JU students make it big on reel

HT Correspondent
Kolkata, November 12
SOME STUDENTS of Jadavpur University (JU) have achieved a special feat. Two documentary films made by students of the university’s mass communication department will be screened at the ongoing Kolkata Film Festival. And if that was not enough, the team will release another documentary early next year.
Produced by JU, two documentary films — With the Dreams of Light and Promise of Light — will be screened at the Bangla Academy on November 17. Both these films deal with the university and is of 30 minutes and 13 minutes duration, respectively.
In fact, With the Dreams of Light is the first-ever documentary on JU history. The film depicts the journey of the university since 1906 and how it grew into one of the best academic institutions of the country.
The Promise of Light on the other hand depicts the social service work done by JU students under the National Service Scheme (NSS) in red light areas of Tollygunge.
Seven students from the mass communication department worked on both the documentaries. The team did the research for the films, pre-production work, shooting and the post-production job as well. Mass com student Parag Sarkar directed the films, while his classmate Sounak Sengupta was the production manager.
“A documentary on the history of the university has never been shot before. It is a matter of credit and encouragement for the students that both their films will be screened during the ongoing Kolkata Film Festival. Since the students have shown their potential, the university will work towards letting them handle several such projects,” dean of students Rajat Ray said.
The students are also excited as their film has been chosen in the short-film category. “This is a huge honour for us. It is mind boggling and the joy has doubled because both the documentary talks about our university,” said Sarkar.
The university plans to invite its famous former students during the screening of the documentary films at the film festival.
The university is currently in the process of making 2,000 copies of each film so that it could be sold to interested students teachers, staff members and alumni at a nominal cost. The film will be made part of the university archive. The university is also planning to upload the films on its website so that both present and past students, as well as others across the globe, can access them and learn about JU history.
The filmmakers also want to move ahead and are currently working on another project. Now, they are capturing on reel the chemical engineering department’s ambitious work on flower extracts. The film titled Petal Per Say will be a 30-minute documentary on used flowers and the plight of flower cultivators in Bengal. The team has shot extensively in Shantiniketan, Bagnan, Barisha, Babughat, and Panshpura. The film will show how used flowers can be converted into herbal colour. The documentary will be released by January 2008.
Mou.Chakroborty@hindustantimes.com