Workshop on Scripting for Short Films: Call for Applications

Toto Funds the Arts  

in association with British Council Library, Bangalore 

is pleased to announce a two-day workshop on 

Scriptwriting for Short Films 

by

Irawati Karnik 

Venue: British Council Library, Prestige Takt, 23 Kasturba Road Cross, Bangalore.

Dates: Saturday, 5 May and Sunday, 6 May 2018

Time:  10.30 a.m. to 6.30 p.m.

Fee: Rs 3,500 (For British Library members: Rs 3,200)

Last date for applications: 30 April

"The cinema is not an art which films life: the cinema is something between art and life. Unlike painting and literature, the cinema both gives to life and takes from it, and I try to render this concept in my films. Literature and painting both exist as art from the very start; the cinema doesn't."                                                                                                        --  Jean-Luc Godard

What is it about the form of the short film that finds such appeal among the makers as well as the viewers of cinema? To answer this question, this workshop will not only examine the form but also looking into a brief history of cinema and its relationship to the viewers. Participants will be introduced to tools and techniques for writing a short film. The fundamentals of scriptwriting for short films will be explored through some creative exercises, focusing on structure, treatment and characterisation. We will also refer to examples from a variety of short films to arrive at insights into how the writing on the page translates to the screen.

All great artists—in music, drama, literature, in art itself—have an understanding of the rules, whether that knowledge is conscious or not. The aim of the workshop is to explore and examine narrative shape, ask how and why it exists. When do rules help and when might it be a good idea to throw them out of the window. Such an analysis can act a bit like a barium metal: used correctly it illuminates not just all story structure, but all narrative—fictional and otherwise; it breaks open and reveals the very way we perceive and render all experience. 

About the facilitator

IRAWATI KARNIK is a multiple-award-winning writer, translator, director and actor based in Mumbai. She writes in Marathi, Hindi and English. Among her drama scripts are Sex, Morality and Censorship (Hindi) directed by Sunil Shanbag, The A Casting (English, later translated into German) directed by Sophia Stepf, which premiered in Berlin in November 2011, and two scripts that won the Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Award for Best Original Script: Gasha (Hindi) directed by Abhishek Majumdar and C Sharp C Blunt (English) directed by Sophia Stepf (Flinttheater, Berlin). She was a dramaturg on the award-winning play Kaumudi (Hindi) written and directed by Abhishek Majumdar. 

Irawati has written a number of full-length feature films in Marathi including Mana Pakharu Pakhar for which she won the Zee Award for Best Dialogue, Medium Spicy, and more recently, Anandi Gopal. Her Marathi plays include Teech Ti Diwali, Vadani Kavala Gheta, Mrugacha Paus, Varle Ahet, Aaltoon Paaltoon, and Chhapa Kata, which is running successfully across Maharashtra. 

The workshop will be limited to 15 participants between the ages of 18 and 35.

Note to applicants

You can apply by sending a mail to sarita.tfaindia@gmail.com, along with a short bio-note and a statement explaining your interest in doing this workshop. 

Deadline for Applications: 30 April, 2018.  

The workshop will be limited to 15 participants. Once you are selected, we will let you know how to remit the fee. Participants will be requested to make their own arrangements for lunch. Coffee and snacks will be provided.