Sujoy Ghosh and Prakash Jha present their take on short films and web series 

Critics’ Choice Awards brings these content-centric nuggets by the filmmakers 

Content creators will agree that experimentation with narratives has peaked this year. Film Critics Guild and Motion Content Group in collaboration Vistas Media Capital have joined hands for the 3rd edition of Critics’ Choice Awards 2020, which has curated a series of panel discussions and video nuggets relevant to content creators in the entertainment industry. Two such special discussions shed light on the dynamics of short films and the rise of web series.          

Sujoy Ghosh, Indian film director, actor, producer, and screenwriter, Bhawana Somaaya, senior journalist and film critic and Saibal Chatterjee, film critic were the panellists deliberating on the trend of short films and the discussion was moderated by Stutee Ghosh. Kicking off the conversation, Sujoy says, “It took me six years to get my head wrapped around short films. I just couldn’t figure out how to tell a story in 12 minutes. How do you start? How do you get a middle and an end to a short film? What was really confusing me was the question that why do I want to make a short film? What is the necessity? When you’re making a short film, you have to not only look at the content but the way it is delivered.”

In a separate conversation about web series, filmmaker Prakash Jha says, “2020 has been revolutionary. We have seen the medium of OTT sort of giving us the exhibition of feature films and web series. Having made feature films, all my life I found that web series gives you the latitude to be able to indulge in each and every character subplots and make them into important plots and spread your story. At the same time, each capsule has to be engaging, has to entertain.”

The third edition of Critics’ Choice Awards is packed with surprises as it sets out to recognise shorts, series & films on the same stage and to honour talent, artists and technicians in feature films, web series and short films across all Indian languages. The winners of the last year include illustrious big names of the entertainment world including Vijay Sethupathi, Ranveer Singh, Shefali Shah, Manoj Bajpayee, Mammootty, Nani and Samantha Prabhu among others. The upcoming award ceremony shall unfold virtually and the dates will be announced soon.