ISD HOSTS ISFF 2019
“The pain of film making is temporary, but film is forever”. To celebrate cinema and to create a vital link between film making and the student community, the Board of Directors, Indian Schools in Oman has conceived the idea of providing a platform for the students of all Indian Schools in Oman to script, act and direct short movies. Indian School Film Festival (ISFF) was organized on 4th and 5th December 2019 under the aegis of BoD and Indian School Darsait hosted the first edition of it. As a part of the mega event, screening of short educational films to the students was done in all Indian Schools on 4th December and a workshop on techniques of film making was conducted on 5th December for students of participating schools at Golden Tulip Hotel, Ruwi. Renowned South Indian Cinematographer and Director, Mr.Sabu James, was the resource person of the training programme.
The valedictory function of ISFF 2019 was held at Indian School Darsait on 5th December from 6.30 pm to 9 pm. The Chief Guest of the evening was Mr. Qasim Al Suleimy, Chairman of Oman Society for Film and Theatre while Mr Mohammed Bin Suleiman Bin Mohammed Al Kindi, former Chairman OSTF was the jury of the event and a special guest of the evening function. Dr. J. Retnakumar, Founder and Chairman of Bhavalaya, Art and Cultural Foundation, Oman was another special guest. Among the dignitaries who graced the occasion were Mr. Sabu James,resource person, Dr. Baby Sam Saamuel, Chairman BoD, Indian Schools, Oman, Mr.SirajudheenNhelat, Director, BoD& Director in Charge ISD, Mr. Vinoba M P Senior Principal & Education Advisor, BoD, Mr. JaikishPavithran, President SMC, Mr. Vinodkumar, Chairman ISFF 2019, esteemed SMC Members, Principals of other Indian Schools,Acting principal, Mr. Alexander Gee Varghese.
Quoting Khalil Gibran, “Next to hunger and thirst the most basic human need is story telling” Dr. Baby Sam Saamuel, Chairman BoDwho presided over the function spoke about the medium of cinema and its power to entertain, traverse eyes, minds and hearts and also its power to introspect and reflect. He further stated that ‘our children should know how to discern fiction from reality and the purpose of ISFF would be to give our children a transformative learning experience’. He also congratulated all those associated with its organization and execution parts especially ‘ISD Core Committee’ for making the event ISFF 2019‘a magnum opus’.
Addressing the gathering the Chief Guest delineated the growing Indo-Oman ties and relationships through the medium of cinema. He added that the contribution of Indian Cinema to the world cinema has been praiseworthy and the co-existence of two cultures would definitely benefit the film making industries of both the countries.
Mr. Mohammed Bin Suleiman Bin Mohammed Al Kindi who was the jury of the competition, stated that all 28 entries of the competition were of high standard that even surpassed the level of students with regard to script, acting and direction. Hence it was a very tough time for the jury to select the ones which had a narrow edge over the others.
The Chief Guest and other special guests declared the results of the short movie-making competition and the winners were honoured with prizes and certificates. Indian SchoolMuscat won the first prize and lifted the coveted ISFF BoD Rolling Trophy for the Best Movie – ‘Insight’,apart from winning the First Runner up position for another movie ‘Humanities
– Stream Not Taken’ while Indian school Salalah secured the Second Runner up position for their movie ‘Candle’. Indian School WadiKabir and Indian School Darsait collected consolation prizes for their movies ‘Unbound’ and ‘Hiraeth’ respectively.
The mantle to conduct ISFF 2020 was handed over to Indian School Seeb and the President and the Principal along with the Director in Charge Mr. AjitPanicker of the school received the same.
Indian School Sur presented a play on ‘Era of Hindi Cinema’ that was a rich tribute to Indian Cinema. It well-portrayed the metamorphosis of a century-old entertainment industry. Exhibitingzeal and zest and providing thrilling moments a fusion of scintillating dances ‘Chitrahaar’ was presented by the students of ISD. It was a cinematic journey that took the audience from the era of black and white to that of the digital, whereas a rendition of melody beats from yester years till date ‘Malhaar’ refreshed them with soothing effect. The venue of the event was beautifully decorated with artworks that created a suitable ambiance for the culmination of the festival and a traditional ‘chendamelam’- beating of drums at the outset enthralled the audience.
Mr. Vinodkumar, Chairman ISFF 2019 and Member of SMC, ISD proposed vote of thanks. He expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the Chief Guest, special guests and all the dignitaries for gracing the occasion. He also lauded the untiring efforts of everyone especially the Event Manager and Coordinators for making the mega event a fantabulous one.