Bengaluru: Goutham Soratoor, a young B.Voc. graduate of Institute of Communication and Media Studies from St. Joseph’s College (Autonomous), has won eight awards at the Uruvatti International Film Festival, including Best Indian Short Film category for his short film Kasuti. It was as part of his third-year final project, he created this short film.
Expressing delight over the achievement, Fr. Richard Rego SJ, Director, Institute of Communication and Media Studies said, “This is surely a proud achievement, especially by a student of ours who did it as part of his project and it is of such high quality that the International Film Festival recognised it. This is a great accomplishment for our students, as well for us who have been a part of his journey.”
Goutham Soratoor said, “My interest in storytelling began when I was very young. I used to watch a lot of Indian and other language films. I admire Steven Spielberg’s, Satyajit Ray’s, and Asghar Farhadi’s films, as well as P. Lankesh’s and Ernest Hemingway’s stories. These had a huge impact on me.”
Goutham said that he applied to this film festival when they made the official announcement. “The film was shot during second wave of pandemic and it was really challenging to shoot because we had to adhere to Covid – 19 protocol. Most of the night shoot started after 7.30 pm. We made sure that the entire set was sanitised,” he added.
He further explained that the pre-production part took almost two months to complete. “Dr. Swati Bhandi assisted me with my narrative, Marudu Pandian sir, my mentor, and Parinitha Shinde, my lecturer, have all been sources of inspiration and encouragement for me. They all helped me in seeing the film in a better way.”
The short film is actually a 90s nostalgic film and it portrays a woman who is dealing with a lot of obstacles in her personal life while also working. “It hints subtly towards how patriarchy was at the time and how it impacted her life. My intention was to reflect on how one of the aspects of that time is still relevant,” he said.
Goutham said that he is just a beginner and has a lot more to learn in filmmaking. “Films have given me a lot of learning experiences and I strongly believe that the learning process never stops,” he added.
