Idiots' Creations

Although we are not really sure whether it helps to post on this blog, we keep on posting and sharing things here whenever "what's next? how to reach more people" or a similar question comes to our mind.

Last night was a great night. The greatest thing about the night is that nothing really happened, except that we completed chopping the first look of our film and uploaded it on youtube. After 15 hours or so, now we got 200 hits, which is nothing. So, nothing really happened and that's the greatest part of it. You know, when nothing happens, absolutely nothing, "what's next? how to reach more people", this kind of a question comes to our mind and we open up this blog to post something here. We know it's not really going to help us though.

And when nothing happens, we get obsessed and keep on working more and more. That's the best part of it and that's why last night was a great night. If everything went alright AASHMANI JAWAHARAT (2013) would have released on the 1st day of this month. But nothing like that happened. So, you can guess that everything is not alright at all. We still need 99,000 rupees, and, needless to say, nothing is happening, no, really! So, we have made up our minds to release it on the 1st day of July. But, 99,000 rupees, it's a big amount for beggar-filmmakers (forget bakchodis like crowdfunding and all) like us! So, if nothing happens in the meantime, nothing is really going to happen!

Nine Nine, Zero Zero Zero = Ninety Nine Thousand = 99,000
So, please don't ask us when is it going to release. Remember, you get back the love you give and there are no exceptions in case of rules made by God! We are probably going to make it a contributors' only release in July! So, if you are not a contributor, you'll be left with nothing. Nothing is great, but nothing is still nothing!

You can, if you wish, MakeItHappen
or
You can just do Nothing

Promo

One Rupee Background - 1

Need Feedback

Mama Tumi Buro Hole Keno - Part 2

Jean-Luc Godard is working in 3D. Great news indeed. In 2010, he said that he likes invention of new technologies because there are no set of rules for any new medium. But did he really ever cared about the "rules"? Well, maybe he did and always tried to break them consciously. It's not actually the time for us to say "Goodbye to Language" as we still need to communicate in order to raise funds. Godard fought for his own cause. Rocha fought for his own cause. Mekas fought for his own cause. And we, are just trying to do the same.  If our cause matches with yours, take the step.

A Bengali Feature Length Film made on Financial Contributions from the People, when was it done for the last time?

Taking the step means doing whatever you can do. It doesn't mean just hitting the like button on Facebook. Of course you are welcome to encourage us by doing that, but that's not involvement really. We belong to the forum, Little Fish Eat Big Fish and we believe in those sentences written on our blog header. Mind me repeating that? "We don't believe film-making is a costly affair. For us, Film is not an Industry, rather an activism. It is not all about gloss." You can become a volunteer and be a part of this project. You can help the campaign to reach more people. You can contribute financially. Just let us know if you are willing to do anything at all. Someone said yesterday that she did not contribute because we keep on repeating the same thing. We always talk about the project and funds and almost never talk about the film. Dear friend, if talking was enough we would not have bothered to make a film. But just to clear it up, the film is a self reflexive one. The film is about how it is being made. It's a docu-fiction on the Indian independent film scenario. There are fake Indies in India like Indies promoted by Bollywood, Indies who never tried to do anything other than what industry does with their products. Novices who don't even know who Cassavetes was calls themselves Indies now-a-days. Who cares about what creative independence is? Who cares about whether an independent film be made of a Bollywoodish film language or not? Well, some people did. They were a gang of film activists. The clash between their stand-point and the society pushed them into a big crisis. There was only one way to get out of the situation. Someone needed to come up with a feature length film. Resources were tight and one of these young makers decided to break the wall. He made a film and how he made it is where the film reflects its own story.

Can we hope now you could get a clear idea of it? There are more fragments you'll never come to know until we come up with the film on 1st May, 2013.

So
Share. Donate. Make it Happen.

In 2007, at the age of 85, Jonas Mekas made 365 short films in 365 days. Can't you do this much for a film?
Do you love films?

The 0ne Rupee Novella - Part 1

Perfect Cinema, where are you?
Where are you the cinema of Pure Images,
Pure Sounds…
Is there anything new at all?
A refreshing frame like a sunny morning during our winters
Or a tune that makes you see a moonlit valley of our autumns…

May be he was thinking. He thinks a lot, at least a lot more than he decides to imply. Taking a decision has always been so tough may be because he knows, the execution is going to be tougher. In an old town by the river, where no one can say whether it’s 2012 or 1932, standing on the stairs of a ghat at least 100 years old, finally he could make up his mind.

- I’ve decided
- What?
- I’ll make a film
- So, what were you doing all these days?
- No, not like that. A feature length film I mean.
- So, finally you father-in-law has decided to become a film producer I guess (giggles).
- You are not taking things seriously enough. Don’t you know me?
- (Laughter) OK. OK. Then?
- I don’t know, I just made up my mind and I’m not going to think about money right now. There must be a way.
- Fine, but what’ll be there in your film?
- You mean content? Story?
- Not that. I mean Sex.
- Fuck yourself!

- You don’t get it dude. Independently produced films do require naked women. It’s what the market demands.

They start moving towards home. They have a scooter kind of non-macho thing that no one would like to ride ever. It looks disgusting

- No, I know, but we’ll need a lot of money to hire such a woman. She’s going to cost me a three and a half feature length films of mine
- But, you’ll be rich, man. Just imagine – New york, Sundance, Seattle, Paris, Berlin, Budapest
- Ya, righto ! London, Athens, Chicago, Oakland --- Step into reality sometimes sucker. We won’t even be left with the money to submit at BYOFF
- Why? Ask your girlfriend to pose nude. Surely she can do this much for a piece of art.
- Sit on my lap, asshole! I’m going to ask your mom --- Auntiji, we are producing some art piece. Please untie your brassiere and pose nude in front of the camera.
- No, seriously
- Yes, seriously. Here’s your home. Get inside and stay there.

The other guy gets down and pokes with a vulgar expression on his face while the filmmaker seems to be deadly serious and sickened with the sick jokes of his friend.

- Did you mind? (The friend says with a giant smile. Evidently he is making faces now)
- No. Do I mind ever? I know that you’ve been a roaring psycho since your very birth.
- Come on man, It was just a joke
- Whatever! Just get lost! We’ll have a serious talk tomorrow morning

Without awaiting a reply, the filmmaker starts his scooter and starts to think again.

Time… why does it always seem to be like a road?
Why do the incidents occur, one after another, in such awful linear way?
Space…why do you tend to get filled so easily with vague objects?
Uncontrolled… Who is going to explain these patterns?
They seem so obvious!

(Please share this post or re-share it on your blog to help us with the fundraising. Visit the LFEBF Blog for the proper format. Thanks)

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.

Beginning Post

Hello,
I just booked the domain to start the campaign. Will keep posting here whenever I have something interesting to share. I'm Anamitra Roy, one of the founder members and the curator of Little Fish Eat Big Fish (The No-Budget Filmmakers' Forum). I just needed to start this blog ASAP so that when I approach you tomorrow I have at least a blog on this project to share with you. The concept is like this: You give me a coin and I give you a paper with my contact and all so that you don't think I will smoke your money away like anything. I know what money is. I made my first short "Jean-Luc Godard Had No Script" back in 2009-10 for Rs 1k. The next that followed was Secret Footage_The Voyage, a 40 minute segment for Rs. 5k and in 2012 I've completed another short named 'Memories...of a Dead Township' for just no money, literally. It's not a style, it's a reality. If I had money, I guess I won't have become a no-budget filmmaker.

I expect your support through the campaign and the production.
And I hope you can trust me.


Thanks