Metroxical New York at Auroville Film Festival 2013

Folks, our recent Documentary Film 'Metroxical New York' - A poetic narrative about the underground subway music in New York City and how it forms the basis for a futuristic collective society - directed by Koushalya and created by Accessible Horizon Films is now screening at the Auroville Film Festival. Everyone's welcome and friends in Pondicherry, do make it! It screens on September 19th, 2013 at 7:30 p.m at the Outdoor Venue to be announced by the Auroville Film Festival. Please see their website for details - http://aurovillefilmfestival.org/

Ayynoorum Ayynthum (500 & 5) Team Interview

Tamil Cinema website Behindwoods.com Interview. Dass is missing.

Human Element - Short film based on a true story

A little over 2 years ago, a little incident happened to one of our team. And we thought why not make something out of it. That's how this short film came into being. Anyways, here it is...

Where the heck did 2012 go?

Wow...seriously, when the bloody heck did 2012 fly by? It freakin' feels like last night when exactly 364 days ago we were beset by a severe storm shutting down the power of our city, forcing us to open our eyes to darkness and mayhem on January 1st, 2012. But anyways, that's not the point. The point is, this so-called thing called TIME just whizzed past us, leaving us dumb-founded and as lost as a stray on the highway. So many things happened at break-neck speed that we didn't even realize when and where these days slipped by us. As they say, 'Life is what happens when you are busy doing other things'... But one thing is for sure, we got a bloody short life that there's no reason for us to compromise on the things we truly love. Whewwww! Ok, without rambling too much on the philosophical aspect of things, we'll just reminisce a bit on 2012.
I guess 2012 was a rolla-costa year...full of inspiring, adrenaline-packed stuff. We completed 2 projects - Metroxical New York(our latest feature documentary film) and 500 & 5(our first feature length narrative film project in Tamil), made some crazy artwork, travelled 8000 kms to parts of India that seemed like another planet(Ladakh, Himachal, J&K), did a dangerous(no kidding) trek to Kheer Ganga, climbed 16000 feet, met other whacked-out Nomads(from Uruguay, Sweden, France, London, Israel, Tibet, US) like us, met the Dalai Lama(sat through a little during his teaching), volunteered to teach and interact at SECMOL(Students' Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh) teaching Ladakhi students Science, Maths and English, did a mini documentary film for them, met the awesome and humble Sonam Wangchuk(rumoured to be the real life Phunsukh Wangdu, a character played by Aamir Khan in 3 Idiots, the hindi film), attended the world premiere of 500 & 5 at IFFK, Trivandrum and a ton of other stuff. 
Most importantly, it was the people and friends who made it for us. People who inspired us with their minds, their creativity and amazing personalities. It's only when we interact with people like them, we truly feel we are all connected and are directed by this collective consciousness. Anyways, since some of you couldn't come for the film festival premiere and have been asking about it, a little update on that - We had 2 shows in total. The first one at Anjali Theater was pretty decent and the second one at Kalabhavan theater was ok, not bad. But the good thing is that, we had a lot of our other awesome friends at the festival who came out to support us. A special thanks to all our actors and crew who helped in bringing 500 & 5 to life. I would love to share some of the reviews and feedback we got after the screenings, but I guess I'll wait until the next step.
We had some reasonable press coverage from The Hindu(here and here), The Indian Express(here) and other Malayalam Press/Media. The funny part was, in the Malayalam Manorama newspaper, there was a headline that said – “Cosmic Sex(the movie) is the result of my research” says Raghu – Apparently, I had directed the movie about sex and spirituality. Poor Amitabh Chakraborty, the actual director of the film - he had worked so hard on Cosmic Sex(interesting film) and I get the damn credit. But anyways, the world is never fair and true. We also met some amazing filmmakers from Iran, France, Chile, Mexico and Turkey & got to watch some awesome, crazy-ass whacked out movies. A few worth mentioning are Holy Motors(French), Sister(French), Nos Vemos Papa(Spanish), With you Without you(Sri Lankan), Ini Avan(Sri Lankan), Tungsten(Greek) among others. Moreover, we have some interesting developments happening around our film. And just a note, nothing...nothing comes easy to independent filmmakers. Will elaborate further later.
Also, last week I had gone to the Chennai Thiraipada Sangam(Chennai Film Society) organized by Mr. Vijayan in North Chennai where they regularly have guest filmmakers to teach/interact with their students. They had invited me last week for a session. It wasn't really a class, at least that's what I told them, that a class would serve no purpose...so we had more like a Q & A session revolving around filmmaking, cinema in general and 500 & 5's making and the production process. It was heartening to see lots of like-minded aspiring filmmakers who really felt the need for alternative cinema in Chennai. Some wanted to be directors, some cinematographers, some writers...and the class' age group ranged from 20 to 60. We had an energetic session as we explored what's really stopping independent, low-budget filmmakers from taking their next step. Met some interesting personalities who seem to give hope towards the future of Tamil cinema. Alright, that's that for now I guess. And I won't say Happy New Year because I hope we 'show' and don't 'tell'...

