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Yudhajit Basu

KALSUBAI

Documentaire | hdcam | couleur et n&b | 20:0 | Inde | 2020

Its an ethnographic film exploring the legend of a Mahadeo Koli Goddess Kalsu whose story and identity remains impregnated in the consciousness of the women of the tribe even today. The film tells the story of the Goddess while drawing visual contrasts between primordial and contemporary images.

Yudhajit Basu joined Film & Television Institute of India, Pune in the Direction Department in 2017 after graduating in Mass Communication and Videography from St. Xaviers College, Kolkata, India. He has made short films & documentaries centering around the themes of climate change and the dichotomy between the modern and the primordial. He is also the editor of a little magazine on poetry in Bengali called “Shabdo (Sound)” and has also published books on poetry. He has been invited to participate in Opening Scenes Lab at 52nd edition of Visions du Réel, Switzerland, which is a special programme for the 16 filmmakers selected globally where his latest short film ‘Kalsubai’ had its World Premiere. Over the years Yudhajit has produced and directed short films, Khoji, Quiro, and Gulnara. These films have been screened at various National & International Film Festivals including Ismailia International Film Festival, Egypt; Toronto South Asian Film Festival, Canada; Bucharest Film Festival Romania; IDSFFK, Kerala, India; ISFF, Melbourne, International Changing Perspective SFF, Istanbul, Turkey amongst many others. His latest Short Film KALSUBAI which is a short 20 minute ethnographic film about the legend of a Koli goddess, had its World Premiere in Visions du Réel International Short Film Festival of Nyon in Switzerland. The film explores the Koli legend of the tribal deity ‘Kalsu’ whose story remains impregnated in the consciousness of the women of the tribe even today. The film won the best film award (Grand Online Prize of the City of Oberhausen) and also bagged a Special Mention from the Ecumenical Jury of Oberhausen. Kalsubai had its UK Premiere in the Sheffield Docs Film festival, Austrian Premiere at Vienna Shorts and its Dutch Premiere at International Documentary Film Festival of Amsterdam (IDFA) 2021 and many more. Yudhajit's recent docu-fiction project “What We Lost in the Fire” has been selected in the Co-Production Market at National Film Development Corporation, 2020