The Old Man and the Cinema
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On Poila Boishakh last year, we had begun our journey with a short film on an iconic single screen of Kolkata. On turning one today, we celebrate the passion associated with yet another iconic single screen of the City of Joy. Rabin Seth, the nonagenarian manager of Chhabighar, would hop on to his bicycle and pedal some two km from his residence to reach the theatre. Unfortunately, Seth passed away on 30th January this year. But his love for cinema remains frozen for the screen forever in this Bijoy Chowdhury film. What better time to unveil it than on BFA’s first birthday?
Why BFA commissioned this film?
In the first year of launch of BFA, we have released two short films. One was on an iconic theatre. The other was on an iconic studio. Now is the time to pay a tribute to the magic of movies in a different way. That’s why we invited the team of director Bijoy Chowdhury and editor Korak Misra to make this short film. It is our attempt to drive home the point that the magic of movies is not created only by a star, a director or his film unit. It’s also the passion of those in the movie business that help create that aura around the silver screen. With them, there would be no madness around the movies!
About The Director:
He left a promising career in various advertising agencies and quit his job as the art director of RK Swamy BBDO Pvt. Ltd.’s Kolkata branch. The reason was his strong desire to follow his heart. Romancing ruins is his passion. Zooming in on forgotten legacies remains his hobby. Meet Bijoy Chowdhury who graduated from the Government College of Art and Craft in 1987 and is now working as a visual communicator and photographer. Chowdhury has several national and international awards including the Commonwealth and National Geographic Traveler Photo Award. The prestigious Private magazine has also published his works twice over. International Gallerie has also published his black-and-white photo-features. In 2000, the government of India has also awarded him with the Senior National Fellowship in photography.
Alongside his regular assignments, Chowdhury continues to work on several long-term documentary film projects of socio-economic interest. Khawto (The Wound), his debut documentary, has been screened at more than 15 festivals around the globe ever since he made it in 2017. It was selected at the 12th Istanbul International Architecture and Urban Films Festival. It received the Best Documentary Film Festival in Bangladesh’s Sylhet, the special jury mention at Spain’s FICARQ 2018 and the Best Documentary Film award at the 6th Siliguri Short and Documentary Film Festival.
His Undivided Solitude won two awards – FUR Gold Lotus for best film and FUR Gold Lotus for best director - at the PSBT Film Challenge 2020-21. The competition was supported by PSBT in partnership with the Foundation for Universal Responsibility of His Holiness, Dalai Lama. It was selected as part of the short films section at the 3rd edition of the Habitat International Film Festival, New Delhi and won the best short film competition of Anandalok Short-cut.
In 2022, Chowdhury directed My Son and His Grandfather that focused on the empty-nest syndrome of grandparents. Critically acclaimed musician Tajdar Junaid came on board to compose its background score. The film received the Best Short Documentary award at the 14th International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (IDSFFK), 2022. It was screened at the Mumbai International Film Festival. It then went on to receive the Satyajit Ray Silver Award for the second best documentary at the 5th South Asian Short Film Festival, 2022. It also bagged the Best Documentary award at the 9th Siliguri Short and Documentary Film Festival, 2022.