The refreshing and thought provoking short film on receding beach lines of Goa, the ‘Odh’ wins the best film award at the ‘75 Creative Minds of Tomorrow’ (CMOT)  held at 54th International Film Festival of India in Goa today.

Congratulating the winners, Prithul Kumar, Joint Secretary (Films), Ministry of Information & Broadcasting and Managing Director, NFDC threw light on the importance of recognizing true content in filmmaking which will place India at the global pedestal. “The CMOT is the best platform for young creative minds across India who are driven into making films with good content”, he said.

Speaking on the occasion, Director Shoojit Sircar, one of the  jury member for 75 CMOT, said that creating a short film in 48 hours on the theme ‘The Mission Life’ juxtaposing all the emotions such as self-retrospection, hope, protest etc  is incredible.

Congratulating the team members of all the films in the competition, Shoojit Sircar said that all the films are really relevant and thought provoking and deals with a very important topic of protecting and preserving the environment. He said, “All of you are winners already”.

Jury member and CEO of Shorts TV, Carter Pilcher added that the concept of providing a platform like CMOT to young creative minds to showcase their talent is phenomenal.

As part of the Film Challenge, 75 CMOT participants were divided into five teams who made short films on the topic ‘Mission Life’ in 48 hours.

The competition has been conceived by NFDC in partnership with Shorts International. The CMOT participants also attended workshops and masterclass sessions curated by the masters of world cinema.

A brainchild of Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Anurag Singh Thakur, the initiative aims to encourage and nurture young creative talents from various trades of filmmaking.

The initiative is in its third year, having been launched in 2021 to mark the 75th year of India’s Independence as part of the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ celebrations.

About ODH: Marceline, the fisherman, takes his boat into the middle of the city in an attempt to find a parking space.

He complains that the beach has been stolen and he has no space left to park.

The film addresses the issue of receding beach lines of Goa, due to rise in the sea levels and mass constructions happening on the beaches.