Pranathi wins GCC's 'Once in a Loo' themed short film competition

CHENNAI: The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has awarded Rs 1 lakh to a short film that was made under the theme of building awareness on urban sanitation. Pranathi Sompalle, director of ‘Sandazte’, is the winner, who was awarded with Rs 1 lakh and a trophy.

The GCC had curated a one-minute ‘The international toilet festival 3.0’, a short film festival in collaboration with Wash Lab, Recycle bin and Cheer.

The local body called the short filmmakers from across the country to make a one-minute film under the theme of ‘Once in a Loo’, for creating awareness about urban sanitation. Around 750 entries were registered for the festival. Filmmakers creatively explored diverse themes using toilets as a narrative setting, said GCC.

The jury panel comprising film directors Kiruthiga Udayanidhi, Thiagarajan Kumararaja and lyricist Yuga Bharathi who watched the 34 short-listed films and selected three winners. They lauded the short filmmakers for their participation and for making films that covered topics such as patriarchy and gender inequality in sanitation, caste-based discrimination, mental health, self-expression, and speculations on the future of sanitation.

The second and third places were won by short films ‘Veliki’ and ‘Mural’ respectively, and the makers were also conferred with a trophy each.

In the event held on Monday at Alliance Francaise of Madras, all 34 short-listed films were screened for the audience. Later, a discussion was held with director Shan of ‘Bommai Nayagi’ film on the diverse themes including gender politics of toilets, the re-imagination of sanitation systems, and issues of accessibility.