Vaishali Naik’s debut short 7 Star Dinosor Entertainment to be screened at Palm Springs

The short film 7 Star Dinosor Entertainment by first-time writer-director Vaishali Naik is an official selection at the Palm Springs International ShortFest 2022, being held from 21–27 June.

Naik’s 19-minute film revolves around two brothers who don dinosaur costumes and perform at malls, birthday parties and even weddings. Once the COVID-19 pandemic strikes, however, the two are stuck indoors as the finances and resources dwindle. How will they cope?

7 Star Dinosor Entertainment, starring Kapil Dev and Rahul Sahu, won the Audience Choice award for Best Short Film at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles earlier this year and will be screened at the upcoming London Indian Film Festival being held from 23 June to 3 July.

The short film has also been screened at the Brooklyn Film Festival 2022, Manchester Film Festival 2022, New York Indian Film Festival 2022 and the Athens International Film + Video Festival 2022.

Naik, who is the writer of the upcoming Marathi film Baipan Bhaari Deva (2022), said, “Getting selected at Palm Springs is special because you are part of an artistic community that values new and original ideas. Just the acknowledgement from a film festival so esteemed pushes me to follow my own voice.”

The first-time filmmaker was inspired to write the short after seeing visuals of the woes of workers during the pandemic. She stated, “I witnessed the exodus of migrant workers from the cities back to their villages. The tragedy found its way into the film organically, yet urgently. What began as a whim became a responsibility.”