Guwahati: Maharshi Tuhin Kashyap’s Assamese short film Mor Ghorar Duronto Goti –The Horse From Heaven has been selected for screening at Cineteca Nacional Museum in Mexico City.
The film will be a part of the first edition of the transfigured boundaries, a 10-day anti-genre film programme, which was kicked off on April 29 at Cineteca Nacional Museum.
A total of 56 films from countries like Canada, Colombia, India, UK, USA, Cuba, Mexico, Thailand, Hong Kong, South Africa, Spain, The Netherlands, Iran, Pakistan, Bhutan, and Berlin have been selected for screening at the event.
Combining folklore (Oja pali) with an absurdist wit, the film shows the power of belief and how it can lead to religious fervor.
The process of taking a donkey and upholding it to the standards of a divine being, to the point that others begin to attempt to “covet thy neighbor’s ass” feeds into the humorous nature of all interactions between Kuxhol ( the protagonist) and those around him. This alone gives the short film a giddy dose of visual stings as onlooking at the man’s absurd story turns from mockery into adoration.
It is a wonderfully framed piece of absurdism that shows Maharshi Kashyap can transform local lore into a universal comedic concept, writes a critic.
The film was also screened at Kolkata International Film Festival on April 28 and 29.
Filmmaker Kashyap, who hails from Guwahati, has completed his post-graduate course in direction and screenplay writing from Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI), Kolkata.
He has written scripts for two feature films Boroxun-Songs of Rain (2021) and Bulu Film (2022). He also has directed another short film- Poetry of Whispers (Kaan Phus Phusot Phus Phusoni) (2019) and a documentary Water Water Everywhere (2020).