One of the two Indians to be selected as the Asian Film Academy 2012 Fellow, shares how participating in the programme completely transformed her as a filmmaker

Learning from the legends

One of the two Indians to be selected as the Asian Film Academy 2012 Fellow, shares how participating in the programme completely transformed her as a filmmaker

    The tagline of
    AFA is ‘Be the future of Asian cinema’. Here, one is
    truly treated as the future of Asian cinema, with all the love, respect, responsibility and pressure that comes with the title.
    This year’s dean, Chinese film director, Jia Zhanke, spoke to us about why and how he became a filmmaker. He shared personal anecdotes and gave us important advice on using space and directing actors. We were also fortunate to have mentoring sessions with former deans.
    Of the 233 applications, that were received from across Asia, this year, 24 fellowships were awarded to filmmakers from 18 countries. India was represented by cinematographer Tarun Kumar Rakeshiya, and me, a writer-director.
    At the programme, I was made to work on a short film ‘The Holiday’ along with three other directors. Honestly, I never believed a film could be made with four directors and four cinematographers! At first, it was chaos. All of us had very different visions, styles, backgrounds and experiences. The reasons of filmmaking too differed for individuals on the team. But here we were, thrown together, to make a shortfilm in a week, to be screened at Busan International Film Festival, South Korea. The pressure was immense. We decided to split the responsibilities for the entire duration of the film. I was given the responsibility of performance direction. We were shooting in a foreign place with actors who spoke only Korean. It was very challenging, but in the end, we made our film together and that is most important.
    For me this experience has been about looking inward. Spending a sleep-deprived and over-worked ten days with 23 very different people helps you understand how you truly are as an artist and a teammate. But most importantly, it teaches you to celebrate different perspectives. After the programme, I not only feel like a completely different filmmaker but also think differently about cinema. I can’t wait to go back and rework on my projects with this new-found insight.