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Kalaparva 2026 by Itihasa Foundation: A Fresh Perspective on Kannada Cinema
Recently, I came across this artist collective through a short film called Boomerang that was posted on the WhatsApp status of a friend. The movie had great production value, a different take on storytelling, some dark humor, and addressed chance encounters that can either mean nothing or become a massive event based on the people experiencing it.
The movie was posted on the YouTube channel of Itihasa Foundation which is a collective for artists and filmmakers. Kalaparva 2026 was a showing of three short films as part of an annual showcase from this artist collective.
Three Short Films @ Kalaparva 2026 by Itihasa Foundation
Kalaparva 2026 by Itihasa Foundation was held at A.N. Krishna Rao Convention Centre & Dr. Puneeth Rajkumar Auditorium, which is a surprisingly expansive venue with great acoustics, a fantastic stage, and seating that could probably have more legroom. The auditorium also has central air conditioning, which isn't the case for most auditoriums, such as the Dr.C Ashwath Kala Bhavana Auditorium, which uses individual AC units that work well. There was a QnA session at the end of every short film, which was interesting.
1. I missed the first short film, called Naseeb, which I attribute to fate.
2. The Second film, about a supernatural force that assimilates everyone it touches, is called Kare and has an interesting storyline, good acting, and pretty good CGI for a bootstrapped film. The actress did a great job of portraying a character who undergoes a form of possession brought upon by a curse, as seen in the Sam Raimi film Drag Me to Hell.
3. The Third short film, called Kasubu, explores the dignity of labor and independence that comes from doing your own thing, like starting a business. The acting and cinematography were impressive, but I do think the central plot could have been a little better.
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Yakshagana Performance
After the third short film, and a substantial wait, there was a highly enjoyable Yakshagana performance about a battle between two kings, Vajrabahu and Ugrasena, in Bhadravathi, which forces the hand of Yama ( the God of Death and the underworld ) to intervene and bring balance. The vocals required for this art form are complex and achievable only by a select few.
The costumes ( or Veshas ) in this performance were near flawless, and I just had to take a pic with one of the characters. To my dismay, the characters I clicked a pic with played Yama.
One of my personal heroes, H. Narasimhaiah, a legendary educationist, writer, and physicist with a PhD in nuclear physics, once refused to let a person dressed as Yama stand next to him for a photo. I met this extraordinary person at a literary meet, and he immediately came to mind when I realized the character I'd asked to take a photo with was, in fact, playing Yama.
While I couldn't stay for the full Yakshagana performance, I thoroughly enjoyed the part I could stay for.
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Wrapping Up
Efforts like Itihasa Foundation are a great way to marshal young talent and create an ecosystem of self-sustaining support for making films of international quality, from production to plot complexity.
One unique thing about Itihasa Foundation is that their presence is solely on social media, such as their YouTube channel, Instagram, and so on, without an exclusive website. If you are an aspiring short filmmaker, have an interest in theater, or in any aspect of production, you could probably get in touch with them to help bring your vision to life.
