MARGAO: A Konkani short film titled 'Zor' has been selected to be officially screened at the 15th New York Indian Film Festival being held from May 4-9, 2015. Zor's premier will be held on May 8 at the Village East Cinema, New York City, US, said the film's producers, Hornbill Productions.

Young Mumbai-based director Sarat Talluri Rao has directed 'Zor', meaning fever in Konkani, and has also written the screenplay for the film that has been shot entirely on location Mashem, Canacona, capturing the rural landscape of the area, while also depicting the inner turmoil of the characters played by Vinay Kamat, Priyanka Naik, Rajesh Sarnaik, Sai Palondicar and Amit Kamat. While Palondicar has also written the dialogues, the music has been scored by Sidhanath Buyao and the editing is done by Maryann D'Souza. The sound recording is by national award winner Sivarajan Radhakrishnan and Surjodeep Ghosh has handled the camera, said producer Dilip Prabhudessai of Hornbill Productions speaking to mediapersons on Saturday.

He said, "This is a proud achievement for Goa and the Konkani film movement to be selected from over 250 submissions for this prestigious festival organized by the Indo-American Arts Council and is New York's longest running showcase of films from South Asia and its diaspora."

"The government should provide a proper platform for such short films to be screened in Goa," Prabhudessai said. Hornbill Productions is a joint venture of Prabhudessai, Buyao, Palondicar and Prashant Naik.

Based on a Konkani short story by Jose Lourenco, Zor is about Simoni Dessai, a shopkeeper from a Goan village, who is unwell and suffering from insomnia. On visit, the doctor tells Dessai that he is fine but his shadow has fever. Confused Dessai lies to his wife Parvati, saying he has fever. They share a strained relationship as she ignores him and sleeps separately. Dessai gets obsessed with his shadow's well-being and feels it has developed a mind of its own. Eventually, he reveals the truth to Parvati, who ridicules the idea, saying that he and his doctor have lost it. After seeing his state, she is convinced and a series of desperate attempts follow such as local herbs, a shaman and a repeat visit to the doctor. There is a twist to the tale that needs to be seen onscreen, said the producer.