Last Week of Fundraising: The 0ne Rupee Film Project

***Shared via the official blog of 

The 0ne Rupee Film Project***

At the same time, it's good and it's bad. The positive thing is that once this campaign ends we will be free to go and shoot and complete our film and we won't have to do the tremendous job of convincing people to chip in their hard earned money to support our project. Sometimes it becomes even tougher than stealing the ring from Gollum. The terrible pressure...oh... finally it'll be over in a week.

And the negative thing is... no, it's not something to express in two or three lines. Allow this copy + paste from our website ---

"It was completely unplanned. The campaign initially started at the 9th Bring Your Own Film Festival, Puri. On the last day of of the festival, 25th February, 2012, we started approaching people to crowd-fund our film and raised INR 2,444. After returning, we kept on letting people know about our venture. The response was good. We collected INR 60,000 altogether till we launched the campaign on Wishberry in the last week of May, 2012. Wishberry has been a good partner till our partnership ended on Sptember 1. We raised INR 54,017 through this online platform. After September 1 we launched our campaign on Indiegogo just to keep the ways of receiving online contributions open, but it did not run well as we could raise only 48 USD there. Now in the last leg of production, we have launched another online fundraising campaign with Funduzz.com.
Check out http://bit.ly/fundonerupee

Till today (6th June, 2013) we have raised

INR 1,68,921.51 (Offline)
INR 54,017 (via Wishberry)
INR 2, 595.84 (via Indiegogo)

Total INR 2,25,534.35 of which INR 12, 482.05 has been spent on commissions of our partners.


So, the actual sum collected is
INR 2,13,052.30 only
and we still need to raise another
57,000 rupees till
June 15, 2013

We have raised around 24,000 rupees already on Funduzz.com
So that leaves us 33,000 INR away from our target



We expect you to do your bit! Thanks"


So, that's the situation. It's not impossible, as a matter of fact, we have never been this close, but, it's tough, undoubtedly, especially considering the fact that though most of you don't like traditional film producers of our country but you do behave like them sometimes when someone comes to you asking for your support in the form of even as minimum as one rupee.

Now, you have a clear view of the negative side, we hope.
We still expect you to do your bit if you haven't yet.


Together, if not history, we can at least make a film!

***Shared via the official blog of 

The 0ne Rupee Film Project***

Memories... of a Dead Township goes UNPLUGGED

Memories... of a Dead Township (2012) is being played at We Speak, Here (Online Film Festival, 2012) on the Culture Unplugged's website. Watch it, Rate it, Share your Views

View this movie at cultureunplugged.com

The film is one of the most viewed films on the opening day. Can we keep visits coming at this rate through out the 6 month long festival? If you like it, do share it.

Promote films. Promote Consciousness

The 0ne Rupee Novella - Part II

We have started a project named The 0ne Rupee Film. The film does not look forward to traditional producers neither to traditional distributors but to your support and contribution. The film will be made by whatever you donate. The minimum contribution is just One Indian Rupee. We are posting the story line in form of a novella to gear up the fundraising process.






If you are interested please follow the blog http://onerupeefilm.blogspot.in/
Or the official Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/onerupeefilm

A man opens the door with a smiling face; must be a servant who already knew that another young filmmaker is coming in search of luck. No one would have guessed that such a rich man can live here in this soon-to-be-abandoned kind of building. How did he become so rich, the filmmaker tries to think while moving towards the drawing room. Suddenly, the thoughts gets obstructed as he sees a young man playing cricket. Not exactly playing, rather practicing, but where's the ball again! What is this man trying to do? He's got a bat, he is posing as if he is playing different shots and, nevertheless he is also narrating the whole action in English. A shadow practice with commentary, nice! The filmmaker stood motionless, watching, until the servant calls him inside. Unexpected association of images and sounds! The fat film producer enters the room

-- 'Welcome, my dear friend, what'll you have, cold drink or beer?

-- 'Beer of course!'

As if tea or coffee is meant for a mediocre only! He knows very well where this conversation is going to end. Sometimes he thinks he must learn to lie. Does it really matter if you cheat some fatsos to make your dream a reality? You just need to say that you know some buyers and they live in some UK or USA and the only thing needed is three or four copies with Spanish, French, Itallian and Russian subtitles other than English. You need to convince them that you know every bit of the international market but, fuck man, you are a maker and not a merchant. You can't humiliate yourself at least! So, again he says the same things like even Uttam Kumar had to cope with flops. Absolutely no one can be certain whether a film is going to work in terms of revenue or not. And the producer would say

-- "See, it doesn't matter to me if your film is a flop. It's my money and I just want to know how I can get it back, I mean at least what I invested. Can you show me a structure?"

