''Little Terrorist'' is a 2004 Indian short film directed, written and produced by
Ashvin Kumar
Ashvin Kumar is an Indian filmmaker. He wrote, directed and produced India's only Oscar-nominated short film, '' Little Terrorist'' (2004), with his debut film ''Road to Ladakh'' being released in the same year. He also made the feature-lengt ...
. It was nominated for the
2005
2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
for
Best Live Action Short Film
The Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film is an award presented at the annual Academy Awards ceremony. The award has existed, under numerous names, since 1957.
From 1936 until 1956 there were two separate awards, ''Best Short Subject, On ...
. Ashvin Kumar is the son of fashion designer
Ritu Kumar
Ritu Kumar is an Indian fashion designer.
Early life and education
The lack of educational opportunities in Amritsar led her to move to Simla for her schooling, where she attended Loreto Convent, Tara Hall, Shimla, Loreto Convent. She later stud ...
, and made his debut with ''Road to Ladakh'' (2002), starring
Irrfan Khan
Irrfan Khan () (born Sahabzade Irfan Ali Khan; 7 January 196729 April 2020) was an Indian actor who worked in Indian cinema as well as British and American films. Widely regarded as one of the finest actors in world cinema, Khan's career spa ...
and
Koel Purie
Koel Purie Rinchet is an Indian actress, film producer and television presenter.
Biography
Purie made her debut with Rahul Bose's directorial venture '' Everybody Says I'm Fine!'' in 2001 and later featured in ''Road to Ladakh,'' starr ...
street child
Street children are poor or homeless children who live on the streets of a city, town, or village. Homeless youth are often called street kids, or urchins; the definition of street children is contested, but many practitioners and policymakers ...
, Sushil Sharma is a clerk in the government service in
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...
and Megnaa was a 12th standard student at the time of shooting the movie.
The production of the film commenced in November 2003 and was completed in March 2004. The crew were selected by
Alipur Films Alipur may refer to the following places:
Bangladesh
* Alipur, Jhalokati
* Alipur, Netrokona
India
* Alipur, Bihar
* Alipur, Chanditala-I
* Alipur, Delhi
* Alipur, Jaynagar
* Alipur, Karnataka
* Alipur, Kapurthala
* Alipur, Ludhiana
* Alipu ...
via
Shooting People
Shooting People is an international social network for independent filmmakers that was founded in 1998 by Cath Le Couteur and Jess Search, in which members share resources and knowledge to get their films made and seen.
Dedicated to the support ...
, the online filmmakers community and worked free of cost for the movie and even travelled to
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
at their own expense.
The movie was shot in the deserts of
Rajasthan
Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...
on a very tight budget. The crew faced various difficulties due to the multilingual production team, remote locations and the shoestring budget. These were further complicated when a tent with the reel burnt down. The crew were however able to salvage the reel from the tent. At another time, a herd of cows
stampede
A stampede () is a situation in which a group of large animals suddenly start running in the same direction, especially because they are excited or frightened. Although the term is most often applied to animals, there are cases of humans stamped ...
d through the shooting location.
Synopsis
The movie revolves around Jamal (played by Salim), a 10-year-old
Pakistan
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
i Muslim boy. While playing
cricket
Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
near the Indo Pakistani border, the cricket ball is tossed over to the Indian side of the border separated by a fence.
Jamal crosses the fence to fetch the ball. He is however spotted by the Indian security forces. He hides in an Indian village where he is provided shelter by Bhola (Sushil Sharma), a devout
Hindu
Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
Brahmin
Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...
. Both Bhola and his niece, Rani (Megnaa Mehtta), are sceptical about allowing a Muslim boy in their home.
However, when the security forces come looking for Jamal in the village, he is protected by Bhola and Rani.
Jamal does manage to return to Pakistan in the end.
Ritu Kumar
Ritu Kumar is an Indian fashion designer.
Early life and education
The lack of educational opportunities in Amritsar led her to move to Simla for her schooling, where she attended Loreto Convent, Tara Hall, Shimla, Loreto Convent. She later stud ...
* Sound recordist: Roland Heap
Awards
Since its world premiere in September 2004, the film has been invited to 103 film festivals and has won awards in fourteen of them.
Chief among them was the
nomination
Nomination is part of the process of selecting a candidate for either election to a public office, or the bestowing of an honor or award. A collection of nominees narrowed from the full list of candidates is a short list.
Political office
In ...
for
Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...
European Film Awards
The European Film Awards (or European Film Academy Awards) have been presented annually since 1988 by the European Film Academy to recognize excellence in European cinematic achievements. The awards are given in 19 categories, of which the mos ...
Flanders International Film Festival
Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, language, politics ...
Montréal World Film Festival
The Montreal World Film Festival (), commonly abbreviated MWFF in English or FFM in French, was an annual film festival in Montreal, Quebec, Canada from 1977 to 2019. It also won an honourable mention by BAFTA LA. It is the first Indian short film to get a theatrical release in India.
The film features on the list of "10 Shorts You Must See" at , url = http://www.making-short-films.com/ ,
Won
*
Montreal World Film Festival
The Montreal World Film Festival (), commonly abbreviated MWFF in English or FFM in French, was an annual film festival in Montreal, Quebec, Canada from 1977 to 2019.Manhattan Film Festival
The Manhattan Film Festival (MFF) is an annual film festival that was founded in 2006 by filmmakers Philip J. Nelson and Jose Ruiz Jr.
Notable films and awards
* In 2011, the festival screened ''White Irish Drinkers'', a film written and directed ...
Reelworld Film Festival
Reelworld Film Festival, founded in 2001 by Tonya Williams, is held annually in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The festival screens film and provides professional development for Canadian racially diverse and indigenous filmmakers and media artists.
...
Temecula Valley International Film Festival
The Temecula Valley International Film Festival is a film festival held in Temecula Valley, California.
Background
Launched in September 1995 and held, uninterrupted every September until 2011 (later to relaunch in 2014), the festival proclaims i ...
: Special Jury Prize.
*
Mumbai International Film Festival
The Mumbai International Film Festival for Documentary, Short and Animation Films (MIFF) is a festival organized in the city of Mumbai (formerly Bombay) by the Films Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Infor ...