Kerala 2008 – Press Mentorship Program

Presentation of the Participants

Swetha Antony: Why Do I Like to Write about Cinema. If there is anything that can transcend our zillion differences and transform us into awestruck children, it is cinema. This is a facet of cinema that has never failed to mesmerize me. The way in which it unfolds human complexities before us is indeed magical. Giving wings to the nuances of imaginations, cinema is an eye that captures what our eyes sometimes do not or refuse to see. It is without a doubt an enigma!
    I wade through the vast expanse of cinema, enthralled by the array of images that it flashes before my eyes. Mixing fact and fantasy, reason and imagination, cinema takes us on a journey which is impossible to be put down in words.
    For me writing about cinema is a way to relive its mystery. While I am penning down my thoughts I find myself unraveling the mystery thereby being drawn further more into its unfathomable depths. In a way through my writing I try to say what is left unsaid. I believe that writing about cinema is a powerful way to make many people sit up and notice things usually taken for granted. Each film is a work of art and it takes some effort on our part to comprehend it. If my writing is able to do something in that direction, I would be blessed.    Swetha Antony, © FIPRESCI 2008
    Swetha Antony, a postgraduate in English, and now a student of Electronic Journalism, at the Institute of Journalism, Press Club, Thiruvanathapuram,  is fascinated by the process of transformation of words into visuals. An ardent lover of cinema and passionate about writing, she feels writing about cinema is a way to relive and convey its magic. She looks forward to a career as a filmwriter.

Dileep M.M.: Why I Like to Write about Cinema. I have been fascinated by cinema right from my teenage days, like almost all youngsters of Kerala. Our state has a vibrant cinema culture, which includes movies that are blatantly commercial and those that are more creative. As my film viewing expanded during my college years, I realized I have an interest in both forms of cinema, and I discovered in myself a greater desire to communicate what I felt about the movies I watched. That was the beginning of the urge to become a film writer. By writing about cinema I felt that I was also becoming a part of this fascinating medium.
    Over the years my writing about cinema has acquired a developmental angle also. India in its current phase is a progress-driven country. Our country is developing in various spheres, economic, social, and creative. Filmmaking and the film industry have kept pace with this progress. In short, our cinema is reaching out to new frontiers.
    Naturally these changes have provided greater scope for articulation and expression to the film writer in me. So in a sense, when I write about cinema I not only fulfill the desire to share my appreciation of movies with the world at large but also make a contribution to the growth of my society and country.   Dileep M. M., © FIPRESCI 2008
    Dileep M. M. received his postgraduate Diploma in Journalism and Mass Communication at Bhavan's Rajendraprasad School of Journalism in Mumbai. He has a BA in Economics from Calicut University. He has written on the cinema and other arts for "The Public Agenda."

Ananya Dutta: Films: A Medium of the Masses. Cinema is a medium of the masses and for the masses. From the elite in chic urban centers to the rustic folk in rickety movie-halls — the reach of the medium is unimaginable.
    This vast access is the reason that it inspires so much interest. Curiosity about cinema ranges from idle inquisitiveness about the lives of stars, to a scholarly concern about the various aspects of filmmaking. Film literature caters to the entire spectrum.
    The potential of films to influence society has widely been acknowledged. Films often contain social or political content that is concealed to prevent them from becoming preachy. The incorporation of these ideas may be intentional or coincidental. Irrespective of intent, these veiled messages become an interesting area of debate and deliberation. Demystifying the content of films and providing alternative interpretations is a challenge I love to take up.
    Filming is an art that works at multiple levels. However, the press generally restricts itself to certain domains of the film such as the story and the performances or at best comments on the camerawork. I prefer to understand films from a larger perspective and would like to include every aspect of filmmaking in my writing. Dissatisfaction with current coverage draws me to film writing.
    I believe that a more informed viewing of films leads to better appreciation of the nuances of the medium. This is the reason why I enjoy reading and writing about films. Films have their own intricacies that are not immediately obvious to a viewer, but the knowledge of which enhances the experience of watching a film.   Ananya Dutta, © FIPRESCI 2008
    Ananya Dutta is a student of Print Journalism at the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai. She has graduated in Commerce from Symbiosis College of Arts and Commerce, Pune.