-- "That depends on a lot of things."

-- "Then my financial support too depends on a lot of things."

Then they will talk about the market trends and how much investment can assure some return etc. The producer will talk about his previous experiences with other directors whom he thinks to be eminent names now-a-days in the industry. How they came to him when no one had heard their names and how he changed their lives etc. All the same, all the same! Then after a couple of bottles, the filmmaker would get depressed and open up again

-- "The taste has changed a lot, you see. No one likes a good film now-a-days. If you use some slow moves, prolonged zoom-ins and zoom-outs, they will call you outdated. No one wants a Hrishikesh Mukherjee in the 21st century. The longest shot should last less than 6 seconds, that's what they like. Even these kinds of conversation sequences, like we are having a discussion now, sitting face-to-face on two sides of a table, shot-reverse shot-over the shoulder-POV; they will call it cliched. I know, I've used these devices previously. I've heard that film insurance is an option in Mumbai provided that the project profile looks fine. The the kind of casting required to avail that...well, I don't think you are that much strong financially.

-- "Who told you to think about my financial background?"

-- "No, on a second thought, the kind of stars that we have here won't be fit for my film. Most of them are incapable I think. Moreover, viewers can empathize more with a new man, a new face. This is a psychological factor that always works. In case of stars, the process of self-identification gets hindered.

-- "Whatever! If you comne up with something interesting let me know. Just give me a call and we'll see"

Another door is closed.
New face?
What's new again?
It's just a common face
But a face that's uncommon for the screen
For the spectator
In a sea of thousand faces how'd you know who finds empathy in what shape or which complexion
Everyday
I stand in front of a wall
All covered up with posters
Everyday
I shuffle between a thousand images
All I look for is a face
Similar to mine
Yet dissimilar

...And the rain starts to fall

The 0ne Rupee Film - 3

We have started a project named The 0ne Rupee Film. The film does not look forward to traditional producers neither to traditional distributors but to your support and contribution. The film will be made by whatever you donate. These are some recent posts shared from the official blog.


If you are interested please follow the blog http://onerupeefilm.blogspot.in/
Or the official Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/onerupeefilm









Thursday, March 22, 2012

The Story Behind It
The truth is, I'm an idler. Although I was suffering from fever since we were back from Jadavpur and then something happened to my broadband connection (I was able to access internet using my dongle) they just don't stand up as good alibis for not posting on the blog since the 13th. It's been 9 days without writing. The feverish feel didn't even let me feel how fast time flies by when one is not working.

On the 19th evening (or may be night), in the month of February, at around 22:30 hrs. when I told Mr. Gurpal Singh "Gurpal ji, bahat ho gaya, abhi feature banani hai. Logon se ek ek rupiyaa leke suru karne ka socha hai [It has been enough, now I want to make a feature. I thought of starting it by putting a demand of one rupee to everyone]" Sriparna and Surya were there in front of Chakrateertha House, Puri, Orissa and I was quite astonished that I've actually said it. Before that, the idea was shared only once with Sriparna. Gurpal replied smilingly, like he does on every occasion, 'well, it's a great idea but is there anyone here who believes that you won't spend those one rupees on fags and boozes. See, there have been many people in the last years, coming up with ideas like these, collecting money for making film and afterwards none of them were traceable neither their films." --- This reply is what made me feel the necessity of starting this blog.

