Headed by Industry heavyweight Ashish Kulkarni, little did the talented team of artists and producers at Anirights realise that their decision to make a short film instead of a showreel will pay off such handsome dividends, or maybe they did?
After having won big at the TBS Digicon 6+2 Awards (pan Asian CG competition) in Japan last July, and nominations at Ficci- BAF 2006, 24 FPS 2006 & Anifest 2006, Anirights‘ short film The Bad Egg has now taken further pride of place by winning the World Gold Medal at New York Festivals 2007 International Film & Video Competition. The Awards ceremony was conducted last week in New York, Down town auditorium at Broad Street, where Kulkarni recieved the Award on behalf of his entire team.
Speaking to AnimationXpress.com, an elated Kulkarni shared, “I feel that its an achievement for the studio. When we started with Anirights, we decided not to do a showreel but instead to create a short film, something that could show our film mmaking capability and also something that was intrinsically Indian in terms of design, concept, storyline, music as well as theme and message. Today when our entry is right there competing and winning with the best in the world, it is a proud moment for AniRights & also the Indian artists and industry at large. A good thing about the Award is that a large amount of people who are from media and entertainment globally but not directly connected to animation, were exposed to animation coming out of India. And when an Indian animated film wins World Gold Medal at New York in front of the International media, I think its great for the positioning of the quality of Indian animation film making”
In its 50th edition, the New York Festivals 2007 International Film & Video Competition recieved a total of over 1000 plus entries from 1000 Companies overall (including live action as well as animation) with more than 36 countries participating.
The artists at Anirights in Bangalore are exuberant. They shared their excitement with AnimationXpress.com. Bala, the creator of the film said, “The creation process of The Bad Egg was quite exicting and challenging for me. We really wanted to try the painted look and feel using the modern digital tools. Most important thing for me was to tell a story atistically, with simplicity and visually appiling at the same time. Every single department in the studio right from design, animation, effects, compositing performed their process with full dediaction. Our editor and music director enhanced the film by almost 40 percent. For the first time I realised that the modern tools in the artists hand can create magic. I also enjoyed the freedom and opprtunity given by Ashish. At large the film has a great message and a better appreciation from all over the world now encourages me to creat more such films”
Vikas Verma said, “The world gold medal has come to us at a very encouraging time. We have decided to continue making original content out of our studio. The begining is always small, but if its award winning, one gets more eager to do better. Our team gave its best to meet the objective in such a short time. As a line producer it was a challenge to get the film created with right blend of creativity & technology, but the small team always stuck together and experimented with various ideas and tools to achieve the desired result”
Vikram Veturi shared, “This landmark event is a stepping stone for original Indian animation. It feels proud to be a part of the team that owns the world medal from the prestigious New York Festival. The visual treatment, story and sound have a unique blend that makes it unusually interesting. Above all the message that it carries has a lesson for every one who sees the film. Our journey continues for greater successes”
Kulkarni added that “I only feel that the broadcasters in India come forward to show this film. I wish that our home audience is able to see these kind of social short films”
Award from the Orient, and one from the West, Best of both the worlds!
Way to go!