Gargi H.: Why Write about Films? From Malayalam pulp-popular genre to classics, films interest me in every single aspect. I've been watching films from various perspectives, since my childhood, both for entertainment and as a serious tool for creative expression. I see my understanding of films growing.
    But why would I not just watch films but write about them? Every time I watch a film, there's something I see, I see something other than what everyone else can see. I must agree everyone sees films differently, from a large, wide-canvas way to the minute details. And when I say I see, I don't just mean a physical sensation of "seeing", but experiencing, feeling.
    When I watch a film, I think it is important to analyze the film in various social-cultural-political perspectives. Its visual message, impact. These kinds of readings are very important in learning various aspects of the society, its history and its growth.
    Learning to write about films and learning to analyze them are very important to me.
    To know if what I see is what I should focus on, to see new elements on the screen which I never realized existed.    Gargi H. © FIPRESCI 2008
    Gargi H is a freelance writer. She has also translated a few works from English to Malayalam and Malayalam to English. She is very interested in films. She plans to work as a writer who could write for and about films soon.

Manish Golder: Why I Like to Write about Cinema. Film as a language does not possess the codified grammar of conventional language. In view of such a limitation it becomes increasingly important to be able to communicate the ideas and nuances of the cinematic arts through the established linguistic cultures. To write competently about cinema would thus involve effectively negotiating this problem. Cinema writing is a much-abused profession today, with genuine and knowledgeable critics marginalized to the fringe by the print and electronic media, and forced to seek shelter in the confines of academic bastions.
    My personal tryst with cinema, in general, and writing about cinema, in particular, began with practice of representative art forms that include painting and later photography. The representative nature of pre-modern painting traditions had a greater influence on me than the abstract post-impressionists. Parallel to my development as an artist, literature provided an impetus to constructing and subsequently penning ideas and thoughts. Still-photography took over painting at some point of time. Dabbling simultaneously with three different mediums including the visual and the non-visual; it was almost a certitude that cinema would appeal as the ideal conglomerate medium for my ideation processes. As a prospective journalist writing about cinema would seem a necessary exercise at this juncture.
    Cinema, as an industrial art form, maintains an aesthetic identity distinct from the existing art practices. Over time, cinema evolved its distinct set of artistic norms, transcending and transgressing the rules of the other mediums giving rise to a new discourse. What we require is an effective understanding and communication of this continuously evolving discourse. To fail in this exercise would prove Louis Lumière’s prediction “the cinema is an invention without a future” sadly true.    Manish Golder © FIPRESCI 2008
    Manish Golder graduated with a degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering and followed it with a stint at summer school at LSE in Macroeconomics and International Political Theory. He is currently pursuing a course in Print Journalism at the Asian College of Journalism, one of India's premier journalism institutions. He is also an avid photographer and occasional writer and painter. 

Rohini Kumar: Why I Like to Write about Cinema. Cinema has always remained a fantasy to me. Like everyone else, I too grew up watching and enjoying cinema. It has been my ideal window to the world and the school I loved the most. I hardly ever miss an opportunity to watch a movie — good or bad, classic or popular. It is again, beyond doubt, the best entertainer I would always opt for.
    As for my academic career, I am now a student of Electronic Journalism at the Press Club Institute of Journalism in Thiruvanathapuram. As part of our syllabus, we are shown classic movies and experienced teachers guide us in appreciating and analyzing them.
    The dedicated work of so many people and lots of technical and aesthetic elements go into the making of cinema. As a student of these processes at work, restricting myself to mere watching seems incomplete. IFFK 2008 is my first exposure to an international film festival. I am thrilled and want to make use of this opportunity to horn my skills both in viewing and writing.   Rohini Kumar, © FIPRESCI 2008
    Rohini Kumar, graduate in Mass Communication and Video Production, is presently doing her PG Diploma in Electronic Journalism at the Institute of Journalism, in Thiruvananthapuram Press Club. An avid viewer of cinema, she believes that it is a vital medium that transcends borders and unites hearts. She wants to pursue a career in cultural journalism.

Rima Mathew: Why I Like to Write about Cinema. The world of cinema has always mesmerized me.
    The realities and fantasies, the delight and the dolor, there was almost nothing I could not come across in films. I loved being in another world, or plunged myself into the depths of the real world.
    There were times, when I had sleepless nights after having seen a film, and others, when I wasn't moved at all.  
   During those days all that was important to me was the content or the story.
    But later I learned that reading films itself is an art. Understanding the technicalities, the content, the staging and even our experiences of watching films, everything matters.
    For anything aesthetic, the beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, I believe. Still, when an art form like film, which is both technology and craft at the same time, is to be comprehended, one needs to be trained.
    Also I have found it interesting to go through writings on films. What I am interested in now is reading on films from the synopsis to the reviews. Now I can say, for being a better spectator, to watch films sagaciously, to read all the aspects of films, and ultimately to express what I feel for films, I would like to write about them.   Rima Mathew, © FIPRESCI 2008
    Born in Kerala, Rima Mathew is currently a postgraduate student at the Institute of Journalism, Press Club, Thiruvananthapuram. She graduated in Civil Engineering and had worked previously as an engineer, but preferred to give up a lucrative career for the more creative region of media.

