Carlo Acutis, a Catholic Italian teenager from a young age, seemed to have a special love for God, even though his parents weren’t especially devout. He was also a programmer, and built a website cataloguing and promoting Eucharistic miracles. He was known for defending kids who got bullied. At young age, Carlo was diagnosed with leukemia. He was beatified on October 10, 2020. He is the patron saint of youth and computer programmers.
Fr Leslie Bosco Rego, produced and
directed a short Konkani film, ‘Carlo.’ “It gives me immense joy and honour to
come out with a short film based on the Life of Blessed Carlo Acutis, a Saint
of our times, indeed a computer and internet gem. He has showed us a modern way
of Proclaiming Christ. The journey of this short film was not an easy one.
However at the end, it was smooth sailing. I thank God for being with us all
the time, it is only because of His heavenly blessings we could do at least
something for Him by featuring a kid who loved him more than anything else in
this modern world. The film is was made especially for today’s youth and
children on how to use modern gadgets without becoming obsessed with them.
Carlo is a perfect role model for them as he demonstrated how to use the
internet and modern gadgets wisely,” says Fr Leslie Bosco Rego.
The 36 minutes Konkani film was submitted for the first festival
in October this year for Global Taj International Film Festival (GTIFF) at
Agra. It was shortlisted from over 100 entries from ten countries including 21
films from India itself. It went on to win two awards at the festival, Best
Short Film Award and Best Line Producer for Sandeep Kotecha. “It’s our extreme
honour for our film ‘Carlo.’ It was a thrilling experience to receive the
awards,” says Fr Leslie, parish priest at St Joseph Church, Shiroda.
The cast and crew of the film includes Dadadiraj Shirodar
(editor and videographer), Sandeep Kotecha (line producer), Jose Pereira
arranged, recorded and mastered the music, Nilesh Keni (videographer), Fr
Benjamin Victoria, Elvis Mascarenhas, Cayden D’Souza, Jose Pereira and Patricia
D’Mello and Noywen sang songs in the film, and Sairah (make-up).
The star of the movie is Sanroy D’Souza from Merces. “This is
the first movie that I worked in and I was very comfortable with the role as Fr
Leslie guided me on what he is expecting. The shooting began before the
pandemic and some shots were completed after the lockdown. Since Fr Leslie was
posted in the Merces church, many Merces youngsters and elders helped in the
shooting. We enjoyed the experience,” says Sanroy, a BCom graduate from SS
Dempo College, Altinho, Panjim.
“I
am immensely proud of the film we have made. It is a powerful and moving story
of a young teenager that needed to be told. I would like to thank the cast and
crew for their tireless work in bringing this story to life. I hope that this
film will inspire youngsters to stand up for good moral values. We all have a
responsibility to make the world a better place for everyone, and I hope this
film will help people to realize that,” says Fr leslie, who had earlier
produced and directed devotional films like ‘Bhavartachi Yatra’ (Journey of
Faith) in Konkani, ‘Mhojexim Yeyat’ (Come to me) in Konkani, ‘Treasure
Shattered!’ in English, ‘Tumi Mhoje Govai!’ (You are My Witness) in Konkani.