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.

Seasonal Update

Talk less and work more, that's the new policy. Till date, most of the film-buffs in Kolkata have heard of us in a positive or negative way. We are getting recognition rapidly in other cities across the country too. For instance, now we have a number of friends in Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai. May be someday, we'd be able to screen our films in small coups in other states.
So, talking less is important because the more you'd talk the more your depression is likely to talk through your voice and that's how we turn our friends into enemies. It's like 'Awww! Look at their attitude!' So, keeping it quite is necessary.
But of course, if someone tries to create hindrances or gets in the way just slap'em! And slap'em hard! Or you might opt to spit on their faces; it's a matter of choice you see!

Starting from January 12, we could distribute 102 copies of our latest production Season Two: No Budget Films (2011) while the first one is still in demand. People are still asking for copies of Five No Budget Films (2010). After the torrent release of the same on Pass the Popcorn and Karagarga the updated distribution figure of the production stands at 299 (150 DVDs + 143 downloads on PTP + 6 Downloads on KG). That's quite good we assume.
Season Two compilation released on internet from Zinemaya.com on the 28th of January, 2011


Meanwhile, Anamitra Roy was featured on Film Courage with David Branin and Karen Worden.
Read the article here.


This year LFEBF attended it's first film festival (21st-25th Feb). We don't like such openings usually and that has been the reason of not attending a single one till date. But this fest was something else in spirit. Bring Your Own Film Festival (BYOFF, 2011) helped us in finding new like-minded friends and making new acquaintances. We met Mr. Surya Shankar Dash who runs a people's video magazine called 'Madhyantara' (Periodical [probably]) and they come up with new editions every six months. They are making films against the state-sponsored violence and oppression on the general people of Orissa. It's a magnificent effort everyone should be aware of.
It was good to know that Mr. Surya was keeping a track of our works for sometime. 


We could not screen Memories_Alternate Cut by Abhishek Bhattacharya at BYOFF as no one associated to the film was present there. Basontogatha (Ballad of The Spring) and Chhobi Somporke Du-ek ta Kotha (Two or Three Things about Visuals) received quite an applause while Jotugriho (Secret Footage) was a bit down. It was the closing film of BYOFF and everyone was in a party mood. So the film could not get sufficient peers.


There's a lot more to be done. The annual meeting is going to be held this month. For the new visitors, it's an informal gathering of the Little Fishes to talk about strategy, tactics and taking new resolutions. Anyone willing to participate in our initiatives can attend the discussion. For date, time and venue keep an eye on the blog.


Thanks.