Four hours before that, I was sitting in a train, Howrah-Puri Duronto Express, at seat no.2. Beside me there was a guy on no.1, named Mr. Abhayanand Pathak. Sriparna, her mom and my mom were on Seat no. 3, 4 and 5. Between us there was the passage, so, I really had no option but to chat with this aged friend of mine when he started talking. Normally I don’t like explicitly religious people, but this time it was different. I felt a touch of wisdom in his words. He speaks a lot (I mean when he starts). Soon I discovered that he is one of the uncles of actor Vinay Pathak. So we talked a bit about Vinay’s performances in different films. Mr. Pathak said that he is a poet and he has two books to his creddit. So, we moved on to poetry and he said he is not a regular poet. He does not understand poetry; rather he tries to understand his religion and the world through his poems. I said, one doesn’t need to understand poetry really, that must be left to the academicians and critics. One must understand oneself to write or compose. Thus, philosophy and religion occupied the central thread of this conversation. Mr. A.N Pathak is one of those guys who say Hey Ram even while yawning. But I, somehow, did not really have any problem to carry on chatting with the Bihari Pandit Brahmin. I myself came to know that I ‘m a Kankubji Brahmin and not a Gaudiya one. Later on, he told me a story of a writer he met at Kurla station. He saw this guy in a bit untidy white shirt and black trousers, asking for one rupee from everyone on the platform. He came in to the waiting room, approached a man sitting next to Mr. Pathak. That man replied negative in a rudely manner and then turned to Mr. Pathak and said “Look at this poor guy. He has learnt this much English only to become an unconventional beggar. What’s becoming of this country”. Mr. Pathak did not reply. He silently started to follow this unconventional beggar and wanted to know the reason of his begging. The man told him that he is a writer. He has written a novel and now he is raising funds as he does not have enough money to publish it.





Yes, it’s an idea copied from somewhere else. I don’t know the name of this writer (I wish I had) but his way can prove to be fruitful for us. Till date, as a forum, LFEBF has produced 14 short films and two feature length films since 2008 out of which 12 shorts and two features were released in three compilations in three consecutive years. Do you know another forum in this country which has been this much consistent? Do you know a filmmaker in India who did take up no-budget as a serious method of film production before or by the year 2008? And when you visit the websites on so-called “Indian Independent Films and Filmmakers” how many times do you find mentions of these works there? Except producing a feature there’s another aim behind starting this fund-raising that is the process itself works as a campaign. This is a good form of no-budget promotion. But some of these so-called ‘devotees’ of “Indian Independent Film” are not even spending a single word on this project. Moreover, some of them are not even responding or replying while communicated with proper information. Where is the problem, can you tell me? Is it with Bengal? Is it with the forum? Or is it with the No-Budget method? I mean if everyone knows us or keeps on following us on facebook why do they become misers when it comes to sharing or writing something about some honest and off-the-track initiative?

Recently my latest film Memories… of a Dead Township (2012) was reviewed by Dr. Ian McCormick. Dr. McCormick also interviewed me via email and posted it to his blog. It’s something adequate to make us happy but we’d have been happier if the review was written or the interview was taken by some Bengali friend of ours, or at least by someone from India.



Thanks to Dr. Ian McCormick and everyone who’s reading, sharing, talking about this blog/project/initiative or the forum. Thanks to all the contributors who helped us reach the threshold of 19k within one month.



The truth is not only that I’m an idler but I belong to a community full of slackers and idlers I believe.

The 0ne Rupee Film - 2

We have started a project named The 0ne Rupee Film. The film does not look forward to traditional producers neither to traditional distributors but to your support and contribution. The film will be made by whatever you donate. These are some recent posts shared from the official blog

If you are interested please follow the blog http://onerupeefilm.blogspot.in/

Or the official Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/onerupeefilm

Friday, March 9, 2012

Promised Post: Explanation, Expectation, Resolution

I hope I don't need to explain the delay. If you are a reader of this blog you must have already guessed that I'm really not doing some office-work, neither do I have a secretary to do this job for me and just like you, I too have my own problems like depression etc. Today, I updated my old website today for the first time as well as an old blog after 2010. And now, I really don't have much time. I'll have to leave soon for the city, I must be there by night. Anyway, let's come to the point.

Why is the minimum amount of contribution still Re.1 while I'm clearly stating that even more than Rs. 25 k is welcome from a single person?

My answer is: See, Firstly, Little Fish Eat Big Fish was initiated and founded in 2008 by me, Sriparna and Arupa da (Arupratan Ghosh). It's been quite a long time since then. In this period we've learnt a lot of things about films and also about other things. We have released three DVDs on our own. For various reasons we were compelled to set the minimum participatory contribution at Rs.100 (150-200 for other states). In kolkata till date spending 100Rs. for 5 short films is not an easy thing for all the students. Yes, there are students who can spend Rs.1000 everyday just for anything but they were not our target audience. People who found interest in our works mostly belong to middle and lower-middle class. What we used to do is, we first focused on recovering the production cost and once it is recovered we used to distribute digital copies for free to the people who could not afford spending 100.

