For Achyutanand Dwivedi, a film-maker settled in Puducherry, the journey to Cannes began with an appetite for healthy food that took him to a far-flung village in Maharashtra.
Mr. Dwivedi’s three-minute film, Seed Mother , a snapshot of the life and work of Rahibai Popere, a tribal farmer and conservationist at Kombhalne village, won the third prize in the international section of Nespresso Talents 2019 during the just-concluded 72nd Cannes Film Festival.
“I think it has truly been an extraordinary experience being here as, more than anything else, when you come to Cannes you see the respect and appreciation for the craft,” the film-maker told
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An annual part of the Cannes Critics’ Week to encourage new perspectives in film making, Nespresso Talents is limited to films shot in a vertical 16/9 video format. This year’s theme was “We Are What We Eat”, aimed at exploring the world, experiencing diversity, and sharing experiences and knowledge through food.
It received 371 videos from 47 countries in three broad categories of farming and biodiversity, food heritage and the value chain and food in popular cultures.
Although Mr. Dwivedi made it to Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity (advertising/marketing) in 2016, experiencing cinema at Cannes was next-level stuff, especially “seeing one’s film on not just any big screen but at the legendary Palais”.
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“Beyond entertainment, film making is a craft of self-expression and you get to truly see that here every minute. I think that's the most important feeling that I am taking back with me,” he added.
His work-life as a cinematographer in search of new themes involves frequently travelling to Mumbai and Bengaluru from Puducherry. “Mostly, I prefer to spend my time in Puducherry as it is perfect for an artist I think,” says Mr. Dwivedi, who owns a house here.
Sowing of the seed
“I have in recent years been getting more concerned about what do I eat and what is good for me and my loved ones. Obviously, there is very little good food available on the shelf so I wanted to start growing my own food to start as an experiment. Which led me to go find the starting point, the seeds,” he said.
It was a coincidence that he would go seeking someone else in Dehra Dun and instead discovered Rahibai Popere, a farmer-conservationist at a village in Maharashtra who has been championing the use of indigenous seeds and traditional cultivation practices with the support of BAIF Development Research Foundation.
“She hails from a tribal background and has natural resources as her resources so she is working with what she can and what she knows and food seems to be closest to her, not that she is fond of eating but that eating for her is more for nutrition of body than taste,” he says.
Next venture
Apart from a feature documentary on jallikattu which is a work-in-progress, the next project is on water, says the film-maker who draws a parallel between drought in Maharashtra and the acute water crisis in South Africa where water is rationed under police supervision.
“I think I would like to shoot a film on water as it is not the first time we are facing this problem and definitely not the last. We really need to do something about it,” he said.