Film screened at Cannes takes to crowdfunding

Multilingual short film "Asmad", which was screened at Cannes Film Festival, has turned to crowdfunding to collect money for public screenings across different cities in the country.
Directed by Chandigarh-based filmmaker Prabhjit Dhamija, the production of the multilingual film is complete and the team has now started a crowd funding campaign online on Wishberry.Com to collect Rs 4 lakhs for submissions in International film festivals as well as organize public screenings.
"We call Asmad an inter-dependent film, as the people who have made this film happen, are more of volunteers connecting with the idea of the film rather than the regular staff and crew," says Dhamija.

The 30-minute-long film questions the idea of self through the character of a 13-year-old boy in a quaint Himalayan village, who undergoes a "guilt-ridden state" due to an incident for which he holds himself responsible.
"This so called subject of inquiring into the idea of me is something that we all carry with us in our life journey. I think this is something that inspired me to make Asmad, which means 'I/ego sense'," says Dhamija.
According to the team, the audio-visual effects in the film, make it imperative to be viewed on large screens in theatres and film festivals rather than being watched online on YouTube.

"The film has many subtle audio-visual elements which can be best experienced in a theatrical environment. It is ideally not a YouTube film to be watched casually on mobiles.

"We have made the film for the big screen. So, before we release it online, we want to bring it to the audience through film festivals and public screenings," they say.
The universal theme of introspection makes it relatable to every individual, particularly because it talks about people's "conditioned attitude" towards life, which often comes with the baggage of suffering.
"The greatest inspiration for us to make this film is that it has so many elements of day-to-day human life. Since it revolves around the concept of self and basic questions about human nature, we believe that every person out there will relate to the movie," they say.

The campaign which went online on September 19 will continue till November 3.