Headline :Young and talented

Publication :
NEW SUNDAY TIMES-SHOWTIME
Date :22/05/2005
Page :12
Byline :By R.S. Kamini
Type :Entertainment

The winners of the recent Astro Vaanavil's Short Film Competition, open category, speak to R.S. KAMINI.

SITRA Manoharan loves to act and had the opportunity to enter the local Indian film scene when she was 16. She took part in telemovies, playing bit parts.
But her first attempt at directing earned her the first prize in the open category of the Astro Vaanavil's Short Film Competition.
The 19-year-old from Puchong, who co-owns production house Sitram Vision Sdn Bhd, snatched the prize from seven other shortlisted films.
The prizes were given out at the recent International Tamil Film Awards at PWTC, Kuala Lumpur.
"I've been in the film industry as an actress but now I see it as both an actress and a director," said Sitra.
"I owe this success to my production team because the idea for my film was actually contributed by my production crew, particularly my co-director G. Kathir.
Her short film, Than Vinai (What comes around goes around), is about vandalism in the local Indian community.
It is the usual story about a rebellious youngster who trashes public property and, in the end, his doings almost cause him his life.
"Vandals are all around us but we are largely unaware of the effects of their behaviour." Sitra said she is now on the lookout for new talents to help them grow.
"We have a lot of talented people who are not given a chance and we are willing to take the risk of featuring them in our short or feature films." Sitra and her team are already working on their next project.
Abu Baker Siddiq, 27, and Premnath Pillai, 23, from Kuala Lumpur who met in college, ventured into film making despite strong objection from both their families.
"I enrolled into Akademi TV3 (now known as MIIM) in 2000 for a diploma in Broadcasting," said Baker.
"I met Prem and most of the members of my crew, who were my college mates then, there."

Both Baker and Prem worked together on student projects which were nominated for the Malaysian Video Awards and Hollywood Film Festival.
After college, they set out on their own and worked with local production houses like Pegasus Films and KRU Productions Sdn Bhd.
"We did everything from holding the boom mike to moving the camera and becoming production assistants," said Prem.
After three years, Baker and Prem turned freelancers. They got back together for the Astro competition, and Baker won the second prize for Illusions of Love while Prem won third place for Guns Or Roses in the open category.
"We used the same crew and shared the actors. They had very different roles to play so we had to co-ordinate well for a smooth shoot," said Baker.
Illusions of Love is a quaint story of love and care between two people that is full of drama and surprising turns.
"It was much of a last-minute work and in fact we finished shooting the film without a title a day or two before the deadlines," said Baker.
Guns or Roses is about a bank robber with the story taking place in a single location. "I wasn't expecting much when we started the shoot but y friends delivered more than what I expected," said Prem, referring perhaps to a passionate kissing scene.
Both Baker and Prem used R. Sasitharan as their main actor and the impressive newcomer Samuel Sackris was the cameraman for both films.
Prem added that he is now working on his own telemovie. Both are also getting offers to direct telemovies and commercials after their wins.
(END)