'500 & 5' 5K Run In Indian Express and Dinakaran

A big thank you to all our friends, family and friends of friends who joined us on the 5K Run on Sunday. We're super excited to share our celebration of 500 & 5's Audio Launch. And for those who haven't seen our Facebook updates, here are the pics of 500 & 5's coverage in the media in both Indian Express and in Dhinakaran.

The names in the Dinakaran article have been interchanged. Must have been Shankar and Lakshmi Priya. Nevertheless, congrats are in order for Deepak Sundarajan, Sivashankar Srinivasan, Living Smile Vidya, Chinnu Kuruvilla and TM Karthik Srinivasan and Lakshmi Priya :)
And here's the link to the Hindu article - http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/article3682418.ece written by Preeti Zacharia, who had joined us on the run too. So...

500 & 5's 5K Run/Marathon

How ‘bout another 5? Yeah folks, this time the ‘5’ is a 5Km(& 500 meters) ‘Run’ or Marathon.

You ask, “Marathon? You mean like running? Like exercise?”. And we say, “Well, not really, but if you wanna put it that way, you can.” See, let’s get this straight ok? You can run, walk, slow-jog, fast-walk, cycle or even crawl but you gotta reach the finish-line. No auto! So anyways, this is gonna be a 5K run with the Cast, Crew and Friends of ‘500 & 5’ and Accessible Horizon Films. Everyone’s gonna be there and we want YOU all to join in on the fun and a cause.

Why are we doing this and why do we want you with us? Really…well, there’re 2 reasons.

1. As many of you now know, ‘500 & 5’ is a feature-length ensemble of 5 short films with stories containing Gangsters, Romance, Reality, Dark fantasy, Social rebellion, etc. Despite all the ‘Cinematic’ elements that it contains, the underlying theme of ‘500 & 5’ deals with Money (as the omnipresent yet futile concept that rules us all) through the 5 main characters (and eventually envisions a world without money). Like many seemingly impossible things, this too starts with an idea. In a world where there’s a price tag to anything and everything including basic human-ness, we thought it necessary to shake things up a little. You know, break down the existing concept of Money and bring it down to its knees, at first theoretically, then through the film and eventually, maybe…maybe initiate a dialogue in that direction. We’ve tried to stick to this philosophy even for the ‘Making’ of ‘500 & 5’, which is why we’ve been able to do it independently and without major financial resources. And things like ‘Human-ness’ and the L-word (that ‘blasphemous’ L-word, Love, that we, as a society are embarrassed to use anymore) seem to have lost their meaning and have been replaced by the M-word. So we wanna give a shout-out against that change. How ‘bout that?

2. Now, now, since this is also a promotional campaign for the film ‘500 & 5’, we just wanna have some plain, unadulterated fun with the people who worked with us and made this project into what it is now. There have been tons of people, I mean, real people involved in this project with whom we’ve had too much fun during the making and we want to unwind a little after all that hard work we put in. We want you in on this because this film project is a labor of love made outside the confines of the studio system and we wanna share the euphoria associated with it at a ground level(literally) not at some big, staged, ticketed event.

So…if you’re even a wee bit interested or just wanna get off your uhh…we mean, couch, do join us. Since we'll have some special giveaways for you, we'll need a headcount, so please DO register (it's FREE)with your email at our website http://500n5themovie.com/5KRunRegistration.php. (And hey, if you can’t make it and wanna show your support, you can Like our ‘500 & 5’ Page. It’ll be a booster for our run.)

