Drishyam Films’ award-winning short-film ‘Rammat Gammat’ (My Best Friend Shoes) will be having its first Premiere in India at the 20th Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival with Star in the International Competition in Half Ticket. There are 12 International Short Films total competing in the children’s category, Half Ticket. After Killa, I am Kalam, and Dhanak, Gujarati-language ‘Rammat Gammat’ is the only Indian film in the category.
Rammat Gammat had its World Premiere in the prestigious 64th International Short Film Festival Oberhausen, Germany in May 2018. There it won ‘Special Mention’ in International Children’s Film Competition and North American Premiere at the Oscar Qualifying, 24th Palm Springs Short Fest.
The film ‘Rammat Gammat’ is written and directed by Ajitpal Singh. The story is about two young boys from different Bckgrounds who bond over soccer, until a new pair of shoes strains their friendship. It is a simple story of complex characters which will spark a discussion about merit Vs money, poor Vs privileged. The 18 minutes movie demonstrates how class and caste divides and the role of friendship in it.
“Rammat-Gammat is a sweet, moving tale of friendship which I hope will come as a breath of fresh air in these times of conflict. We are really happy that after travelling the world, it is coming home to MAMI,” says Manish Mundra, the founder of Drishyam Films.
“It’s a great honour to be the only Indian film selected in International Competition for shorts in Half Ticket in MAMI. The film grapples with complex issues of prejudices and caste and class divide, it really asks some intricate questions about what is good and bad? MAMI will be exposing the children to such multilayered narrative, and that makes me very happy,” says Ajitpal Singh, the writer and director of Rammat-Gammat.
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“As a film buff, journalist and a publicist I have watched, covered and promoted some of the best Indian and international films at Mumbai Film Festival in the last one decade. All this while I have been nurturing a secret dream of having my own film at MAMI. So it is a dream come true to have the India Premiere of my first short film as a producer, Rammat-Gammat in MAMI in the international competition in Half Ticket,” said Mauli Singh, the Producer and indie film publicist.
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The 18-minutes narrative short introduces two young newcomers from Gujarat, Shivam Math and Yash Patel, who are excellent football players and have represented their cities at the state level and won awards. The film also features Swati Das (Hindi Medium, Bombay Talkies) in a significant role.
