Mahindra XUV500 concludes 'Short Film Festival Contest'
Mumbai, February 19, 2013: Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M), India’s leading SUV manufacturer, recently announced the winners of its short film contest around the XUV500 based on the theme ‘May your life be full of stories’. Short filmmakers from across the country competed with each other for the coveted grand prize, an XUV500.
The Film Festival was organized in association with 48 Hours Film Project, India, which has been conducting short film festivals in India since 2009. More than 200 entries were received and scrutinized for the film festival, out of which 23 filmmakers were shortlisted.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Vivek Nayer, Chief Marketing Officer, Automotive Division, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. said, “People are constantly seeking new and interesting experiences in their lives that lead to exciting new discoveries. New experiences are the new wealth in today’s world. The XUV500 brand has successfully created fascinating stories in the lives of our customers. Hence, we decided to create this short film contest to bring alive XUV500’s brand theme of ‘May your life be full of stories’.”
He further added, “It has been a great experience for me personally to go through all these films as a jury member. Each and every film had its own unique story-telling style. I would like to thank and compliment not just the winners but all participants who contributed to make these fantastic short films with the XUV500.”
Each of the shortlisted entries was given an XUV500 for 5 days and was asked to create a fictional short film within 10 days. These entries were then judged by the jury members- Mr Shimit Amin (Director of ‘Chak De’), Robby Mathew (Creative Director, Interface Communication), Carlton D’silva (Creative Head, Hungama Digital) and Mr Vivek Nayer, Chief Marketing Officer, Automotive division, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. Winners were selected on their clutter breaking ability in concept and execution (50% weightage), integration of XUV500 in the film (30% weightage) and technical expertise of film making (20% weightage).
The winner was awarded an XUV500 as the grand prize while the runners up received a Canon camera (EOS 550D) and APPLE iPad3!
| Category | Film Name | Director |
| Best Film- Winner & Best story | Deal | Anshul Joshi |
| Best Film- 1st runner up & Best cinematography | Elina | Anupam Mishra |
| Best Film- 2nd Runner up | Memorable Journey | Taranjeet Singh |
| Audience Choice Award & Best music | Junun | Tharun Bhascker Dhaassyam |
| Best Direction | Vanishing Hitch-hiker | Abhijit Kokate |
| Best actor | Shaadi Ka Driver | Shaurya Singh |
| Best actress | Disha | Prashant Sehgal |
| Best Editing | The Legend of Shyamlal Darzee | Ankit Mehrotra |
The winning short films were released on YouTube and have garnered close to 1 Lac views till date. These winning entries can be viewed on http://www.youtube.com/mahindraxuv500
About Mahindra
The Mahindra Group focuses on enabling people to rise through solutions that power mobility, drive rural prosperity, enhance urban lifestyles and increase business efficiency.
A USD 15.9 billion multinational group based in Mumbai, India, Mahindra employs more than 155,000 people in over 100 countries. Mahindra operates in the key industries that drive economic growth, enjoying a leadership position in tractors, utility vehicles, information technology and vacation ownership. In addition, Mahindra enjoys a strong presence in the agribusiness, aerospace, components, consulting services, defence, energy, financial services, industrial equipment, logistics, real estate, retail, steel and two wheeler industries.
In 2012, Mahindra featured on the Forbes Global 2000 list, a listing of the biggest and most powerful listed companies in the world.
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For further enquiries
Roma Balwani
Chief Group Communications Officer
Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.
Phone: +91 22 2490 1441
Email: balwani.roma@mahindra.com