Anoop Oommen’s ‘C/O 56APO’, shot in Super 8mm format to premiere at Straight 8 film festival in London

The film starring Aashiq Abu and Mythili is the love story of a soldier and a florist told in three minutes with no retakes, editing or post-production work

“It is a dream-come-true moment for me,” says cinematographer-filmmaker Anoop Oommen, speaking of his film C/O 56 APO being among the 25 films selected for the Straight 8 Film Festival in London.

The festival is one-of-its-kind because participants are allowed to use only a single roll of Super 8mm film. There should be no retakes, editing, grading or any post-production work in the movie. A soundtrack is submitted separately. The festival authorities do the processing, so the filmmaker gets to see the final product only at the time of the premiere. C/O 56APO will have its premiere in London on October 22.

“Straight 8 festival is being held every year since 1999. I am thrilled that my film has been chosen from among 100-plus entries from across the world,” says Anoop.

Super 8mm (8 millimetres, which stands for the width of the film), created in the mid-’60s, had been a favourite motion picture format with many filmmakers until video tapes took over. A roll can capture 3.20 minutes of footage in the format. “Many renowned filmmakers, including Quentin Tarantino, have made films in the format. It became obsolete by the mid-’80s. However, I loved shooting in that format and did many of my experimental works using the film. This is one of the best formats for film students to learn the craft,” Anoop believes.

C/O 56APO is the love story of Mukhlis Azad, a soldier, played by filmmaker Aashiq Abu, and Nadia, a florist, essayed by Mythili. 56APO is a post office in Delhi dedicated for personnel of the Indian army. “Nadia is waiting for a letter and as the narrative unfolds, viewers will see who her lover is. Besides the romance, the story also explores the tension surrounding the war,” says Anoop.

The three-minute film was shot in and around Kochi. It was a challenging experience for the whole crew. As they could not go for retakes, everyone on the set ensured that there were no mistakes. “If we erred, we had to start the shoot all over again with another film roll. Also, since we couldn’t edit the film, the scenes had to be shot in order, even if it meant shuttling between two locations. But everything went well even though we didn’t have any workshops. We shot sequences on a crowded street as well. The shoot got over in two days,” says Anoop. They could add the title or any effects only through the camera.

The film was submitted five months ago. Anoop mentions that sending the entry had its challenges. At the airport, they had to avoid X-ray scanning the package because that would have damaged the film. “Our biggest worry was that there might be nothing in the film when they process it!” Anoop adds.