Can you beat these Japanese inventions?

The Lunch Date

The 10 minute short film below, ‘The Lunch Date‘, is one of the most profound, clever, amusing and humane films I’ve ever seen. The film, directed by Adam Davidson, went on to become a worldwide success after it was made in 1989. In 1990, it won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival for best short film, and, in 1991, an Oscar for Best Short Film. The film explores prejudices and racial tension through a chance encounter between an old white woman and a black man.

Bowling Accident

Six Shooter (2005)

“We’re living in a period where cinema is a product; movies are becoming more and more commercialized. Short films are one of the last real places for artistic freedom—they’re important to celebrate just for that.”—Juan Solanas

Six Shooter is one of the short films from the collection  Cinema16: European Short Films, a DVD of quality short films. The film won an Oscar in the year 2006 under Live Action Short Film category. I think the film is brilliant. This short is also available free on you tube. Since my review after the videos below is more like an analysis of the film rather than a proper review, I suggest that you first watch the film below before you read my review. The film is little over 25 minutes, so watch it only if you can spare that much time or perhaps you can also watch the film in intervals.

Montreal Summer

The summer time in Montreal is very special.  Although the spirit of Montrealers is always upbeat- even during the long harsh winters- still the summer is unique, as it comes with lot of colors, brightness and even more optimism. It’s the time when city cleans up nicely and there is one festival after another, most prominent being the Montreal Jazz festival. The summer this year hasn’t been that great till now in terms of weather, what with frequent spells of rain and very occasional clear sky. But that’s not enough to prevent me from celebrating the spirit of Montreal summer through the slide show below. Enjoy!

PROLOGUE Teaser

So, here is the official trailer of this upcoming French short film, PROLOGUE, in which I acted and about which I wrote here. Before you ask me, No, I’m not there in the trailer; thankfully . Have a nice weekend everybody.

Story: How it starts?

I decided that it was not wisdom that enabled poets to write their poetry, but a kind of instinct or inspiration, such as you find in seers and prophets who deliver all their sublime messages without knowing in the least what they mean. – Socrates

Of late, I have been thinking a lot regarding how the story of any film begins in the mind of a writer/filmmaker. In various scriptwriting books, courses, workshops etc, we learn about various things related to any good story; the structure, various acts, conflict, interesting characters, beats, plot points, resolution and so on. The book, “Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting“ authored by the ultimate screenwriting guru, Robert McKee, is considered Bible in screenwriting. I cannot write enough that how much this voluminous 500 page book has taught me. Unlike most other books on screenwriting which focus more on the mechanical aspects of a story structure, Mckee’s Story turns inwards into human psychology to explain in minute detail how great dramas unfold on screen. He writes, “We need a rediscovery of the underlying tenets of our art, the guiding principles that liberate talent.” His book, Story, is a path to that rediscovery. In it, McKee offers so much sound advice, drawing from sources as wide ranging as Aristotle, Casablanca, Stanislavski and Chinatown, that it is impossible not to be influenced by this book when you start your journey into screenwriting.