Film ‘Forsaken’ by Biswajit Sheel screened at Nandan during 7th Bengal International Short Film Festival

May 17: With the sudden outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic followed by  nationwide lockdown, Ratan- Sharda- Poonam lost their jobs. The family of these three performers is abandoned by the touring circus they were working with, in an unknown place far away from their home, where nobody knows them. Set against this cruel period in human history, through their sufferings and struggles, hopes and despairs, the film explores the unbeatable human desire for survival, along with the different faces of humanity as well.

The film depicts the impact of COVID on livelihood, utter helplessness, different facets of humanity and the indomitable human desire to live. The film was shot over a year following the characters and the twists of misfortunes they faced. Camera person Partha Seal has proved his extreme tenacity in following them keeping their tracks. He and some of his friends were always by the side of this family during those hard days.

“We started with zero budget but finally it touched somewhere around 35. The duration of the film is 22 minutes with English subtitles. Making of this film would not have been possible without the cooperation of the performers’ family, said Bishwajit Sheel, the Producer and Director of the film “Forsaken”.

It’s indeed a matter of immense pride for Biswajit Sheel and his team that the Film titled “Forsaken” has selected for screening for the 4-day 7th Bengal International Short Film Festival organised by Bengal Film and television Chamber of Commerce (BFTCC). The film was screened on the 4th day at Nandan-III, Film City, Kolkata on 18 May, 2022.

The crew of “Forsaken” includes- Camera : Partha Seal, Editing: Mrinal Kanti Dhar, Sound Engineer; Abhijit Deb, Music Sandeep Bhattacharjee, Associate Director: Sandipa Das Sheel, Subtitles : Swapnaneel Bhatt, Executive Producer : Partha.

It needs mention here that during the phase II of Covid-19 pandemic, when many people lost their lives, this same crew came up with a short film “Cremation Diary” which too earned much accolades.