Movie-buffs, here is something interesting! Kochi will host a short film festival on the 20^th and 21^st of January 2012 at the Kerala Fine Arts Hall. The second edition of ‘Script 2012’ (Social and Corporate Responsibility International Promotional Theater) will be a film-lovers paradise. This is an international short film festival, and people from various nations will be a part of this. The event is organized by the Rotary Club of Cochin Metropolis, and the movies will be categorized into five different sections.

57 films which have been short listed by a jury from over 420 entries will be screened for the festival. Works of eminent film-makers like Avijit Mukul Kishore, Sanjeev Shivan and Aparna Sanyal will also be screened for ‘Script 2012’. Cash prizes and laurels await the winners for the fest. Movies, all the way from U.S.A, Pakistan, Italy, Germany, Japan, Lebanon, Norway and more, will be shown at the film festival. Movies of students from institutions like Centre for Media and Cultural Studies, National Institute of Design, Satyajit Ray Film Institute etc. will also be screened.

Eminent film-maker Adoor Gopalakrishnan will hand over the prizes to the winners on January 21^st 2012 at Casino Hotel. The screenings will begin at 8. 45 a.m on both the days. For more details, log onto www.scriptfilmfest.in or call them at 984034787.

Great news awaits fans of theatre!!

The Magic Theatre will be staging their latest musical production in English, “OLIVER TWIST” at the Kerala Fine Arts Hall ( quick addy: Park Avenue, next to Kasuvu Kada), on the 16th of August,2010.

For all those who aren’t familiar with The Magic Theatre, let me give you a decent intro. Led by Mrs. Preetha Gibu, a teacher at The Choice School, along with Mrs. Susheela Umesh who runs Mudra Centre for Dance here in Kochi, this association of contemporary minds was initiated with the sole purpose of introducing the magical world of theatre to children.
Their maiden venture was back in 2009 when they organized a 15 day workshop at Amaara, Kochi‘s acclaimed cultural café at Maradu. It was received well and the final showdown had the kids putting up their very own play in front of their proud parents and eminent theatre personalities. This well appreciated effort paved the way for their second production titled “Kanaadi”, a Malayalam play based on Sufi stories. Staged at the JTPac hall, the audience, which included big shots like Jayaram, Indrajeet, Cuckoo Parameswaran, Murali Menon, P Sukumar etc, was left mesmerized by the immense talent displayed by the cast of 40 children from various schools in and around Kochi.

Coming back to their latest project, it sounds promising from all possible points of view. What with more than 100 children between 6 and 16 from various schools participating , a one and a half hour live rendition of the musical score by some of these talented young minds on different musical instruments, all trained and cheered on by several professional artistes including the brilliantly talented theatre marvel, Mr.Micheal Muthu, this avant-garde attempt deserves all the appreciation it can possibly get. Kochivibe salutes The Magic Theatre for their whole hearted effort at promoting culturally, morally and intellectually provoking art forms like theatre and hence introducing a completely different perspective to life and living to young minds. Also, a part of the proceedings from their show would be donated to Mathru Seva Mandir, an abode for destitute women in Kochi.

Tickets are available at Coffee Cube(convent junction), Food circle both at Oberon Mall and Panampilly Nagar, Itty’s and Threads Classiks (both at Panampilly Nagar). There will be two shows, one in the morning exclusively for school children and one in the evening for the rest of us.

Come February and the city would be treated to an exotic dance performance for six consecutive nights as Kalakshetra, a cultural academy dedicated to the preservation of traditional Indian art forms. Kalakshetra will be staging its epochal dance drama conceived and choreographed by its founder the late Rukmini Devi Arundale over a period of 15 years staring from 1955.

Additional Chief Secretary K. Jayakumar will inaugurate the programme organised by the society Dharani at Fine Arts Hall on February 7 at 6 p.m.

The drama, based on the Valmiki Ramayana, will be split into six episodes with each episode running into almost two-and-a-half hours.

Details

Date : February 7

Time : 6 pm onwards

Duration : 2 1/2 hours

Venue : Fine Arts Hall , Kochi