Making a short film has become a way for many IT professionals, who have a passion for the medium, to express their creative side. Anuraj SL, who has an IT background, did some online promotion for a film and got hooked to the filmmaking process. He is also a part of the story production venture KoFi Club which has many assistant directors with whom he shares a common interest of films. This association resulted in the twenty-minute long short film Candle.
The club had one objective and that was to make films from real life incidents, and Anuraj says, “We used to discuss and criticise films and talk about how the climaxes or scenes could be better. All of us wanted to make films from real-life incidents and in fact I wanted to be a writer and was actually the writer for Candle but had to step into the shoes of a director at the last moment.”
Talking about Candle he says, “There are only two characters – a male and female. The male character is shown in the dark while it is only the female character who faces the camera. The story is about a single woman who gets a call from a stranger and the events that follow, events that change the course of her life.” Talking about the title, he explains, “A candle eventually burns out but if we can be a ray of light in someone’s life, that would be the greatest gift. I wanted to do a meaningful short film and Candle is a result of that.” This story is a collaborative output from all the members at the club.
Candle won an award for the Best Dialogues in the Little Shows Film Awards function. It was also one among the final five competing for the best film for a social cause and was selected for two international film festivals – Viewster and Global Challenge 360. Anuraj does not want to venture full time into filmmaking for now and is busy juggling his profession and his passion.
