Chennai-based collective announces carnival to support indie filmmaking

3AM Tea Cigaz, a Chennai-based community, is all set to bring a Creators Carnival to the city this week.

The fest spans three days, October 30, 31, and November 1, and will host screenings of independent films, short films, documentaries, and experimental films at the Koogai Thiraipada Iyakkam in Chennai. A total of 35 films in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi, and English are set to be screened, each with a duration ranging from 3 minutes to 106 minutes. This will also be followed by a discussion with the creators themselves.

The community is also planning to take the carnival to other cities such as Coimbatore and Madurai. The collective strives to support independent filmmaking and establish an alternative to the mainstream system of film production. They believe that the commercial route dilutes the creator’s vision by prioritising market safety and financial integrity.

Pradeep Rajan K. and Prasanna S.V. co-founded the collective in 2022. Harathi Abirami, Chakkaravarthi V., Vincie Eunice, Nemi, and Sanjay Dakota have helped organise the Creators Carnival.

“The 3AM system is not like regular filmmaking. This is collective cinema where we prove collective creation is possible”, says Pradeep.

Interested people pitch their projects, and through a voting process, the collective decides to take up a film project. Those who wish to be part of the project contribute resources like time, money, or equipment voluntarily. The total cost of production is calculated through the three-cost method, comprising actual (travel, props), making (fuel, meals) and hidden (depreciation, audition, rehearsal) costs that went into making the film.

“People who work for the project are not paid upfront since no one owns the production. They work on a sweat equity basis,” Pradeep says. A sense of ownership also prevails in everyone working on the project, he adds.

Revenue in this system is calculated through the revenue waterfall method. This method ensures that each gets in return what they invest.

“For example, if I had invested ₹50,000 in a project, I would get exactly the same amount in return. This goes on to prove that I cannot own the film just because I invested money in it. And if I had invested both money and labour, I would get returns accordingly”, the 34-year-old says.

“The financial returns might not be huge, but in this system anyone can be a director or cameraperson. One need not wait for a market value”, he says. Since people collaborate through contributions of resources like time and cost, the financial risk is also low in a collective system such as this, Pradeep adds.

Chakkaravarthi, says that when a market is found for independent films, these will also make good financial returns. “The carnival is the first step to creating that market”, he says.

The 3AM collective has made three films so far with a total cost of ₹5 lakh.

Another important feature of the upcoming carnival is that the audience can pay as they wish. There is no entry fee. The audience can access the QR code at the venue and contribute any amount if they are willing. The amount received will directly go to the creators.

“The carnival also provides a space for creators to sit and talk about their beliefs and aspirations”, says Harathi.

Other collaborators for this weekend's Creators Carnival are the Art is War Collective and the Dying Art Collective.