INTERVIEW

National Awardwinning filmmaker Praveen Morchhale was recently in Panjim, Goa, as part of the 49th International Film Festival of India ( IFFI), where his second feature film,

had it red-carpet premiere. The Ladakhi language film recently won the UNESCO Gandhi Medal at IFFI. His next film,

is currently doing the rounds of the festival circuit.

In conversation with Guardian 20, Morchhale talks about IFFI, his filmmaking career, and the challenges of releasing noncommercial films in theatres.

Q. WalkingwiththeWind has already completed a dream run in the international festival circuit. The film has also bagged three National Awards. What is the reason behind the film’s universal appeal? A.

is a Ladakhi language film shot in the remote areas of Ladakh completely with the local people. So there are no professional actors. The film got some early recognition at the Camerimage 2017 in Poland. Subsequently, it won the top prize at the 21st Tertio Millennio Film Festival in Rome. has also won three National Awards: in sound designing, sound mixing and best film in regional language (Ladakhi) categories. The film is about a child who accidentally breaks his school friend’s chair. He feels guilty about it and decides to bring the chair back to his village for repair. Through the film I wanted to show the lives of the people of Ladakh. The journey of the child reflects the social, economic and political issues of that region. It is for this reason that we also decided to make it in Ladakhi. Cinema is not just about storytelling, it also documents the particular time of an era. The world should know what India truly is. How one corner of India is completely different from another. Some films are made purely out of commercial interests but their shelf life is very short.