The 300-odd members of the People’s High
School Movie Club were treated to the story of a school teacher Shabu and his
village, on the big screen last Sunday. ‘Eka Sagar Kinari’, the film that
narrates this story was enjoyed by those present in the presence of Laxmikant
Shetgaonkar, the maker of the film. The screening was then followed by an
interaction between Shetgaonkar and the club members where the students of the
school, who are also the members of the movie club, asked him questions about
the film and aspects of filmmaking.
Shetgaonkar says, “‘Eka Sagar Kinari’ deals
with the issue of tourism and carries a social message. In my interaction with
the students, I told them to watch some films meant for childrenm like ‘Stanley
ka Dabba’, ‘Makdee’, etc. The problem is that the children in Goa don’t get to
watch films meant for children. Few government bodies like Children’s Film
Society of India and Public Service Broadcasting Trust produce films for
children that are entertaining as well as educative. Children look for
education through films. A film festival is a good venue for the screening of
such films but I feel that the idea of a film club in a school is more
effective.”
The film club was started by the school
about a year ago with the idea of exposing the students to good cinema. Rahul
Deshpande, Chairman of the school managing committee and the person in charge
of the film club, feels that the club is an extension of the art. Deshpande
says, “The members of the film club are the students of the school. Once in
every two months, we screen a movie on a Sunday so that the students get a
thorough understanding of the art of filmmaking. Apart from the film club, the
school also has a heritage club supported by INTACH, that has been making films
for the last three years. One of the movies shot by the members of the heritage
club on the ‘Houses in Fontainhas’ was screened at the International Children’s
Film Festival India in Hyderabad last year in November. In the future, we hope
to teach them technicalities of filmmaking.”
