Date: 19 August 2016-08-21    Time: 12 p.m.            Venue: Seminar Hall, Block 2

A film was screened by The Literati on 19 August 2016, at 12 p.m. in the Seminar hall in Block 2. The short French film “The Red Balloon” was screened. The French film was written, directed and produced by Albert Lamorisse in 1956. The thirty two minute film follows the adventures of a little boy who one day finds a sentient, mute red balloon. The film has been acclaimed by several critics around the world and has won several awards, most notable of which are the Oscar awarded for best original screenplay and the Palme d’Or at the 1956 Cannes film festival.

The event was held in the seminar hall of Block 2 but was started about fifteen minutes late on account of the absence of a DSLR cable. There were around twenty students who attended the event. Attendance was poor this time because our event overlapped with students who had classes at this hour and who were attending other fests.The audience was engaged with a short introduction about the film by the host. Once the technical issues were resolved, we began screening the movie without further ado. It ran for about thirty two minutes and after it was done, the host began the discussion by asking everyone their opinions about it. The film received positive feedback, many were able to see beyond the surface storyline and actually search for deeper meanings that certain symbols in the film represented. Mr Felix added to the discussion as well, making some very relevant points that brought a nice insight to the movie.

After the interactive discussion was over, the host proceeded to offer other facts about the setting of the film, the characters and the actors who played them, etc. The film was an important portrayal, a tribute to France, when it was trying to recover desperately from Nazi occupation and has great historical relevance. With its contrast of bright, colourful balloons against dark, grey buildings the movie manages to transport us to a time when people everywhere were trying to grab opportunities, to make their fortune in a country still recovering from the repercussion of a desolating war – and how those tender, playful, timid attempts to catch something fleeting, turn to vice-like grips of greed, bordering on violence.

We ended the event at around 1:15 PM with notifying everyone present about upcoming events and thanked them for attending.