Cinema for edutainment

HYDERABAD: Do you remember the Moral/Value Education classes that were mandatory in school? If yes, you probably had those, and if no, then you should perhaps recollect those classes when you were asked to while away your time maintaining “pin-drop” silence. However, considering the amount of importance that was or is given to it, EduMedia, a company based out in Mumbai and Bengaluru, decided to come up with the concept of School of Cinema (SOC) to teach children basic moral and human values through the medium of short films. Recalls Syed Sultan Ahmed, managing director, EduMedia India private limited,“EduMedia was started in 1997 with the sole idea to provide children with the kind of education that is not found in Indian schools. In the Indian education system, it is all about marks. But, we need to realise that there are much more important things other than marks --- personality, communication, inter-personal skills, and a lot more.” This is how EduMedia was born --- and along with it were born its different business verticals --- Krayon, Mentor and Activity. And the fourth one to be added to the list is School of Cinema.Indians love filmsExplaining the concept behind SOC, Sultan says, “We Indians love films and are greatly influenced by films.” But, he also points out that even though we love films and India is the country where most number of films are made, it is also the country with least number of films catering to children. “That’s why we thought that short films for children will be a great way to get a message across to the kids,” he adds. But, what is the message that they want to convey? “Well, there are basic values like honesty, respecting elders, and issues like bullying in school, child sex abuse, etc, that one may not be able to explain properly to a child. So, we try to cover topics like these and a lot more through these films.” So far, School of Cinema has produced 46 short films. But, some films are outsourced, making their collection a total of 96 films.      Making its way to school curriculumSOC can be made a part of the school curriculum for classes 1-8, but it is optional. “We have given schools an option to either stick to the conventional way, which is text-books, or they can opt for SOC in place of the Value Education classes,” explains Sultan. Each class module consists of 12 films --- 10 for the students, and one each for the teacher and parent. But, why for the teacher and parents? To which. Tabassum Modi, executive director, EduMedia, elaborates, “There are certain issues that even parents and teachers need to be explained. For example, parents may not realise the impact their arguments may have on the child. Such, and more issues are addressed.” So far, schools like Nasr school, St Joseph’s, Meridian school, Glendale academy, from the city have adopted SOC as a part of their curriculum. Award-winning filmsOut of the 46 short films that have been produced by SOC, two films, which were screened at various film festivals, won National awards. ‘Red Building - Where The Sun Sets’, won the National Film Award, 2012 for Best Film on Family Values and ‘The Finish Line’ won the National Film Award, 2012 for Best Exploration/Adventure/Sports Film. “The first film was about how parental conflicts have a negative impact on the child, and in the film the child actually elopes from home because of the intensity of the quarrel,” says Tabassum, adding, “And the second film is about a teacher’s partiality.  Everyone must have experienced this at some point of school life. The film revolves around how a child’s passion is killed all because a teacher’s partiality.” The first film was directed by well-known director Revathy and the second film was directed by Akshay Roy, a director who has assisted in movies like Lakshya, Water, The Namesake, Vanity Fair and The Bourne Supremacy. Market for short-filmsTabassum believes that there is a very limited market for short films in India, and SOC is perhaps the only platform through which short-film makers are not only getting assignments, but also monetary returns. “We have started another initiative to promote short films across the country. With this initiative, we want to ensure that the Indian market for short films grows, and short-films become a stepping stone  to a career in film-making,” signs off Tabassum.