Marc Baschet, producer and cinematographer of Lunch Box, argued that co-productions are ‘the reality of the time’ and they help share diversified cultural experiences. He argued, however, that it may be ‘necessary to view different culture from the eyes of Americans’ to get global recognition, such as Oscars.
Speaking at an interaction with the media, Marc, who produced Lunch Box by Ritesh Batra, was full of appreciation for the facilities being extended to film makers in India. He urged the film fraternity to shoot their films here. “It is easy for them to get skilled and talented crew, besides good locations,” he added.
Making of classics
Ratnottama Sen Gupta, film maker and journalist, shared her experience of making And They Made Classics , an interview of the late author, scriptwriter and national award winning film maker Nabendu Ghosh. In this documentary film, Nabendu Ghosh speaks about his association with film guru Bimal Roy. What perhaps strikes the viewer throughout this documentary is how Nabendu ‘speaks more on people he worked with than about himself’, said Ms. Gupta.
Survival amidst war
Mahesh Narayanan of Take Off, a Malayalam film, said that his film underpins the quest for meaningful existence of human beings amidst adverse circumstances. The film delineates the life of nurse Sameera (a divorced mother) and her eight-year-old son in war-torn Iraq. Attributing migration of people from Kerala to conflict zones to survival needs, he said, “They get five times the salary being paid in India. They are taking the risk of working in conflict areas just to save money and lead a happy life here later.”
Small crew, big results
Dimitri De Clerco of You Go to My Head explained how best results can be obtained with a small crew. His film is set in a desolate stretch of the Sahara, where a mysterious car accident leaves a young woman lost and alone.