Filmmaking is not about technology only; it’s an art of storytelling through camera –Nandan Saxena
‘Filmmaking is not about technology only, it’s an art to tell the story effectively through the eye of camera’, says Nandan Saxena, noted documentary maker, who along his life and career partner Kavita Bahl are conducting a four-day workshop on film making during MIFF2018. The workshop will cover outdoor training about natural lights, camera and other equipment handling, raw recording, editing and colour grading etc. on technical side. On the other hand, both will share their experiences and knowledge which they learnt in their career over a decade as filmmakers. They shared their views on conducting workshop during the press meet at MIFF 2018.
The idea behind conducting workshop is to give right vision to the budding talent on filmmaking. It’s not as difficult as people think, what you need is clarity on subject, understanding of the issue and most importantly courage to present it. “Audio-visual media is certainly more effective medium which reaches to millions in one go, hence if you get the soul of story, you can definitely touch the hearts of audience”, said Nandan Saxena. ‘There are few women in film making career, fewer in technical side, we want to encourage women to choose filmmaking career,’ added Kavita. The workshop will begin today at 4 pm.
Both of them had left their jobs to pursue their passion. Speaking about this decision, Kavita said that while working as journalists, they spent two years in the north-east. The duo saw the real India there, real people. Travel to North East brought a paradigm shift in their life. They realized that there was more than covering regular news so we choose more effective audio visual medium.’ With an iron will the couple travelled far and wide and captured the lives of marginalized people and issues. Without any formal training or background on filmmaking the duo had successfully made brilliant documentaries.
- documentaries, Cotton for my shroud ,Candles in the Wind, Dammed, I cannot give you my forest are all highly recognised for the subjects they dealt with including the plight of widows of farmers, those displaced by development and tribals.
and Nandan Saxena will receive a National FIlm Award on Sunday for their most recent exploration of the intersection between government policy, livelihood, the ecology and human rights. In I Cannot Give You My Forest, Kondh adivasis from Rayagada in Orissa simply but powerfully demonstrate their symbiotic relationship with the forest, which is a rich source of nutrition for them. The 30-minute documentary emphasises the need to preserve India’s forests from commercial exploitation, and is the latest attempt by the filmmakers to throw a light on the fragile state of India’s national resources.
Bahl and Saxena are no strangers to awards. Cotton for My Shroud, made in 2011, also won a national award for Best Investigative Film. The 52-minute documentary examines the spate of suicides by farmers in Maharashtra’s Vidarbha region, caused in part by heavy debt and dependence on high-yield seeds pushed by the Monsanto Corporation.