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Ray’s film-makers calling
30/11/2004
FILM-makers are being invited to use their imagination and
creativity to produce a short film that reflects the experiences of
south Asians.
The Satyajit Ray Foundation has organised the competition, in
collaboration with the British Film Institute, The British Council
and the Nehru Centre.
The competition will be open to all film-makers of any age, either
resident or studying in the UK
The film must last no longer than 30-minutes and must reflect
themes of south Asian experience both within south Asia
(Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal) or the south
Asian in the rest of the world.
The winner will receive a cash prize of £1,000 for best film and
£500 for best film by an under 18-year-old.
The winners will be announced and prizes will be presented by award
winning director Mike Leigh on 1 May next year at the BAFTA
theatre. Entries must be submitted in either VHS or DVD format.
Closing date for entries is 31 March 2005.
Chair and founder member of the Satyajit Ray Foundation, Pamela
Cullen said: "The Ray Foundation is always looking out for new ways
to encourage good film making.
"Short films are an important art form, requiring discipline and
precision to be successful. They have been the spring board into
full length feature films for many contemporary award-winning
film-makers,.
"We will be looking for films that show imagination and creativity
and reflect the cultural diversity and experiences of south Asians,
either in their own country or the diaspora."
Mike Leigh who is also a competition patron added: "Film is an
exciting and wonderful medium, and short films have been at the
centre of cinema activity since the dawn of the movies. The
competition will encourage young film-makers to explore life and
put it on screen, just as Ray did himself in his inspiring
work."
The Satyajit Ray Foundation was established as a charity in London
since 1994 to ensure that the work of Ray is shown and appreciated
and that his particular vision, artistry and humanity remain an
example and inspiration to new generations of film-makers.
Applications are available to download from
www.rayfoundation.mistral.co.uk
Satyajit Ray was born in 1921 to a family
distinguished for its cultural attainments. Both his father and his
grandfather were celebrated writers. Ray trained as a painter at
Tagore's university, subsequently becoming an art director for a
leading advertising agency in Calcutta. But his passion was for
Western classical music and the cinema.
In the early 1950s he decided to leave his job to make a film based
on the classic Bengali novel 'Pather Panchali' ("Song of the
Road"). He worked with amateur actors and technicians, using the
most unsophisticated equipment. To finance the film he sold his
books and records, and pawned his wife's jewellry. His depiction of
a boy growing up in the harsh deprivation of a Bengal village
became a landmark in film history and was hailed as a masterpiece
at the Cannes Film Festival of 1955. Ray produced a film
practically every year around a range of themes affecting life in
Calcutta. His involvement with Calcutta was total, and in return he
received in abundance the love and admiration of Calcutta's
literati. Ray himself, despite offers, refused to work outside
Calcutta.
Ray wrote the scripts for his films and composed the music. A
prolific writer of stories and novels in Bengali, he also edited a
children's magazine for which he wrote more than 150 stories and
created brilliant illustrations. Ray died in 1992 soon after
receiving an Oscar for lifetime Achievement.
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