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Siddharth Chauhan

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Siddharth Chauhan
Born (1990-09-24) 24 September 1990 (age 34)
Renuka, Sirmaur
Occupation(s)Screenwriter, Director and Producer
Years active2013–present
Websitehttps://siddharthchauhan-com.webnode.com/

Siddharth Chauhan (born 24 September 1990) is an Indian independent filmmaker from Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India.[1][2][3] He was awarded the "Youth Achiever" award by Hindustan Times Group in August 2014.[4] Chauhan has not received any professional training in this field. His films have been screened across places including Sarajevo, UK, US, Belarus, Indonesia, New Zealand, Italy, China, Canada and France.[5] He is the youngest and the first independent filmmaker from Himachal Pradesh to have continuously taken his locally produced films outside India.[5][6]

Work and Awards

His docu-fiction, Boys Don't Wear Nailpolish!, based on a sensitive gender issue, was awarded the Golden Halo Award.[7] The film was screened at several other film festivals in India and abroad, including Mumbai International Queer Film Festival and ViBGYOR Film Festival.[8][9] The Carolina Theatre group in the United States also invited the film for a screening in October, 2015.[10][11]

Siddharth's next independent production, the musical drama The Infinite Space, is a story of a young Buddhist monk who accidentally discovers the secret to infinity. The film featured music of the well known Grammy Award nominee, Tibetan flute player Nawang Khechog, and had its local premiere at the Gaiety Theatre, Shimla. The film was selected to compete at the IDSFFK 2015 International Film Festival of Kerala and was also selected by the University of Manchester UK for their Insight Film Curation scheme 2015.[12][13]

His next short film, PaPa, premiered at the IDSFFK 2016 International Film Festival of Kerala, where it won the Best Short Fiction Award. His filmmaking style has been compared with the avant garde filmmaking movement, as seen in PaPa, which received the Best Film Award "for its innovation in narrative gesture and wicked understanding of human behaviour."[1][2][14] The film later also won the Satyajit Ray Award for the Best Film at the London Indian Film Festival 2017 " for its mature storytelling which balances a realistic sense of frustration and claustrophobia, with a finely nuanced thread of subtle and deadpan humor. - Jury, LIFF”.[15][16][17] In praise of the film and the filmmaker, Rediff remarked "The haunting play of light through long corridors, shots that stay and expressions that hold are clearly the work of a filmmaker who knows his art." [18]

His latest film, Pashi premiered at the Oscar Qualifying Rhode Island International Film Festival in US. It was the only Indian short film selected in that competition in 2017. It then traveled to China and recently to Italy at the Rome Independent Film Festival.[19][20][21][22][23] Pashi was awarded Best Cinematography Award at Marietta International Film Festival in Georgia.[24][25] Recently the film was showcased at a Film Festival in Chile, South America where it received two Awards and two Honorable Mentions: Best Short Film Award (lgbt), Audience Choice Award (2nd position), Honorable Mention for Siddharth Chauhan for the Best Director (Short Film) and Honorable Mention for Chetan Kanwar for Best Young Actor (Short Film).[26][27][28] The film was then showcased at the World Music & Independent Film Festival, WMIFF, Washington DC, where Pashi has received nominations in five categories: Best Actor (Chetan Kanwar), Best Supporting Actor (John Negi), Best Director (Siddharth Chauhan), Best Screenplay (Siddharth Chauhan) and Best Cinematography (Siddharth Chauhan & Yashwant Kumar Sharma).[29][30][31][32] Siddharth won the Best Director Award for 'Pashi' at WMIFF 2018. [33][34]

The film was later selected for the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles. The festival team wrote the following review for the film : "Immersing us into a startling world of raw emotion and fierce imagination, this gripping exploration of lust and its precarious impulses reveals a bold and razor sharp emerging storyteller."[35] Firstpost reviewed the film and called it "An ambitious dramatic production. From its runtime to its themes and the many storytelling risks it takes, the film is edifying in more ways than one...".

Pashi was also competing at the KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival 2018, where it received the Q Drishti Film Grant and lead actor Chetan Kanwar received the Best Actor Award for his performance in the film. [36] The jury cited the following words in praise of the film and Chetan's performance in the film. "Set in a picturesque, quaint town in Himachal Pradesh with quirky characters. Pashi explores love, lies, sexuality, desire, betrayal through the journey of a teenage boy. This unhurried short film keeps one fully engrossed as harsh truths of its principle characters are revealed in an otherwise calm setting. It is much more than just a pashi (bird trap).". “A seamless, brave and authentic act by the young Chetan Kanwar. His character’s journey of discovery, of turmoil – both within and outside – is portrayed with fearless truth and endearing innocence.”. [37]

