Thiruvananthapuram: What looked like a set of picture postcards at the tea shop in front of Kairali Theatre, turned out to be invites to a short film. Filmmakers have been relying on printed invites to lure audiences for their screenings. The filmmakers hope that the festival would give them exposure. “I wanted maximum people to watch the films,” said Akash Sharma who made the 29-minute ‘Wedding Preparations in the Country’. Even as they say they that they want their films to be watched by everyone, they have not uploaded their films on video sharing websites like Youtube. Bejon K Vinod, who was part of the crew of the 26-minute ‘Appooppant-hadi’, said that in order to be eligible for various award festivals, they avoided uploading on such public sites.
He added that though the film had over 40 screenings at various film festivals in Kerala, for the first time they got a discerning audience consisting of filmmakers, film students and film enthusiasts. “These were people with a clear point of view on films. We did not mind spending an additional Rs 1000, as we wanted as many as possible to watch the films,” he said. The effort paid off as later on many contacted them on social networking sites, he said. The invites could also be a souvenir for the viewer, provided the viewing experience was that gratifying.
