An engineering college with a film club. Run by movie buffs and film fanatics. Sounds unique? Well, it is. Estrella Productions, the official film club of the Future Institute Of Engineering And Management is just that. Search them on the web. And, boom! Only one name pops up everywhere -Celluloid, their annual film fest. This fest is acknowledged by a global audience and participants. This extravaganza is the biggest film festival amongst any colleges in Kolkata and is a much-awaited event in the city.
This annual festival was first started in 2017 by very few film enthusiast engineering students and currently, it is run by more than seventy students from several disciplines. With an event list spreading across two days and an award ceremony following on the third day, the members leave no stone unturned to give the cinema and its worshippers the reverence and love they deserve.
The main highlight of the festival is their short film competition-Celluloid International Film Festival(CIFF) featuring short films from more than ten countries including Australia, the USA, UAE, Bhutan, Singapore, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Kenya. Films from all genres and socio-cultural backgrounds are created and shown at CIFF, and this event is an absolute paradise for fans of cinema.CIFF has inspired and provided a stage for young and old minds alike to nurture and cultivate short films as a medium of free-flowing expression.
Celluloid isn't just about CIFF. They also have their other star events like the script writing and impromptu acting events, the film debate and quiz, or their newly launched cosplay event, “ Super Con” -all of which are focused on bringing out your best for the sake of cinema competition against the best and learning from the best of the judges. They have a grand and much anticipated Flashmob performance on the second day of the fest and their fest boasts of a history of eminent film industry guests celebrating the three days with them-including Srijit Mukherji, Abir Chatterjee, Sabyasachi Chakraborty and Arindam Sil. This year, the team has noted Bengali celebrities Ishaa Saha and Arjun Chakraborty as their Chief Guests to be a part of this extravaganza. Also, Klikk- Bengal’s most popular OTT platform is collaborating with the team for their new and upcoming web series, “Honeymoon” featuring Aishwariya Sen and Sean Banerjee. The team will be launching the series’s trailer in our inaugural event which will be followed by a beautiful meet n greet session- all under the courtesy of Klikk.
Movies have a tremendous contribution to our society and culture-they go beyond just their story and are often more about connecting humans from all across the world and time, with no barriers of language, religion and culture. Cinema has forever been an expression of emotion, providing a sense of power in visualizing and living somebody else's story and thus a happy respite from reality. And at Estrella Productions, the members have vowed to salute and celebrate that same spirit of films and filmmaking through events like CIFF, and so much more. Movies are sometimes just a message or a lesson and sometimes a story we would connect with at some point in life. And like every year, Celluloid'23 will try to instil this love for movies with every step they take towards a successful fest.
The fest will be held on the 13th,14th and 15th Of May, at Future Institute Of Engineering And Management, Sonarpur, starting from 10 am in the morning.