Secondly, till date common people in Kolkata are not really that much interested about the independent efforts in film-medium (Well, basic reason behind this is the trash produced by rich kids and the idiotic school-goers who god knows why ever tried to make a film). Even those who are interested are not habituated to contribute to Independent films or filmmakers. This project looks forward to raise this habit. One rupee is nothing, it doesn't hurt. Most of the people use this very amount only to satisfy pushy beggars. The basic difference between us and the beggar is that we are providing them with a little piece of paper containing information regarding this project so that they can check back and verify or contribute more if they feel like. With the exchanged value of one rupee, the unique approach will surely help them remember the fact, we feel. It's not building houses in the air in the name of Independent filmmaking. Our fathers are not our producers and we still believe in the from-the-mass-to-the-mass structure.

I hope that's enough to clarify why the minimum amount is one rupee only. Now, why am I asking for more?

See, just like the ovum needs sperm to produce a new life, a film needs money to come to life. We believe that there are some friends of ours who like the way we are continuing against all odds. Some of them do receive a handsome paycheck at the end of every month. Among these friends there are some we know personally. They are film enthusiasts, fan of good literature, loves music too. It's a clear call to them, "Dear, it's the time for you to act. Maybe once you dreamt of making 'That Film' but then this job and all, and then you had to get married and now you raise a family... alright! No one is calling you to get out of your closet, but we are on the streets. Can you lend us your umbrella? We'd love to smell it and believe that you are still here with us."

For the next two days, me and Sriparna, we'll be available at JU (Jadavpur University) campus. You can come, meet, discuss with us about the film, contribute. For any assistance call me on 919883103809. When I get back from the city I'll start uploading the storyline little by little in the form of a novella. Can I expect you to just copy and paste that on your blog / web with some basic information about this project. That'll be of much help. Let us know.

Thanks

Monday, March 12, 2012

Just Another Post

We were at Jadavpur University on the 10th and 11th at the stall of Guruchandali Magazine in the Sanskriti, 2012 (a festival organized by the students of engineering dept). The collection is now INR 7,807.15 /- But I'm not really feeling like writing anything else tonight. I'm tired. Moreover, I expected some comments or responses on the last post. OK, so it's clear now, no one is going to come forward and say, "here, I can help". It's more like, "you are fighting for your own cause. So, you shall face all that on your own". But what did I really ask? -- I just wanted some friends who can copy from this blog and paste on his own with some basic information on this initiative when I start posting the the story-line in the form of a novella.

Anyway, depression is natural, and it's only temporary. I believe I'll be able to keep on posting like before because I've gone through worse phases and those days have only encouraged me more.

Thanks

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Trends

Depression is like cloud, you know what I mean if you are a sensitive man.

I came across another talented friend of mine today who seemed to be in a mood of a quarrel. These kinds of friends, see, I used to have a lot of them before. They will never do what they should have been doing. They would opt for a job at some office and curse the society for being so cruel. They'd curse their social and economic whereabouts for everything i.e the obstructions of becoming a popular artiste. But it's actually them who decided to sign the papers because they felt insecure at a point of time.

If you know what you are doing and who you are inside, is there a reason to get distracted like that, my friend? Lack of confidence and recognition can make feel a mediocre artiste that he is somebody like Rimbaud or Artaud, only if people could get it! Gosh!

What's there in recognition? If you are all for work why should you care at all? No matter what, just keep on working, use your brain and muscles and don't become jealous of anyone around.

Analyze, won't you?

Whatever, let's come to the point, if you are subscribed to the Facebook page you must have already come to know that the figure now stands at INR 12,908.15 /- but what you don't know yet is that the highest individual contribution is Rs. 2500. Let's see who's going to break it and donate 5k for the first time.

Our first identified donor from another country is Ginnetta Correlli, a filmmaker friend. Her generosity was soon found in another filmmaker friend named Jason Marsh. We are thankful to them, we think their contributions would motivate others in other parts of the world too.

