ gallery on our side of the border to watch the parade. My producer was a German and we had a cameraman from Pakistan shooting from the other side. This seemed to me the funniest experience and that
element was there in the narration.”

Supriyo has to his credit other foreign festival feted shorts like ‘The Nest’, ‘Way Back Home’, ‘Hope Dies Last in War’, ‘Why Not Tell Stories in a Smaller Way’.

“I believe many important things can be narrated in a brief span. While feature films will have their place, short films are important to reach out to the younger generation who might have lesser attention span. Some of the present day audiences might not be inclined to the two-and-half to three-hour format of story telling.

“In fact I think both formats will thrive and cater to their audiences,” he said.

Supriyo said west has a vibrant short film culture unlike India where “Many people are making short films, but not seriously.”

To a question, he said he would be making his feature debut soon which will reflect his vision on social reality.