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Richa Mishra

Digital filmmaking is contemporary and accessible. And there lies its strength, says Madhureeta Anand Negi, curator of the ongoing digital film festival that will travel to different parts of the country.

Left: Madhureeta Anand Negi (right) with one of the cast in `Walking on a moonbeam'.

In its many decades of existence, the Indian film industry has thrown up many a talented leading lady. But not many women took the lead as film directors. The scene is changing gradually, with several women directors making a mark in recent times.

Names like Mira Nair, Revathy, Kalpana Lajami, Meghna Gulzar, Tanuja Chandra, Pooja Bhatt and, most recently, Farah Khan, come to mind immediately.

Madhureeta Anand Negi is another noted woman director, albeit in the world of digital filmmaking. Managing Director of Ekaa Films, Madhureeta is an independent filmmaker. "But its tough being independent with projects coming mostly from government or foreign channels," she says

Curator of the British Council's Digital Film Festival 2004 (which began on September 24 in New Delhi), Madhureeta says a digital film fills the gap between television and Bollywood. "The immediacy of digital technology makes its content contemporary and, therefore, reflects the times in which it is created," she explains. She recently filmed the navy ship, Tarangini, circumnavigating the globe.

Madhureeta is equally excited about her digital short film on child abuse, titled Walking on a moonbeam. "It is a visual poem about the time in a girl's life when she was sexually abused. It is a story told in retrospect, about how it changed her worldview as a child. The film alternates between the present and the past." The film also talks about the girl's ultimate resolution of her inner conflict that comes about by sharing her pain and realising that somehow reality can be dealt with, says Madhureeta. The moon is the girl's witness and her friend, and she holds on to that symbol as a way of coming through the pain.

Currently, Madhureeta is working on a series on religion for Austrian Television. Here she explores themes that talk about human beings and their individual relationships with God.

She has also written an original story and converted it into a screenplay and a book. This new project, titled Kajarya, will encapsulate her myriad experiences and the subjects dealt with in her films, ranging from religion and culture to activism and entertainment.

Besides travelling, Madhureeta — a Royal Television Society of UK award-winner for her Kumbh Mela series — loves telling stories through her films. The interesting people she meets are another favourite subject for her films.

She has co-directed a 100-minute documentary film titled The HD Atlas Series for Discovery International's Hi-Definition Channel. BBC is co-producing the film.

`A different pen'

Digital filmmaking is like `writing with a different pen', she says. Besides, it is cheaper, accessible and gives the creator leeway to explore areas beyond the reach of a regular celluloid format.

Being used to larger-than-life images, an average spectator might find it hard to believe that a 10-20 minute digital film can be made under Rs 10,000. Digital films can range from feature documentaries to feature films, short fiction and even animation.

Madhureeta is upbeat about the potential for digital films in India. "Today, we have a more mature understanding of digital films, a fact borne out by the increase in the number of entries from India when compared to last year," she says. The average age group of such filmmakers is 20-40 years.

The first digital film festival held last year saw British films dominating. "The entire concept was at a nascent stage. We wanted to see whether there was an audience for digitally created films," she says. The festival's success can be gauged from the fact that this year there have been nearly 500 entries from all over South Asia and the UK.

The aim of the festival, which welcomes digital films of any duration, is to create a movement and provide an opportunity for digital filmmakers to interact with each other and the audience. To begin with, the festival is not defending digital filmmaking but celebrating it. Not only will the films be screened but also awarded. A jury comprising actress Tabu, Sai Prasad (head of the digital department at Prasad Labs) and Alice Cicolini (head of arts at the British Council of India) will be the judges. However, the facts are only half the story and the truth lies in what the festival will actually bring to its audiences, Madhureeta says. "Everyone is trying to create something, and that is what we are trying to promote through such festivals."

The festival has moved to Kolkata and will travel also to Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Hyderabad and Chandigarh.

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