Be it Re.1 or Rs.1006 people are contributing for real. It's not one month yet since we started at BYOFF on the 25th of February and we're almost at 13k already. May we call it overwhelming, the response? Now we have a reason to be confident and announce, Yes, We'll Start Shooting this April. Now, whichever comes first, 20k or the first shoot, We'll start posting the story-line in the form of a novella, post by post, serially. Friends, asking again, do you have a blog where you can share the novella with some basic information on this project to help raise funds more effectively? --- We think we'll have MAM (Mad About Moviez) beside us. Are you too MAD, about MOVIEZ? Join hands, let's make it happen for the sake of the pure madness

A post from the One Rupee Film Project

We have decided to share the posts from the 'One Rupee Film' blog from now on. It's a project that looks forward to your support and contribution in order to materialize. These posts are made by Anamitra Roy.
For previous posts check out the blog or to get updates regularly check out the FB Page

Promised Post: Explanation, Expectation, Resolution

I hope I don't need to explain the delay. If you are a reader of this blog you must have already guessed that I'm really not doing some office-work, neither do I have a secretary to do this job for me and just like you, I too have my own problems like depression etc. Today, I updated my old websitetoday for the first time as well as an old blog after 2010. And now, I really don't have much time. I'll have to leave soon for the city, I must be there by night. Anyway, let's come to the point.




Why is the minimum amount of contribution still Re.1 while I'm clearly stating that even more than Rs. 25 k is welcome from a single person?




My answer is: See, Firstly, Little Fish Eat Big Fish was initiated and founded in 2008 by me, Sriparna and Arupa da (Arupratan Ghosh). It's been quite a long time since then. In this period we've learnt a lot of things about films and also about other things. We have released three DVDs on our own. For various reasons we were compelled to set the minimum participatory contribution at Rs.100 (150-200 for other states). In kolkata till date spending 100Rs. for 5 short films is not an easy thing for all the students. Yes, there are students who can spend Rs.1000 everyday just for anything but they were not our target audience. People who found interest in our works mostly belong to middle and lower-middle class. What we used to do is, we first focused on recovering the production cost and once it is recovered we used to distribute digital copies for free to the people who could not afford spending 100.




Secondly, till date common people in Kolkata are not really that much interested about the independent efforts in film-medium (Well, basic reason behind this is the trash produced by rich kids and the idiotic school-goers who god knows why ever tried to make a film). Even those who are interested are not habituated to contribute to Independent films or filmmakers. This project looks forward to raise this habit. One rupee is nothing, it doesn't hurt. Most of the people use this very amount only to satisfy pushy beggars. The basic difference between us and the beggar is that we are providing them with a little piece of paper containing information regarding this project so that they can check back and verify or contribute more if they feel like. With the exchanged value of one rupee, the unique approach will surely help them remember the fact, we feel. It's not building houses in the air in the name of Independent filmmaking. Our fathers are not our producers and we still believe in the from-the-mass-to-the-mass structure.




I hope that's enough to clarify why the minimum amount is one rupee only. Now, why am I asking for more?




See, just like the ovum needs sperm to produce a new life, a film needs money to come to life. We believe that there are some friends of ours who like the way we are continuing against all odds. Some of them do receive a handsome paycheck at the end of every month. Among these friends there are some we know personally. They are film enthusiasts, fan of good literature, loves music too. It's a clear call to them, "Dear, it's the time for you to act. Maybe once you dreamt of making 'That Film' but then this job and all, and then you had to get married and now you raise a family... alright! No one is calling you to get out of your closet, but we are on the streets. Can you lend us your umbrella? We'd love to smell it and believe that you are still here with us."




For the next two days, me and Sriparna, we'll be available at JU (Jadavpur University) campus. You can come, meet, discuss with us about the film, contribute. For any assistance call me on 919883103809. When I get back from the city I'll start uploading the storyline little by little in the form of a novella. Can I expect you to just copy and paste that on your blog / web with some basic information about this project. That'll be of much help. Let us know.

Thanks

Updates: BYOFF, 2012

The 23rd Feb was the Little Fish Eat Big Fish Evening at BYOFF this year. The 3rd compilation was screened at screen 1 and was received with warmth. As usual, people were overwhelmed when they came to know that 'Replica' was produced with 400 rupees or the production of 'Memories...of a Dead Township' required no money. It's good to see that people are recognizing us as a unique kind of platform that takes up or comes up with unbelievably produced films every year.

