The initial premise of the short film Split, written and directed by Alan Ehsan, revolves around a group of people who came together at a social event and saw a potential for good friendship as they started hanging out. Soon, they realise there is a class difference among them, which causes friction in the group.
However, as the edit progressed, the film became more about the conflict among friends, particularly over what they can and cannot enjoy together, with a few of them grappling with financial problems.
Alan Ehsan (centre)
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Split premiered at the fourth Mumbai Independent Film Festival, where it won the Best Short Film Award. The film is now streaming on Bhavana Studios YouTube channel and has already garnered over two lakh views.
“Split evolved during shooting and editing,” says Alan. “Music composer Deepak Dev was one of the first people to see a rough cut of the film after I ran into him at a coffee shop. Later, after watching it, he explained the importance of trimming the film, sharing anecdotes from his life.”
Alan began working on Split in 2024. Initially, Ajith Leon, who plays Felix, was the only fixed cast member. As planning progressed, the team became bigger. “We also conducted auditions for a few roles. It was planned to be shot on a phone, but with time, I felt the story had potential to be executed better,” says Alan, who graduated with an Electrical Engineering degree in 2018.
“By the time I completed my course, I was sure it was not something I wanted to do. Filmmaking was the obvious choice to me when I was thinking about alternative careers. I wrote scripts and pitched them to people. I didn’t have any connections in the industry, and building that from scratch was difficult and time-consuming. It was at this phase that I started working on the short film,” explains Alan, an international FIDE-rated chess player, who also teaches chess for a living.
“At a time when movies weren’t really going well for me, the chess side of things was working. I was able to find financial stability that way,” says Alan.
The director is a self-taught filmmaker. “I have only read a few books and attended some online classes.”
The biggest challenge about making Split was its production, says Alan. “It was not just the finances, but also bringing people together and managing the post-production afterwards by myself. It grew out of my hands. I did not have a team of assistant directors or producers. Split has taught me the importance of having a team.”
A still from Split
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“Following its production, the challenge was finding a suitable platform to stream the film,” says Alan, about the year-long wait to release it on YouTube.
Meanwhile, Split had a successful run at short-film festivals across the country. It won the Best Short Movie at the iNiM Indian International Short Movie Fest 2024 at Umm Al Quwain, UAE. It was also screened at the 13th Delhi Shorts International Film Festival, the 6th New Wave International Documentary Short Film Festival and the Neo Film Republic Kochi Festival, where it won a special mention from the jury and the Best Editor award. The jury was chaired by Tamil director Vetrimaaran, who commented about the film, “I didn’t feel like I was watching a film. I felt like I was sitting at the next table. They made it effortlessly real. It spoke to me about the energy of this generation. Deep down, it shows that any issues can be resolved through dialogue. That was my takeaway from the film.”
Alan is currently in the process of pitching a feature film script and preparing to direct a music video he is excited about. “There is one more short film script I have finished.”