Vaibhav Vats: Why I Like To Write about Cinema. We live in an age in which the culture of cinema has been substantially impoverished by the hegemonic banality of Hollywood. It continues to be the case. The best films are reduced to the ghettos of film festivals, while tasteless dubbed versions of ordinary American films are everywhere to be found.
    The review format, in its current form, with the vulgar system of star ratings has only worsened its current plight. Cinema today is in danger of being annihilated as an art form, and its future existence may solely be in the form of a consumer good.
    Hence, the importance of criticism. We have a battle at hand.
    All of us who have spent hours and hours in the company of the great masters, who have loved this mechanical art with the passion of an only love — we have an obligation to rescue it.
    In 1967, Jean Renoir wrote about Andre Bazin, "For that king of our time, the cinema, has likewise its poet. That king on whose brow he has placed a crown of glory is all the greater for having been stripped by him of the falsely glittering robes that hampered its progress. It is, thanks to him, a royal personage rendered healthy, cleansed of its parasites, fined down — a king of quality — that our grandchildren will come to delight upon."
   The critic today is faced with a monumental challenge. The critic must wake film criticism from its slumber, and reinvigorate it with ideas. Every thriving art form has a healthy, impassioned sphere of criticism.
    Cinema has lost its way —  we have exchanged eclectic cuisine with junk food. We, as critics, must speak of the health hazards of this junk. We must call a spade a spade — we have to restore cinema to the idealistic vision of its greatest innovators, return it to madness and passion. Through criticism, we shall reclaim our endangered art.
    It was Fellini who said that "a different language is a different vision of life." It is what we need to save our king, the cinema, who still sits on the throne, but is beset with grave illness.   Vaibhav Vats, © FIPRESCI 2008
    Vaibhav Vats studied English Literature at Ramjas College, Delhi University. Cinema forms a parallel narrative to his twenty-two years. He now studies at the Asian College of Journalism in Chennai.

Sithara Vijayan: Why Do I Like to Write about Cinema. Film is an art form with a unique language. The communication possibility of this visual language is universal. It is not just the sounds or the visual images but more importantly, it is an interplay of time and space. A wide range of art forms finds its manifestation through this medium.
    Films depict the many forms of life in the universe. They voice our fears, anxieties, sorrows, and shortcomings. They reflect our happiness, our achievements, and the way we live our lives. Film converses with the principles and conditions of an ever-changing society. A great film such as Hiroshima mon amour or The Bicycle Thief is a puzzle deriving its pieces from the historical and social backgrounds of the society and from the filmmaker's consciousness of life.
    We can relate to all aesthetic sensibilities through films. They are a medium of resistance, and more importantly they promote our insight and perception. Even after the film is over the imprint of time and space leaves behind a deep impact in the minds of the viewers. This is why I enjoy writing about cinema.   Sithara Vijayan, © FIPRESCI 2008
    Sithara Vijayan is pursuing the degree of Master of Communication and Journalism at Kerala University. She received a Bachelor's Degree in Economics from the University of Kerala.

Amathul Wardha: Why Do I Like to Write about Cinema? Cinema is an universal language. It gives to and receives from life. As a matter of cultural experience and self reflection, I like to handle the areas which deal with the human mindscape, and I consider cinema a good medium for enriching the imagination.
    Cinema is an art of seeing. A film critic transfers this art to an art of writing. This process involves a number of stages: first, understanding the perspective of the director; second, seeing it in a universal perspective, and, of course, that of the individual critic. Going through these stages is a great challenge, and I like taking challenges.
    Writing on cinema needs creativity, also. Creativity is a kind of heightened sensitivity. A creative process happens when a person perceives and relates to incidents and emotions more sensitively than a layman and expresses them in an artistic form.   Amathul Wardha, © FIPRESCI 2008
    Amathul Wardha is pursuing a Master's Degree in Communication and Journalism at Kerala University. She has a Bachelor's Degree in Hindi from Mahatma Gandhi University, where she also studied journalism. Her goal is to work in a dynamic field such as cinema.

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