MUMBAI: Pyramid Saimira Theatre Ltd and Jnanabanu Visual Media, an alternate culture and communication production unit, have together launched a unique movement called the one-reel movement, for the purpose of promoting new tastes and new talent in cinema.

Films with the duration of only one reel will be produced and exhibited in a chain of theatres. The 10-minute-long films will feature new ideas and new talent. The one reel will be shown before the main film in the theatres as a bonus film to the audiences. Both the audiences and the film industry are expected to benefit from the fresh ideas and fresh talent that would emerge from the one-reel movement. The concept has been made possible, thanks to the company having under its command a chain of hundreds of theatres.

The first one-reel film will be screened on December 28 2007. On the same day exactly 112 years ago, the first cinema was shown to the public by Lumiere brothers, which was also a one reel running for less than ten minutes with several short visuals each running for a few seconds. To mark this commemoration, 112 Tamil writers will be inaugurating the first show of the film on this day simultaneously in 112 theatres in different places of Tamil Nadu.

The first film of the one-reel movement to be shown on 28 December 2007 is "Thirumathi James Ippodhu Enna Seyya Vendum?," directed and produced by Jnani, and based on a short story by eminent Tamil writer Dilip Kumar. The cinematography is by P S Dharan; editing, by I P Sivamathi, and music, by Anil N C. Rohini and Neelson have acted in this short film, with just two shots taken in one single take. While Neelson speaks throughout the film, Rohini has no dialogue at all. More than 75 per cent of the crew are budding talents. The same principle of encouraging new talents will be followed in subsequent creations. Jnani will be producing the first six one-reel films, after which scripts from newcomers will be selected for production from newcomers.

The one-reel movement will subsequently be introduced in other languages - Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi and English.