Skip to main content

SHORT BUT SWEET (ANUJA & THE ONLY GIRL IN THE ORCHESTRA)


ANUJA (Adam J Graves)

It's very easy to overlook the short film categories during awards season but to do so means you miss out on real gems.

Take Adam J Graves' 'Anuja,' for example.

A 22 minute film in Hindi about orphaned sisters looking after each other on the streets of Delhi, it is a surprisingly sweet confection despite its gritty subject matter.

Sajda Pathan is the Anuja of the title, a nine year old worker in a garment sweatshop who sleeps rough with her sister, Ananya Shanbhag's Palak and also happens to be a maths genius.

Summoned to her boss, Nagesh Bhonsle's Mr Verma's office, she watches him resist Gushan Walia's educator Mr Mishra's efforts to have her sit an exam that could open up educational opportunities for her that will lead to a better life.

Palak is also keen for Anuja to grab this opportunity but the kicker is it will cost her 400 rupees to sit the exam.

With Palak hitting on an ingenious scheme to raise the money, will Anuja sit the exam?

Filmed with gritty urgency by Grace's cinematographer Akash Raje, viewers will be reminded of Vittorio da Sica's classic 'Bicycle Thieves' as well as Indian tales like Satyajit Ray's 'Pather Panchali,' Danny Boyle's Oscar winning 'Slumdog Millionaire' and Garth Davis' 'Lion'.

They will be impressed by the performances he has coaxed out of Pathan, Shanbhag and the rest of the cast.

But it is when you realise that the cast is drawn from street children under the care of the Salaam Baalak Trust that you really appreciate its potency and authenticity.

This is a superbly crafted live action short that deserves its place on the Oscar shortlist and will stay with you for some time.

('Anuja' received it's world premiere at the DeadCENTER Film Festival in Oklahoma City on June 8, 2024 and was made available for streaming on Netflix on February 5, 2025)



THE ONLY GIRL IN THE ORCHESTRA (Molly O'Brien)

Molly O'Brien's Best Documentary Short Academy Award nominee 'The Only Girl In The Orchestra' is a celebration of an artistic talent that could have easily been overlooked.

Her aunt Orin O'Brien, a double bassist was the first woman to be employed in the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.

Given her break by Leonard Bernstein, the film captures the ending of a 55 year career in the philharmonic and reflects on her influence not just on her students but also on the director herself.

It's a love letter to creativity and those who have the courage to fulfil their artistic dreams.

The film celebrates a woman who withstood sexism but also marvels at her perseverance, selflessness and commitment to her craft and future generations who will take up the double bass bow.

It's a heartwarming 35 minute film well worth its Oscar recognition and even if it doesn't walk away with the top prize, it's a useful reminder that not all heroes hog the limelight.

Sometimes they are an important cog in a much greater and glorious artistic machine quietly going about its business.

('The Only Girl In The Orchestra' premiered at the Vail Film Festival in Colorado on December 9, 2023 and was released on Netflix on December 4, 2024)


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

HOUSE OF FUN (LOL: LAST ONE LAUGHING IRELAND)

© Amazon Prime Ever wondered what the 'Big Brother' house would have been like if it was populated just by comedians? No?  Neither had I. But Amazon Prime has tried to answer that question anyway with a new comedy show 'LOL: Last One Laughing Ireland'. © Amazon Prime Originally conceived by the Japanese comic Hitoshi Matsumoyo in 2016, the show throws 10 stand-ups together in a 'Big Brother' style living room for six hours with the strict instruction that they are not allowed to laugh, crack a smile or smirk at each other's jokes or anything else. If they do, the first time they falter they get a yellow card warning. The second time, they receive a red card and are out of the game. The comedian who outlasts the others wins. © Amazon Prime Versions have been produced in Mexico, Italy, Iran, Australia, Canada, Germany, India, Russia, Nigeria, Colombia and France. And with a UK version reportedly in the works, Amazon has decided to test the waters with an Irish...
Post a Comment
Read more

BEING FRANK (THE NAKED GUN)

  THE NAKED GUN We all know Liam Neeson can do comedy. We've seen him do it before in small doses. The Northern Irish actor  had the best moment in Ricky Gervais' BBC sitcom 'Life's Too Short'  with his improv sketch. Then there was in  the cereal scene in Seth MacFarlane's 'Ted 2' . There have also been chances to test his comic chops in 'Derry Girls, '  on Stephen Colbert's chat show  and as  Good Cop/Bad Cop in 'The Lego Movie' . But can he carry a whole comic movie? Neeson gets the chance to find that out in Akiva Schaffer's 'The Naked Gun' - a reboot of  David Zucker's 1988 comedy classic with Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley, George Kennedy and OJ Simpson . Produced by Seth MacFarlane and Erica Huggins and working from a script by Schaffer, Dan Gregor and Doug Mend, Neeson has a very high bar to clear - playing the son of Nielsen's bungling detective Frank Drebin. Like Frank Snr, Neeson's Frank Jr is an ...
Post a Comment
Read more

LAST ONE STANDING (TRUELOVE)

© Channel 4 & Clerkenwell Films Channel 4 drama at its very best is edgy. Its finest miniseries are not afraid to tackle big issues or whip up controversy. Think Alan Bleasdale's ' GBH ,' Simon Moore's ' Traffik ,' Alan Plater and Chris Mullin's ' A Very British Coup ,' Jack Thorne's ' National Treasure ,' Dominic Savage's ' I Am ..' dramas,  Shane Meadows' ' The Virtues ' or Russell T Davies' ' It's A Sin .' These have tackled everything from the international drug trade to homophobia and AIDS, from sexual abuse to manipulation of the left wing. © Channel 4 & Clerkenwell Films 2024 has begun with another Channel 4, drama taking on a huge issue - assisted dying and the treatment of senior citizens. 'Truelove' is the creation of 'End of the F**king World' writer Charlie Lovell and Iain Wetherby and it raises uncomfortable questions. The six part miniseries begins with five fri...
Post a Comment
Read more