Participants in the 2025 filmmakers challenge.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Close to 60% finalists in the WAVES-2025 Young Filmmakers Challenge, organised by Whistling Woods International in partnership with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, are female candidates.
Speaking to The Hindu, Chaitanya Chinchlikar of Whistling Woods International said over 1,000 entries were received from close to 80 cities and towns across the country. The competition has heralded a new wave of female storytellers making their mark in the industry.
“The participants are students from two age groups, 12-15 and 16-19. They were required to make 60-second films on the theme of humanity and technology. The top 10 entries were selected in each category, following which the finalists were brought to Mumbai to attend a two-day workshop and feedback session with filmmaker Amole Gupte. Based on the feedback, they can now reshoot their films for presentation before the final jury selection at the WAVES finale event in May,” he said.
“In the comprehensive film-making/digital video production workshop students received both creative and technical guidance from Mr. Gupte and the Whistling Woods faculty as well,” he said.
Mr. Chinchlikar said the challenge was an opportunity for all the young minds to express their creativity and originality of ideas through their films. “The participants submitted entries on all formats, including mobile phones. They displayed impressive skills…one entry involved using as high as 15 shots in just a 60-second video,” he said.
“While most of the entries focussed on issues related to the adverse impact of technology on human life, there were a few highlighting its positives. There were three teams from municipal level schools in Delhi…a female student created a film on a mobile app and its importance for her ‘rickshaw wala’ father and the family. The entries are a reflection of the socio-economic background of creators and their relationship with technology,” he said.
Published – March 15, 2025 10:42 pm IST