Kirk Fernwood from One Film Fan called it 'Devastatingly Heartbreaking', and stated that "Pashi is a great example of the current state of Asian cinema in its quality, heart, willingness to tackle a highly controversial subject matter, and being a further portrait to present the ever-growing fact that independent film is here, here to stay, and deserving of much higher recognition. [38]. Indie Shorts Magazine wrote a review stating that "Pashi is the naked truth of relationships, of fantasies and dreams and of life in itself and its superlative experiences that alter the journey for those who have lived it.", "Everything is subtle in ‘Pashi’ and yet the story essentially is gripping, moving and unsettling even...Chauhan brings out the rawness of his characters with stellar performances" and called it - "India's Finest Short Film".[39] [40]


Filmography

  • Boys Don't Wear Nailpolish! (short film, 2014)
  • The Infinite Space (short film, 2015)
  • PaPa (short film, 2016)
  • Pashi (short film, 2018)
  • Catch the Light (short film, 2019)
  • The Flying Trunk (short film 2020)
  • Amar Colony (feature film, 2021)

References

  1. ^ a b "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 10 August 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ^ a b [1]
  3. ^ "Shimla talent Sidharth takes to films | Hill Post". Hillpost.in. 6 September 2013. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  4. ^ "Beyond Clichés, Shattering stereotypes". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  5. ^ a b "Shimla-based young filmmaker's short film selected for Paris Film Festival 2015". Himachalwatcher.com. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  6. ^ "Rendezvous with Youth Achiever Award Winner Siddharth Chauhan". Hookedupon.com. 11 February 2016. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  7. ^ "Shimla boy bags award at international short film festival". Hindustantimes.com. 24 February 2014. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  8. ^ "ViBGYOR | Film Festival". Vibgyorfilm.org. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  9. ^ "List of Films Playing at KASHISH 2014 - KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival". Mumbaiqueerfest.com. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  10. ^ "Breaking the Mindset Of Standard Indians "Boys Don't Wear Nailpolish" - Pahari Cinema". Paharicinema.com. 9 May 2016. Retrieved 18 January 2018.[dead link]
  11. ^ "Conjunctions". Carolina Theatre. Durham, North Carolina. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  12. ^ "Vision by Lense – Boys Don't Wear Nailpolish | Keekli". Keekli.in. 6 June 2015. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  13. ^ "FILM SCREENING: "The Infinite Space - PREMIERE" + "Boys Don't Wear Nailpolish!"". Facebook.com. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  14. ^ "Young and Talented Siddharth filmmaker Shimla - Himachal Wonders". Himachalwonders.in. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  15. ^ "The Statesman Northern Edition". =Epaper.thestatesman.com. Retrieved 18 January 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  16. ^ "Variety". Variety. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  17. ^ "Ashutosh Gowariker Honored and A Billion Colour Story Wins Audience Award at London Indian Film Festival". Bollyspice.com. 1 July 2017. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  18. ^ "He wants to celebrate the uniqueness of India". Rediff.com. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  19. ^ "Short film 'Pashi' from Shimla makes the cut for Oscar qualifying festival". Hindustantimes.com. 28 July 2017. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  20. ^ "Young Shimla filmmaker makes it to Oscar Qualifying Film Festival". Indianexpress.com. 27 July 2017. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  21. ^ "上海酷儿影展 Shanghai Queer Film Festival". Facebook.com. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  22. ^ "Scheda Film - RIFF". Riff.it. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  23. ^ "5 AWARD NOMINATIONS for Himachali film at the World Music & Independent Film Festival in Washington DC, USAa - City Air News". Cityairnews.com. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  24. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 9 October 2017. Retrieved 26 December 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  25. ^ "Pahari short-film Pashi wins best Cinematography award at Marietta Film Festival in Georgia". Himachalwatcher.com. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  26. ^ "sfaaf". Scafafest.wixsite.com. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  27. ^ "Pashi, A Himachali Film Wins Awards At Chile Film Festival - Hill Post". hillpost.in. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  28. ^ [2] [dead link]
  29. ^ [3] [dead link]
  30. ^ "World Music & Independent Film Festival". World Music & Independent Film Festival. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  31. ^ [4]
  32. ^ India, Press Trust of (17 December 2017). "Five nods for Himachali short film 'Pashi' at WMIFF 2018". Business Standard. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  33. ^ [5]
  34. ^ [6]
  35. ^ [7]
  36. ^ http://gaysifamily.com/2018/06/06/kashish-2018-closing-ceremony/
  37. ^ http://mumbaiqueerfest.com/2018/05/mater-best-narrative-film-ajay-wins-best-indian-short-pashi-qdrishti-winner-kashish-2018/
  38. ^ https://onefilmfan.com/india-south-asian-independent-short-film-review-pashi/
  39. ^ https://www.indieshortsmag.com/reviews/2018/08/selected-at-oscar-qualifying-festival-pashi-is-indias-finest-2018-short-film/
  40. ^ https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/pashi-movie-review-seemingly-gentle-story-of-love-and-desire-that-grows-increasingly-complex-4455313.html
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