Dolcy D’Cruz
The 13th edition of the Goa Short Film Festival, organised annually to provide a platform for budding artists, filmmakers and producers, was held for the first time at the Balasaheb Thackeray Kaladalan Auditorium in Pune. Organised by Film Parivar Sanstha, the festival featured over 100 short films from across the world. Among the films recognised in various categories, two Goan productions made their mark.
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White Gold, directed by Anil Purohit, won the Best Documentary Film award, while Medium Piece, directed by Jay Amonkar, bagged the Best Film of Goa award. Congratulating the two Goan filmmakers, Festival Director Yogesh Barskar explained that financial constraints had necessitated shifting the festival to Pune this year. However, he assured that the event would return to Goa next year.
CAPTURING GOA’S SALT-MAKING HERITAGE Directed by noted photographer, Anil Purohit, ‘White Gold’ has a special place as his first documentary short film. The film explores significance of Goan salt (motey mit) through the traditional salt-making practices especially at Curca-Batim. Featuring elderly salt-maker Dominic, who shares insights into the process and challenges facing the occupation, and Reshma Naik, who speaks of her family’s association with salt-selling and its culinary and medicinal uses, the film captures a tradition deeply woven into Goan life. The documentary highlights the place of salt pans within Goa’s indigenous Khazan ecosystem and their importance as a living heritage that must be conserved to preserve an integral part of Goan identity. A software product designer, Anil sees photography and filmmaking as informal extensions of communication design. “‘White Gold’ is the beginning of my filmmaking journey. My deep interest in the art and practice of photography eventually led me to filmmaking. I was delighted to have won the Best Documentary award for ‘White Gold’ and happier still to see an important Goan story told beyond its borders to a wider audience. I wish my father had been alive to see this given his dedication and service to Goa. I see the award as a validation of a story that needed telling and an encouragement to work to expand on the story,” says Anil with excitement. Speaking about Dominic and Reshma and their importance in telling the story of the process of salt making and selling, Anil says, “Dominic, the salt maker from Curca-Batim was clear about the lack of prospects in salt-making today. He is the last Goan generation to withstand and sustain the rigors of making salt in the salt pans.
He had no illusions about the next generation of Goans being able to work this hard to keep the salt-making tradition alive by themselves. It is very hard work besides requiring deep knowledge to prepare the salt pans for salt production. Much of the labour you see working in the Goan salt pans today are seasonal labour sourced from outside Goa. Reshma Naik’s story was important for the emotional attachment she harboured for the large coarse Goan salt. She also comes from a family deeply connected to saltmaking tradition of Curca-Batim as both of her parents sold motey mith for a living.” Working closely to capture each stage of the process, Anil was able to learn the about the biggest threats that the salt pans faced, “Abandonment from lack of expertise and reduced availability of experienced labour, reduced revenues from traditional Goan salt (motte mith), increasing cost of labour, lack of institutional support for saltmaking tradition, competition from iodised salt, climate change, consumers shifting to iodised salt etc,” he explains. Goan salt (motte mith) is literally and figuratively ‘gold’ for its utility in Goan culinary traditions, use as medicine, its value as Goan heritage, its role in Goan identity. “I will be submitting the documentary to more film festivals to take Goa’s story to a wider audience across the country, to tell of Goa’s living heritage in the larger context of Goa’s unique khazan eco-system in the hope that its value as a sustainable and local tradition is recognized and preserved, besides serving as an inspiration for similar initiatives elsewhere,” he adds.
WHEN ENTERTAINMENT BECOMES AN OBSESSION Marathi film, ‘Medium Piece’ is a quirky exploration of loneliness, escapism and the growing influence of technology on everyday life. The film follows a butcher whose chickens keep escaping from his shop, prompting him to introduce a television to entertain them. However, what begins as an unusual solution soon turns into an obsession for the butcher himself, gradually affecting his behaviour, relationships and perception of the world. Blending humour and absurdity with an underlying sense of melancholy, the film examines how entertainment and technology can become distractions from reality, revealing the human tendency to seek escape from the monotony of everyday existence. ‘Medium Piece’ is directed by Jay
DUBAI CELEBRATES GOAN CULTURE WITH A SPECIAL TRIBUTE TO YOUTH DUBAI SWIPE RIGHT SRK unveils first song from ‘King’ as birthday treat A still from ‘White Gold’ Amonkar, with Gaurav Gokhale handling both cinematography and editing, while Taran D’Souza is responsible for sound design. The film features Vardhan Kamat and Sayali Bandkar in the lead roles. Jay is a Goa-based independent filmmaker, who is also an engineer by profession. He is drawn to stories that explore human behaviour, contradictions and the complexities of the mind. “I’m fascinated by the things we often take for granted, our habits, our insecurities, our desires and the ways in which our surroundings influence the decisions we make. I also find myself gravitating towards stories that reflect the times we live in, particularly the relationship between individuals and the rapidly changing world around them. Technology, social conditioning and the absurdities of everyday life offer a fascinating space for storytelling,” says Jay. Speaking about the inspiration for the film, Jay explains, “We live in a time where we’re constantly consuming information, images and lifestyles that are often far removed from our own realities. Social media has created this strange space where we’re exposed to everything, everywhere, all at once. With ‘Medium Piece’, I was interested in exploring this relationship between external influences and our internal world. How much of what we think, desire or aspire towards is genuinely ours, and how much is shaped by what we consume? Doomscrolling is perhaps one manifestation of a much larger issue, our growing inability to disconnect from the noise around us and understand what’s happening within us.” The first Goan to receive the Dadasaheb Phalke International Cine Award, Jay finds the short-film format exciting because it demands a certain economy of storytelling. You have limited time to establish a world, develop an idea and leave an impression on the audience. “For me, the challenge is not necessarily about telling a smaller story, but about finding the most effective way to communicate an idea without overexplaining it.
I also feel short films allow filmmakers the freedom to experiment with unconventional narratives, visual language and themes that might otherwise be difficult to explore. ‘Medium Piece’ was an opportunity to experiment within that space and trust the audience to engage with the film beyond what is explicitly presented on screen,” he adds. Having received the Best Film of Goa award for ‘Medium Piece’, he feels it is incredibly encouraging and meaningful. “Making films outside the mainstream ecosystem comes with its own set of challenges, whether it’s resources, funding, visibility or simply finding the right platforms to showcase your work. Recognition at the state level is important because it validates the effort and conviction that go into making independent films. More importantly, it tells filmmakers that stories emerging from Goa have an audience and deserve to be seen and acknowledged,” concludes Jay.