“THE FILMMAKING COMMUNITY IN INDIA IS BRAVE AND RESILIENT”
REEMA SENGUPTA, 27, Filmmaker, Mumbai
Storytelling has always been an important part of Reema Senguta’s, childhood. While her friends spent their summers on holiday, she would attend screenwriting workshops and even use the process as an emotional release. “I always knew I wanted to be a writerdirector, so in a lot of small ways, I’ve been preparing for that career all my life. I studied Contemporary Media Practice at the University of Westminster, London, where I graduated at the top of not just my course but the entire Media, Art & Design school,” she says via email from the Clermont Ferrand International Short Film Festival in France, for the European premiere of her short film
Counterfeit Kunkoo, which immediately prior to this was one of the first Indian fiction shorts to be selected for the Sundance Film Festival in 15 years. Founder of Catnip Culture, her “playground to experiment with short form video content” and one of the city’s go-to production houses for branded and music content, the 27-year-old is taking quality Indian cinema to the world.
How did filmmaking happen?
I have directed narrative films, music videos, commercials, interactive video installations and after-movies across India, UK, South Korea and the US. I was 21 when I made my first short film that won 16 awards. At 22, I was awarded the prestigious Asian Film Academy Fellowship (2012), where I represented India and co-directed a short film at the Busan International Film Festival. The International Green Screen Lab 2012 (supported by British Council, Goethe Institute and Cinekid) selected my first feature film script for development. I was the youngest writer at the Lab and shared space with national award winners, international writers and veteran filmmakers. In 2014 I cofounded a niche advertising production house, Catnip, where I wrote and directed over 250 videos and worked with names like Skrillex, Above & Beyond, Red Bull, Amazon, OML, Budweiser and others.
Your views on Indian filmmaking
I think the filmmaking community is India is brave and resilient. It would be amazing to get more support from the government, like a lot of European countries have, even for short films. So many new and diverse voices have emerged from India in the last five years. It is inspiring to see us being able to say amazing local stories and connect with audiences around the world. I feel our socio-political history and the need to speak up lends a different kind of passion to our independent film community.
Was Counterfeit Kunkoo based or inspired by your mother’s search for a home? Tell us more.
Counterfeit Kunkoo is a 15-minute narrative/drama. In a city that houses millions, Smita finds herself fighting beasts of a different kind as she discovers a strange pre-requisite to renting a house in middle-class Mumbai. She would make an ideal tenant, except for one glaring flaw. She is a middle-class Indian woman without a husband. It is an exploration of the idiosyncrasies that come with the deep-seated misogyny that finds its way into everyday life in India, the battles one must fight, and whether winning or losing those battles matter at all in the first place. I wrote the script a couple of years ago when I was so angry and helpless about my mother facing housing discrimination. But the story isn’t based on what happened to her. It is a separate fictional story and completely different characters. At the first couple of screenings, I felt a bit vulnerable, but the response from the audiences was so warm and encouraging. It feels liberating to see conversations around things that have frustrated me for years start because of my film.
You shot in a lot of real locales, used real homes and real people. Is authenticity in cinema important?
I think staying true to your story world is very important. My film is realism based, so it was important for me to be honest and authentic in my portrayal of the world. The settings and characters are based on the people and spaces I interacted with growing up. Most of the cast comprises of non-actors. All the spaces were real and lived in. I am very thankful to have had the support of everyone who let us shoot in their homes and took time out to be a part of the film. I feel the only way to make a film is with authenticity, but how that authenticity is portrayed changes from film to film.
What about your other shorts/ features?
My first short was a satirical comedy set in Mumbai about what happens when India’s last tiger is found dead under undisclosed circumstances. My second short film was a sci-fi short set in dystopian London, that spoke about the loneliness that comes from over-dependence on technology. I am currently working on my first feature film.
How was your Sundance experience?
Sundance was life changing. I read the Sundance selection email on the upper berth of a rickety sleeper bus. I couldn’t believe it. I don’t think I actually believed it was happening till I doublechecked Counterfeit Kunkoo’s name on the Sundance website two weeks later. Having their endorsement and support has given us so much credibility; it has changed the trajectory of the film’s journey and mine too. We were the only film representing India at the festival, and were the first Indian fiction short to get selected at Sundance in 15 years. They did so much more than just screen the film. There were so many highlight moments; the world premiere of the film, the Director’s Brunch, even getting the Director’s Jacket. The festival volunteers were our cheer squad, reminding us to breathe and have fun. I am now at Clermont Ferrand International Short Film Festival in France which is the world’s largest and most prestigious short film festival. This is the European premiere of the film, and we’re the only Indian film here as well.
It’s been an exciting journey.