The interest is increasing. This year at BYOFF Anamitra Roy started his fundraising campaign for a 90 minute feature. The campaign has launched as "The One Rupee Film Project" and can be followed on this blog.

Updates: Kolkata Book Fair, 2012

Just like the previous year, there was a ban on selling DVDs in the Little Magazine Pavilion this year too. Most of the magazines could not put the 3rd Compilation on their table for displaying. The Situation was tough. But as we've overcome the primary and the most important constraint i.e the financial one, these restrictions mean nothing to us. We have successfully distributed 62 copies altogether in this Book Fair. Thanks to the magazines that stood by us. We will need them again in future.

44 + 62 makes it 106. The production cost is almost recovered.

We are now looking forward to make our DVDs available in different towns of West Bengal. So, if you know someone from a local store, someone who can help, please inform us. We won't mind selling our DVDs from a restaurant or a grocery-store but from our point of view book-stores are preferred. Thank you

Web Release: 3rd Compilation: No Budget Films

3rd Compilation: No Budget Films is now available on the web to buy or rent. Click here to check out

For all the LFEBF films available on Zinemaya go to this link

Thanks for staying with us

Kolkata Book Fair '12: Update

"3rd Compilation: No Budget Films" is now available at Kolkata Book Fair 2012. Ask for copies at Kaurab (Stall No. 531), Natun Kabita (Stall No. 380), Abhijan Pub (Stall No. 324), Graffiti Kolkata Broadside (Little Mag Pav, table no. 77), গুরুচন্ডা৯ guruchandali (Little Mag Pav, table no.2) and Jari Bobajuddho.

Happy Reading. Happy Viewing.

Updates: Little Magazine Fair, Kolkata, 2012

The Little Magazine Fair takes place every year in the premises of Rabindra Sadan, Kolkata during the month of January. As we had previously announced on this blog, the 3rd Compilation was released on the eve of 12th January, 2012, the 2nd day of the said fair, and was received with duly warmth. As of  now the circulation figure stands at the total 44 on an average of 11 copies a day.

From the stats stated above the fishes can smell that the Kolkata Book Fair (25th Jan. - 5th Feb. 2012) this year is going to be big for them. Now the question is, "Are You Enough Fish Yet!?"

No Budget Films: 3rd Compilation is coming soon!

2012 is here, the third year since we started our activism for film-making, free of all the accessories associated with cinema. We have experimented, explored, experienced and expanded over time. Our third compilation of five films take our efforts towards independent expression further, as we near the day for a direct to DVD release.
The release is scheduled for the 12th of January, 2012, at the Little Magazine Fair held at Rabindra Sadan, Kolkata.


The five films in a nutshell:


1. Mr. Director (2011)
Bengali, 45:28 min
Dir: Snigdhendu Bhattacharya
Watch the trailer.
Join on Facebook.
A director lands in serious internal crisis and frustration after he fails to come up with a story for his upcoming film, even the shooting schedule of which has been more or less finalised. He makes two scripts but finally cancels both of them after realising that events are actually being imposed on the storyline and that he will cheat the viewer...

2. Sunday at Galiff Street (2011)
Bengali, 09:30 min
Dir: Arupratan Ghosh
Watch the trailer.
Join on Facebook.
The weekly transformation of one of the busiest roads of the city into a paradise for people interested in buying and/or selling birds and other rare species has been captured in this short documentary.

3. Replica (2012)
Bengali, 26:58 min
Dir: Sriparna Dey
Watch the trailer.
Join on Facebook.
The story revolves around a teenage photographer who stays with his father. The boy is haunted by painting he has never seen in his real life. He is not even sure if it is a painting or not but the image keeps appearing repeatedly like a vision. He feels that someone is trying to communicate with some message that he must receive. While searching for the root of this uncommon phenomenon, the untold history of his own roots gets unfolded to the teenager.

4. Memories of a Dead Township (2012)
Bengali, 28:00 min
Dir: Anamitra Roy
Watch the trailer.
Join on Facebook.
A docu-fiction on childhood memories, the place where the maker had spent 16 valuable years of his life: a deadened estate revisited. A locked-out factory, buildings, architectures, and reminiscences of a life lived like birds...the fourth short film by Anamitra Roy.

