Rammat – Gammat To Have Its World Premiere
Drishyam Films’ 1st ever Gujarati language short film titled Rammat – Gammat is all set to make its World Premiere at the prestigious 64th International Short Film Festival Oberhausen, Germany.
Drishyam Films’ short film Rammat – Gammat (English title My Best Friend’s Shoes) will make its World Premiere in official competition at the prestigious 64th edition of International Short Film Festival Oberhausen, Germany to be held from 3rd May, 2018 to 8th May, 2018. Written & directed by Ajitpal Singh, the Gujarati language short film is amongst the 37 shorts selected in the Children’s & Youth Film Competition.
Known as the largest & the world’s oldest running short film festival, Oberhausen received a total number of 7311 submissions from 140 countries this year.
Produced by Drishyam Films, Rammat – Gammat is a simple tale of friendship with complex characters. It is a story of 2 small boys in rural Gujarat, a rich boy from upper caste & a poor boy from lower caste whose friendship is stretched to the breaking point when one of them is gifted a pair of golden yellow football studs, which will take him away from his friend and out of the village.
The 18 minutes narrative short film introduces 2 young boys, Shivam Math & Yash Patel in lead roles. 1st ever time actors, both the boys from Gujarat are passionate & excellent football players, representing their cities at state level. The film also features Swati Das (of Hindi Medium & Bombay Talkies fame) in a significant role.
Sharing his joy, Ajitpal Singh says, “We are absolutely thrilled to collaborate with Drishyam Films & Accord Equips on Rammat – Gammat and start our festival journey with the world’s oldest & the most prestigious short film festival Oberhausen, Germany which is credited to discover the works of some of the legendary filmmakers like Wim Wenders, Roman Polanski, Martin Scorsese, Werner Herzog, Andrea Arnold to name just a few. For me just being at such a place is like going on a pilgrimage.”
The writer & director Ajitpal Singh adds, “Rammat -Gammat is essentially a simple tale of friendship and even though the story unfolds in today’s time in a different context, it is inspired from my own experiences & memories of growing up in Gujarat village during the 1980’s anti – Sikh sentiments in the country and how that alienated me as a child.”
Manish Mundra, the founder & the and promoter of Drishyam Films, stated, “We are happy that Rammat – Gammat is starting its journey at such a prestigious festival as Oberhausen, Germany and hope to bring it to our Indian audiences soon.”
Rammat – Gammat produced by Drishyam Films, Tejash Shah (Accord Equips) & Mauli Singh is shot in Wilson Hill, Gujarat.
Known as the world’s oldest running short film festival and “short film mecca” for the sheer reputation amongst the filmmakers & industry for its bold & high quality short films and a thriving short film market, Oberhausen, Germany is credited to discover the works of some of the legendary filmmakers like Wim Wenders, Roman Polanski, Martin Scorsese, Werner Herzog, Andrea Arnold to name just a few. Amongst the Indian filmmakers, Ritesh Batra’s short, Café Regular, Cairo (2011) & Amit Dutta’s shortsKeshkambli (2003) & Kramasha (2007) were screened at the prestigious short film festival.
“Short film is a great 1st ever step for a budding filmmaker. That’s how I made my beginnings and Oberhausen, Germany was an important step on my path to become a Director.” Roman Polanski’m Quote.
“I smoked my 1st ever cigarette here. For years, I saw every single film at the Westdeutsche Kurz filmtage, looking forward to those days in Oberhausen, Germany every year. These events were important for me and even for my decision to become a filmmaker.” Wim Wenders Quote.
Ajitpal Singh was an 8 years old boy when his father ran a cinema hall. After studying chemistry, learning theatre & photography, he chose filmmaking as his calling. He was selected for Sundance’s India Screenwriter’s Lab in 2012. He was the youngest member of the Indian delegation at the Munich Film Festival 2009, selected by Goethe Institute. He was also selected for 2007 Berlinale Talent Campus’s New Delhi edition.
Ajitpal Singh, in fact has worked as an Associate Director For Gurgaon in the year 2016 & as a dialogue writer for Once Again in the year 2017. He has also worked as a researcher for 16 German documentary films in India. Currently he is busy writing 2 international co-production projects.
A company born out of love for cinema, Drishyam Films aims to build a platform for unique voices of Indian independent cinema and create a global content with rich Indian heritage. Their international award winning films include Ankhon Dekhi, Masaan, Dhanak, Waiting, Umrika, Rukh, Kadvi Hawa & Newton (which was India’s official entry to the Oscars in 2018).
Drishyam Films had partnered with the Sundance Institute, USA to organize a Screenwriters’ lab for the Indian writers for 2 successive years. They have also set up a VFX studio specializing in post production & visual effects for feature films & commercials.
