The team had no desire to fight because the individual who delivered the ultimatum was powerful.
The team chose to rebrand the entire film festival, which they considered would be better and would prevent any conflict with former team members of the Ooty Film Festival.
Even though you lead the team, there are times when the leader should listen to what the team chooses. I critically analysed and chose to go with the team’s proposal to build a new festival from scratch. After all, what’s in a name?
The festival is only 45 days away.
The team went into frenzy.
In two hours, we created the entire brand for our film festival. Pasu created the stunning logo, Yoga and Stalin made the striking video, Jai initiated the dialogue with filmmakers around the world, and Suresh started to network with new logistic partners in Ooty.
We named it the “Ooty Short Film Festival.” For this new festival, a new logo was created, a website was created, a Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter account were created with zero followers, and new brochures were designed. We began pursuing filmmakers for films, sponsors for funding, and well-wishers for assistance. Everything was restarted from the beginning.
Thanks to that “Ooty person’s” criticism and threat”, our team came up with brilliant designs and strategies.
Within a few days of launching our redesigned festival, we were able to secure our first funding of five hundred thousand rupees (Rs. 5.00,000) from PC TV Network, Chennai.
The contract was signed, and the first instalment funds were transferred immediately.
They are our soul saviours.
We paid a large commission to get this financing. We paid a 30% commission; it is a quarter of our entire festival budget. However, this fund restored the team’s faith and commitment.
We printed a thousand posters and pasted them all over the Nilgiris District. During the heavy rains, Suresh travelled around the area, putting posters in every nook and cranny. He pasted the posters in areas where the local population congregates. A tea shop, a salon, a vegetable market, a grocery store, and so forth… We made a point of not vandalizing public property.
To ensure a spectacular opening of the festival, we considered inviting important film and literary personalities, and we discussed a number of options with the Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka film industries. After much deliberation and consultations with industry and literary acquaintances, we chose to approach Mr. B. Jeyamohan. Mr. Jeyamohan is an Indian Tamil and Malayalam language writer and literary critic from Nagercoil in Tamil Nadu. Personally, I enjoy his work, particularly his Gandhi essays.
We all believed that his acceptance would boost the image of the festival and give us all confidence.
Jai personally visited him in Chennai and was invited to be the Chief Guest for the fourth edition of the Ooty Short Film Festival in 2021. He agreed right away.
It means a lot to me and the team since everyone admired him and he’s considered one of India’s best authors.
Along with Mr. Jeyamohan, we invited Leena Manimekalai, an independent filmmaker, poet, and actor, as the guest of honour, since we feel it is critical to showcase female creators in order to encourage and instil self-belief in young girls.
We reserved plane tickets, arranged cars to pick them up, and organized five-star hotel rooms. Despite the fact that we didn’t have much money, we wanted our guests to be treated royally.
During this time, we launched an open call for volunteers from Ooty and other towns and regions. After seeing this ad on Facebook, a young graduate from Ooty offered to volunteer. Padmanaban is his given name (Padu). He just graduated from Coimbatore with a major in visual communication. Aspire to be a film director. His father is a former air force officer who is establishing his own human resources organization in Ooty.
I asked Padu to help Stalin.
Stalin and Padu skilfully devised a social media campaign. We began to get short films from all across the world.
This festival is unique because it is a short film festival and happens in an iconic theatre named The Assembly Rooms, Ooty. The theatre Assembly Rooms began as a ballroom built for British soldiers in 1886. In 1922, it was called Misquith’s Rooms. Lady Willingdon (wife of Lord Willingdon, who served as the Viceroy of India from 1931-36) bought it for Rs. 50,000 and donated it to the people of Ooty for promoting art, entertainment, and culture. Interestingly, Assembly Rooms is the only cinema hall in the country to have a state’s Governor as its patron and a District Collector as its president.
The theatre also boasts a Qube projection system with a surround sound system. It is a joy for any short film creator to witness their work on a big screen using cutting-edge technology. This phenomenon draws a large number of short film creators as well as cinema enthusiasts around India.
Mr. Radhakrishnan, who was appointed as an honorary secretary in 1984, is a very kind individual who has supported this festival since its second edition by permitting it to be held at the historic theatre. For this festival, he also reschedules or cancels regular film screenings for these three days.
Because of his negative experience with the third edition of the film festival (2018), with the team, he was hesitant to endorse the fourth version. We weren’t sure if this festival would take place in the theatre until the second week of November 2021. We didn’t mention the venue in any of our correspondence, flyers, or postings.
I went through numerous rounds of talks with him, assuring him that this edition would adhere to every word contained in the contract to the letter and spirit of the law. I also pledged to assume full responsibility for any mishaps that occurred during the event.
He reluctantly agreed to let us organise the event.
The next step is to convince the Qube Cinema to allow the projection of short films in the assembly rooms. Qube Cinema is a provider of end-to-end digital cinema technology and solutions. The company draws on decades of experience in cinema and provides a seamless digital environment for exhibitors, filmmakers, and post-production companies with DCI compliant products that are flexible, reliable, and cost-effective.
We have to change the projector in the Assembly Rooms to project short films from the laptop. The present projector at the theatre is operated through an electronic delivery system.
In Chennai, Jai and I went to the Qube. We had an appointment and were waiting in the Qube Cinema office. A gentleman walked past us and entered a conference call.
Jai approached me and said, “Sir, you know who that person is.”
“No, who is he?” I replied.
“He is a film director, and all of his films have caused a huge controversy in Tamil cinema,” Jai explained.
“What is his name?” I ask.
Jai “Mohan Ji, he has made three films so far, and the past two have caused quite a stir.”
“Do you think we should invite him to the festival?” Jai continued.
“Why not? He is a filmmaker and a creator. We aren’t concerned with the politics that film makes, our film festival is all about the art and aesthetics of cinema, so let’s talk to him and see what his willingness is,” I replied.
Our meeting with Qube Cinema went well, and we had an agreement.
After the meeting, we asked the Qube Marketing Manager to introduce us to Mohan Ji
Mohan Ji emerged from the meeting to greet us.
Jai introduced the festival and invited him to be part of it.
He was thrilled and said he would definitely attend, and we began talking about the films, his upcoming projects, and so on.
He further asks that we contact Mr. Gautham Vasudev Menon before publishing his identity. “Because there would be controversy and nasty gossip the instant film people hear I’m coming to Ooty, “he explained.” I don’t want to be a bother, so please speak with Mr. Gautham and, since he is the curator, get his thoughts on inviting me.”
I am quite impressed by his statement.
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