5. City (2012)
Bengali, 28:13 min
Dir: Twish Mukherjee
Watch the trailer.
Join on Facebook.
Two college-going boys are very good friends despite their differences. One is a carefree and happy-go-lucky person, while the other is perpetually distressed about his studies, his parents etc. One night, the latter returns home quite late in the night, and gets thrown out of the house. Alone, along the empty roads of the city, he has weird nocturnal experiences that send him back to the drudgery of his hopeless life. On he day of the exam, his friend meets him in the morning and starts brainwashing him again.

Support the no-budget wave: The Forum on Facebook.
The minimum participatory contribution for this year's DVD is:
Rs. 100/- within West Bengal
Rs. 200/- for the rest of India
Rs. 500/- for Bangladesh

Contact us on:
lfebf.kolkata@gmail.com, littlefisheatbigfish@gmail.com
91 9432860086, 91 9883103809, 91 9883504512, 91 9330948167

"For us, film is not an industry, rather an activism.
It is not all about gloss."

No Budget: 3rd Compilation: LFEBF

The 3rd compilation is going to be launched on the 12th of January this year

The films in the DVD are ---
(click on the films name for FB links)

1. Mr. Director by Snigdhendu Bhattacharya
2. Sunday at Galiff Street by Arupratan Ghosh
3. Replica by Sriparna Dey
4. Memories of a Dead Township by Anamitra Roy
5. City by Twish Mukherjee

Out of the five, four films have been shot and directed by old Little Fishes and Twish Mukherjee, a new little fish, is contributing for the first time in this compilation. Four out of the five films have already geared up the promotions.

The Trailers:

Mr. Director (2012)




Sunday at Galiff Street (2012)




Replica (2012)




City (2012)


Memories of a Dead Township (2012)




Stay tuned
A Big THANK YOU

Replica (2012)

Sriparna Dey has started shooting her forthcoming film Replica (2012). The story revolves around a teenage photographer who stays with his father. The boy (played by Twish Mukherjee) is haunted by a painting he has never seen in his real life. He is not even sure whether it's a painting or not but the image keeps on appearing repeatedly like a vision. He feels that someone is trying to communicate with some message that he must receive. While searching the root of this uncommon phenomenon the untold history of his root gets unfolded to the teenager.

Fresh Good News

Today Season Two: No Budget Film (2011) released on Karagarga
The URL is here for KG members : Click Here

and Finally Five No Budget Films (2010) is released on Public tracker The Pirate Bay
Click Here to download

Mr. Director (2012) - Snigdhendu Bhattacharya

Campaign started for Snigdhendu's forthcoming film Mr. Director (2012). The film would be released in the 3rd compilation of LFEBF.


 Khyapa Tui Na Jene by Indie FM Bangla 

A Formal Post

Our blog has long been inactive but that must not make you think that the forum has also been inactive like it. We  are steadily moving forward to the 3rd release. Sriparna Dey has started writing the screenplay for her 2nd film. Snigdhendu Bhattacharya is developing his own script. Abhishek Bhattacharya is still busy with concept development whereas Arupratan Ghosh has dropped 'Shilpanchal' and taken up a new project. Anamitra Roy is shooting Smriti...Mrito Janopaud aka Memories of a Dead Township and also started the campaign for the film.




Anamitra has also composed the theme music for the film. Click below to listen to it...

Memories of a Dead Township Theme (Flute) by Indie FM Bangla

That's all for today
From now on we'll try to update the blog at least once every month

Thanks for staying with us

Updates: Annual Meet, 2011

Lenin is jailed!

The spot where we used to meet every year is now ironically fenced with iron bars. It’s locked and no one can get in. It was a popular hang-out for many others. People who missed their buses, drunkards seeking solitude, lovers without enough money to rent a room, prostitutes looking for customers --- everyone waited here.

And now it’s locked! Not a restricted but a no-entry zone! These things happen in Kolkata, in the great silence of the city.

This year we had to find a place in front of the Ochterlony Monument (Shaheed Minar). Arupratan Ghosh, Anamitra Roy, Sriparna Dey, Snigdhendu Bhattacharya, Maitreyo Bhattacharya, Deborshi Banerjee, Debjit Bagchi, Anirban Paul & Chiranjit Dey Sharma attended the talk. Abhishek Bhattacharya, Twish Mukherjee, Sayak Shome & Ayan Datta could not come due to inevitable circumstances.