Event: 500 & 5’s 5K Run

Venue: Marina Beach, Chennai (Start point: Subramania Bharathiar statue)

Date: Sunday, July 22^nd , 2012

Time: 6:30 a.m

For more information & updates, check out:

www.500n5themovie.com

‘AccessibleHorizon FilmCollective’ on Facebook

‘500 & 5’ film's Page on Facebook

www.AccessibleHorizonFilms.com

Holding the tiger by the tail - 500 & 5

It's been a little over a year since we started 500 & 5 and guess what, it's not over yet. I mean, it is but it is not. In a lot of ways, we have come through a lot, done a million things, interacted with a gazillion people, met with next to impossible hurdles and stuff. But it's not completely over yet. The beast has only become bigger and more monstrous than ever...and as they say 'the last few miles are the hardest'. Well, tell me about it! The moment we started 500 & 5 in an unconventional way, we knew we caught the tiger by its tail. And till now, haven't really had a single moment to release it. Of course, we've been doing several other things but the thought of it, holding it and needing to wait until the right moment is ever present. So we're biding our time and are trying to figure out the next steps in the process. Until then, I guess it's gonna be one adrenalin-inducing trip. We try to stay calm as the tiger is struggling to break free and go berserk, but can't let it out, yet. Restraint, action and then release. Almost zen-like in mode.

THE FILMMAKING PROCESS!! JIGSAW PUZZLE SOLVED!!

One by one..the pieces make sense..and the end product..the purpose..realizes itself..through the beings.. the puzzle solves itself with our help?? or is the idea manifested in this reality..?? either ways..we completed something we started..and dear friends and loved ones..it was not about the end product.. it was the process all along!!! being parts of an infinite whole..makes us what?? mm..CONNECTED! thank you for your patience and love to sit through these 13 pieces..as i said earlier..please read & see between lines. For more..please visit.. http://500n5themovie.com/

THE FILMMAKING PROCESS!! JIGSAW PIECE No:12

Nature does not go on giving challenges..it also gives you the luxury to balance it all..to sit back and feel good about how you handled the issues of crisis.. woo-hoo..

THE FILMMAKING PROCESS!! JIGSAW PIECE No:11

Sharing bitter experiences eases the pain so much..hence, this piece..but wait! the universe chooses who stays in your purpose and who offers lessons..hmm..

THE FILMMAKING PROCESS!! JIGSAW PIECE No:10

You know why things go wrong? Because we'll know the difference when they're right. :) someone effortlessly said to me once..if you can take a "PRAISE" and an "INSULT" in the same sense..okay now, don't ask me how it is done..the person who told me this practices this too.. ..and then fell this piece..

THE FILMMAKING PROCESS!! JIGSAW PIECE No:9

The social consciousness called Internet..and the many souls who help with the DO-IT-YOURSELF informations...who teach the world what they know..share resources...and the souls who believe that change is possible..and who encourage new ideas..with all due respect..with gratitude..

THE FILMMAKING PROCESS!! JIGSAW PIECE No:8

How can one cell be independent of a whole organism? it is not possible right? but the cell has to perform its duty..and hence realize the purpose of its existence..society is one whole 'living' organism..the cells..we..have a purpose in its functioning..what do you think?? observe and contribute to the overall consciousness..

THE FILMMAKING PROCESS!! JIGSAW PIECE No:7

Why do we keep saying 'think out of the box'?? What if there was no box at all?? hmm..still getting used to the idea.. alternatives..alternatives..a million of them..in the ether..waiting to be absorbed and manifested..

THE FILMMAKING PROCESS!! JIGSAW PIECE No:6

Do you ever take notice of the pieces as they come or wait for the end result to appear and then notice them..?? hmm..good question..i am thinking too..

THE FILMMAKING PROCESS!! JIGSAW PIECE No:5

The seed sown for stimulation of the thought process..within..the purpose of each piece..or is it that the purpose wanting to realize itself..through the design??

THE FILMMAKING PROCESS!! JIGSAW PIECE No:4

Grumpy pieces in between..it's alright! otherwise how are we to know the difference my friends..the puzzle in its process of realization.. let me tell you a secret..even these pieces have purpose..towards completion! hmm..

THE FILMMAKING PROCESS!! JIGSAW PIECE No:3

One by one..the universe unleashes..the pieces..

Story behind the making of '500 & 5' 

THE FILMMAKING PROCESS!! JIGSAW PIECE No:2

...and then the next drawing in the universe's design..

visit our '500 & 5' movie website "http://500n5themovie.com"

THE FILMMAKING PROCESS!! JIGSAW PIECE No:1

Parts of a Whole..the Jigsaw piece No:1 When you look back at the complexities of life.. keenly.. you'll find pieces that have been interwoven.. to make sense.. the pieces on their own may not make sense in the beginning.. but in the end.. when put together, the pieces reveal their purpose in bringing the WHOLE together.. and life will be really worth all that waiting and risks that were endured! This is one such process..that we have realized.. the most complex design of life.. put in simple drawing. please read between all the lines :) TO BE CONTINUED...in continuum..

visit our '500 & 5' movie website "http://500n5themovie.com"