AWARDS - Directorate of Film Festivals

149Special Jury Award/fu.kkZ;d eaMy dk fo'ks"k iqjLdkjRajat Kamal and cash prize of ` 75,000/-Aasna AslaMPROFILE6-year old Aasna Aslam is the only daughter of Aslam andAseena Aslam. She is blind by birth. They live in Trivandrum,Kerala. Aasna has been studying in a school for the blind inAlwaye since she was three.Director'sStatementWhen I first penned the premise of my short film, I was struck with several contradictorydilemmas. I wanted to show the growing socio- economic relevance of rural Keralaand the fast changing world through the eyes of a young blind girl who is oblivious tothe term “development”I found my little actress Aasna, living in Keezhumadu blind school about 5 km awayfrom me. Aasna’s world although imaginative has more reality and honesty than theother characters in the film. Her simple thoughts and make believe world is set againstthe backdrop of the more alarming truth.