Amongst many other things we decided to explore newer forms like unconventional music video this year. We decided to arrange screenings in Kolkata and suburbs before opting out for other states and cities. Moreover, we planned to release the next compilation in December so that we can reach out to more and more venues like literary fairs held at small towns during the month. So the last date of film submission for the forthcoming project is 15th November, 2011.

Arupratan Ghosh has announced his next short film Shilpanchal aka The Industrial Zone. It would be completed by September.

Anamitra Roy is making Smriti...Mrito Janopaud aka Memories of a Dead Township (to be completed in August)

Abhishek Bhattacharya would come up with Portrait of an Actor  within proper date and time.

Sriparna Dey, Snigdhendu Bhattacharya and  Deborshi Banerjee also placed their thoughts to come up with new films for the project while others are still uncertain.

Talks and thought sharing would be there throughout the whole year.

So long!

Annual Meeting, 2011

This year's annual meeting will be held on the 25th of  March, 5:30 pm onwards at the said venue in Esplanade area. Any and every truthful independent filmmaker from Bengal is welcome.

If you are willing to participate, please come to Esplanade by 5 pm and call us.

Phone no: 91-9883103809, 91-9143251670, 91-9883504512, 91-9432860086

Thanks.

SEASON TWO: NO BUDGET FILMS

Time and again we have been told that film making is a costly

affair. You need good cameras, lights, large crews, extravagant sets

and what not. All of these cost a pretty hefty amount of money.

We are a self-somposed group of independent artists trying

to express ourselves creatively through the film-media

without seeking any help from producers or financiers.

This is the 2nd season we are opting for a direct to DVD

release again.

This year we are releasing four films together

1) Basontogatha (2010)

Ballad of the Spring

Bengali, 14:46 min

Dir: Arupratan Ghosh

Watch the Trailer

BasantoGatha (Duration 15 Mnts) was shot during March- April '10, using a Canon Digital Camera (Non SLR). The ephemeral senses of those evenings in Kolkata and suburb surely added gestures of its own kind into the images. The fake blood , dropping down from the heart of the city, slapped me in the last day of shooting.

Nevertheless , we used few lines from “Hawa” (The Wind), a collection of poems By Arup Ghosh, in the film.
The arrows are much straighter this time! Hope all of us will have a comprehensive viewing of the film.

2) Jotugriho (2011)

Secret Footage

Bengali, 61:24 min

Dir: Anamitra Roy & Snigdhendu Bhattacharya

Watch the Trailer

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The Voyage: Souradeepta is a trendy teenager from a small township somewhere in Bengal. Being abducted by a mysterious guy he comes to know about a worldwide conspiracy against the cultural identity and versatility of human being. He was suggested to visit Kolkata in order to understand the all of it. Being both inspired and confused Souradeepta arrives at Kolkata where he conducts a survey amongst the youth, meets 'the guy who knows it all' and lights up a cigarette for 'the just murderer'.

The Encounter: Another mysterious guy who already had a screen appearance in the first segment abducts Avik and asks him about 'the mission'. Now-a-days, Avik has become a part of the corporeal city. He walks on the streets with thousands of distracting self-images around him. He is an award-winning filmmaker planning his next film on some novel by Sunil Gangopadhyay. Say the doggy dog world, he is in for it.
At the end of the film, Avik is re-introduced to an old text to see if he could recognize it.

3) Memories_Alternate Cut (2011)

Bengali, 22:40 min

Dir: Abhishek Bhattacharya

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"I had always heard your entire life flashes in front of your eyes the second before you die."
-Kevin Spacey (American Beauty)

4) Chhobi Somporke Du-ek ta Kotha (2011)

Two or Three Things about Visuals

Bengali, 26:36 min

Dir: Sriparna Dey

Watch the Trailer

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In a private library a lonesome painter finds an old painting without a signature and his life changes all of a sudden. The this line between reality and dream evaporates. He starts to feel that he is living a nightmare and would never be able to come out of it...

Total Runtime: 125 minutes approximately.

Participatory Contribution Rs.100/- or more

The release is scheduled in Little Magazine Fair at

Rabindrasan, Kolkata on the evening (5:30 pm)

of 12th January, 2011

Come, join us

Support the no-budget wave...

For us, film is not an industry, rather an activism.

It is not all about gloss.

Regards