IT News
Imphal, Nov 14:
Two Manipuri youths – Hamom Ashish Kumar Singh and Rajiv Oinam – have been selected among the 75 winners of the second edition of the ’75 Creative Minds of Tomorrow’ initiative of the Government.
Mr. Ashish and Mr. Rajiv, chosen for the Editing and Cinematography categories, respectively, will attend the 53rd edition of the International Film Festival of India in Goa as special guests, along with 73 other selected youngsters from across the country.
The 75 youngsters, all in the age group 18 – 35, will get the opportunity to interact with renowned filmmakers and artists, connect with industry professionals and attend master classes.
The promising cinematic talents of tomorrow hail from as many as 19 different states of India, namely Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Delhi, Goa, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Rajasthan, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, and West Bengal. The highest number of the selected winners are from Maharashtra, followed by Tamil Nadu and Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal.
The 75 youngsters have been chosen based on their excellence in different areas of filmmaking, namely direction, acting, cinematography, Editing, scriptwriting, playback singing, music composition, costume-and-makeup, art design and animation, visual effects (VFX), Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR). There are 15 artists from the Direction category, 13 budding actors, and 11 from the field of Editing.
The youngest winners are 18-year-old Nitish Verma from Haryana and 18-year-old Toufique Mandal from Maharashtra, both of whom have been selected for their talent in Music Composition. The maximum number of winners are from Maharashtra (23 artists), followed by Tamil Nadu (9 winners) and Delhi (6 creative minds).
Among these various fields, four areas of expertise have been identified and added to this edition of the 75 Creative Minds of Tomorrow initiative; these four new categories are i) music composition, ii) costume-and-makeup, iii) art design, and iv) Animation / VFX / AR / VR. These areas have been introduced to promote non-conventional skills and expertise and to encourage more people to explore career opportunities in these areas.
The 75 winners get the opportunity to join the celebration of IFFI and attend sessions and workshops curated by grandmasters of international cinema. They also get a chance to witness the business of cinema at the Film Bazaar – a platform meant to encourage collaboration between South Asian and international film communities. In addition, the young artists are being provided free to-and-fro travel, accommodation, local transportation, and access to the 53rd IFFI in all its glory.
To make their IFFI experience more engaging and exciting, the 75 youngsters will be divided into groups of 15 to compete in a “53-Hour Challenge”. The competition will challenge them to produce a short film on their idea of India@100, all in 53 hours. The competition is powered by National Film Development Corporation in collaboration with Shorts TV.
The 75 Creative Minds of Tomorrow initiative is the brainchild of Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting and Youth Affairs and Sports, Anurag Singh Thakur.
The initiative aims to identify, encourage and nurture young creative talent in filmmaking from the entire length and breadth of the country.
Sharing his vision for 75 Creative Minds of Tomorrow, the Union I&B Minister said: “75 Creative Minds of Tomorrow has been conceived as a unique platform of opportunities for youth, artists and creatives, especially from far-flung areas, to learn, engage and network with the who’s who of the Indian Film Industry at the International Film Festival of India in Goa. This year, in what is just the second edition of 75 Creative Minds of Tomorrow, nearly 1,000 entries were received from all across India, including from places such as Lakhimpur and Sonitpur in Assam, Khorda in Odisha, Krishna and Prakasam in Andhra Pradesh, Theni in Tamil Nadu and Bhandara in Maharashtra, to name a few. 75 Creative Minds have been handpicked to be mentored from among these applications. I congratulate everyone and look forward to meeting all of them at the 53rd IFFI.”
The final list of 75 winners has been selected through a selection process involving screening by the Selection Jury and then final selection by the Grand Jury.
Speaking about the initiative, Grand Jury member Prasoon Joshi said: “I have always believed that India’s diversity is its great strength, and we will truly do justice to it when we hear stories from every part of India, not just a few select cities. This is the thought behind the 75 Creative Minds initiative.”
The restless creative minds of India are raring to go, he added. “Films should be magical. We need filmmakers by design, not by chance, and we need to give our young talent proper exposure. We initiated this program last year at IFFI, along with I&B Minister Anurag Ji. My sincere thanks to the eminent jury members who painstakingly chose these young minds.”
Renowned sound designer and Grand Jury Member Resul Pookutty believes that 75 Creative Minds of Tomorrow has the power to inspire young artists to look beyond the edge of the world and pursue their ambitions through cinema. “The Creative Minds of Tomorrow program is an amazing way to find and nurture young minds to look beyond the edge of the world and pursue their ambitions through cinema. A platform to convey their own stories to effect good change in society and establish a better society. Most importantly, a chance to participate in IFFI 2022, one of India’s most renowned film festivals”.
75 Creative Minds of Tomorrow is a step towards making India a global content and post-production hub. The initiative recognizes, prepares, and primes young innovative minds under the tutelage of eminent personalities in the Indian film industry. This initiative intends to nurture and develop a dynamic ecosystem and community of young filmmakers by empowering them to build industry linkages and connect, collaborate and co-create.
