The Sheep Thief Explained

The Sheep Thief (aka Sheep's Feast)
Director:	Asif Kapadia
Producer:	Victoria Connell
Music:	Dario Marianelli
Cinematography:	Roman Osin
Editing:	Hugo Lawrence
Distributor:	British Council Film
Runtime:	24 minutes
Country:	United Kingdom

The Sheep Thief (aka: Sheep's Feast) is a 1997 United Kingdom 16 mm short film by Asif Kapadia lasting 24 minutes, and is Kapadia's graduation film from the Royal College of Art.

Production

The story idea was itself based upon a bible story told by a teacher to Kapadia when he was seven years old about a thief who became a saint. Understanding his concept would not work as well if shot in the United Kingdom, he raised funds and traveled to Rajasthan, India where he worked with film students from the Indian Film School, in Pune and cast and shot with local talent.^[1]

Plot

Tashan (Abdul Rehman) is young street kid caught while stealing a sheep. He is branded on his forehead for stealing and left for dead. Waking, he covers the brand with a headband and embarks on a journey throughout rural India. On a backwoods dirt road he meets Safia (Kokila Mahendra), helps her, and eventually becomes an accepted member of her family.^[2]

Cast

• Abdul Rehman as Tashan
• Soaib Karimbhai as Ya Ya
• Jigar Bikhabhai as Zed
• Kokila Mahendra as Safia

Recognition

Awards and nominations

• 1998, won the Cinefondation's Deuxième Prix at the Cannes Film Festival^{[3] [4]}
• 1997, won Grand Prix at Brest European Short Film Festival ^[5]
  • 1998, won 'Best Short Film Award' at St. Petersburg Film Festival 1999, won 'Best Short Film Award' at the International Children's Film Festival in Isfahan, Iran
• 1998, won 'Best Short Film' at Melbourne Film Festival
• 1998, won 'Best Director' award at Poitiers Film Festival
• 1998, won 'Most Promising Director Award' at Tel Aviv Film Festival
  • 1998, won 'International Prix de Aaton' at Locarno Film Festival 1998, won 'Jury Prize' at New York Expo Short Film Festival
  • 1998, won 'Jury Prize' at FilmVideo Montecatini International Short Film Festival 1997, won 'Best Cinematography' at Cinematexas International Short Film Festival

Releases

The film is included on, the DVD of British Short films.

It screened at Clermont Ferrand, Toronto and London Film Festivals,^[6] was televised in the United Kingdom by Channel 4, and across Europe by Canal +, ZDF and Arte.

External links

• The Sheep Thief at the Internet Movie Database
• The Sheep Thief at the British Film Institute

Notes and References

1. Book: Wood. Jason. Talking Movies: Contemporary World Filmmakers in Interview. 2000. Wallflower Press. 1904764908. 133. 30 January 2016.
2. Book: Felando. Cynthia. Discovering Short Films: The History and Style of Live-Action Fiction Shorts. 2015. Palgrave Macmillan. The Sheep Thief (Kapadia, 1997, 24 minutes). 978-1137484383. 30 January 2016.
3. News: Awards 1998 : All Awards . 10 December 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160303224506/http://www.festival-cannes.fr/en/archives/1998/allAward.html . 3 March 2016 . dmy.
4. News: Mueller. Matt. Cannes: Asif Kapadia thrilled by 'Amy' selection. 30 January 2016. Screen Daily. 20 April 2015.
5. Book: Smith. Ian Haydn. Wood. Jason. New British Cinema from 'Submarine' to '12 Years a Slave': The Resurgence of British Film-making. 2015. Faber & Faber. Asif Kapadia. 978-0571315178. 30 January 2016.
6. Web site: staff. Filmmakers talk about British Council Film- Asif Kapadia. British Council Film. 30 January 2016.