61st Cork International Film Festival - Chandra
Chandra walks through earthquake-hit Kathmandu with his grandfather, to visit his mother and newborn sibling in hospital. What awaits them at the end?
Interview with Directors Fateme Ahmadi and Asmita Shrish
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Fateme: I had a script about an Iranian grandfather and his grandson in Tehran and with Asmita, my friend, we decided to adapted the very same story for Kathmandu. We did so and applied for the Asian Film Academy "Masters and Newcomers" scheme and we won their fund. So, that was when everything started!
Asmita: I want to make films in Nepal or at least with Nepali content if elsewhere and always have in past. When Fateme and I met and discussed about making a film together I never realized it was serious until we won something. But it’s a very tricky question, as I never anticipated making‘this' Chandra because of personal circumstances after the earthquake. Then I realized it’s not just a film when so many people have already spent their time and energy; it’s a representation of the situation we all were in. So I decided not to quit and made the film with an amazing team effort.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
Fateme: It is a beautiful film if I may say so, both visually and content wise.
Asmita: To see both innocent Chandra and Kathmandu after the devastation.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Fateme : Throughout the journey of Chandra and his grandfather to find Chandra's missing mother, we see the ugly face of destruction in contrast to all the beauty this innocent child used to see. He has to face the brutality of the world/society and so do we as the audience.
Asmita: The film is the reflection in the aftermath of a natural disaster through a child’s eye or may I say through our eyes how we saw Kathmandu at that time, I think that is enough to be personal and universal. It can happen in any place, of course what we see and hear might vary but the feeling is the same after going through any natural disaster, seeing your land torn apart, losing your loved ones and waiting to be recovered. It applies to Kathmandu and Chandra both.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development and production?
Fateme: The script that we meant to make had a totally different story. We developed that and we were very close to shoot it but we never did. We were in the middle of the pre-production when the great earthquake of Kathmandu happened on 25 April 2015. After the earthquake, we still wanted to make the film but it was not possible to produce the same script so I sat and wrote another script over a very short time and we shot that one. The whole process this time took less than 10 days and we didn't have time to develop the script or do the preps.
Asmita: Pretty much explained by my co. here
What type of feedback have you received so far?
Fateme: Well, the feedback varied from a "too simple" to "Wow!how beautiful".
Asmita: ‘Beautiful and sad’ because of its content. ‘Cinematic’ because of silent cinematography and landscape
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Fateme: Not really.
Asmita: Yes. People have not necessarily taken the feedback from beautiful film to the next level conversation of rebuilding a country, which I wish they would.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
We think this film deserves to be seen and this platform is a good opportunity. Thank you!
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Fateme: Sales agent, festivals and journalists more than the others
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
Fateme: I hope it can bring attention to Nepal for rebuilding the country and also brings awareness to anyone who may possibly care about the life conditions of the South Asian immigrants in the Middle Eastern countries. I know it's a long shot...
Asmita: I think in terms of the film reception, it has already done very well in great film festivals. But in terms of social impact, it would be great if it can draw some attention from the Nepali government on how not to leave the affected ones waiting like Chandra did at the end, although it’s not a political film at all.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
The first question you asked!
Would you like to add anything else?
Fateme: Thank you for having us!
Asmita: Keep supporting independent filmmakers who want their voices to be heard and vision to be understood.
What are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Fateme: Another short fiction about immigration and a documentary set in Afghanistan
Asmita: I just finished a short documentary in Langtang - a beautiful mountain region in Nepal devastated by the earthquake. A feature documentary following the short is in the development. I am also working on a feature script (but very initial story development, it will take time).
Interview: November 2016
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We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series and music video. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
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Chandra
Chandra walks through earthquake-hit Kathmandu with his grandfather, to visit his mother and newborn sibling in hospital. What awaits them at the end?
Length: 15 mins
Director: Fateme Ahmadi Asmita Shrish
Producer: Youko Original, Heyi Pictures
Writer: Fateme Ahmadi
About the writer, directors and producer:
Born and raised in Shiraz, Iran, Fateme Ahmadi was awarded first prize in the Literature Olympiads, a nationwide humanities competition, granting her permission to complete two undergraduate courses simultaneously. Fateme completed degrees in Persian Literature and Filmmaking at Tehran University and The Art University of Tehran, respectively. In 2009, she completed the MA General Linguistics course at the Institute of Humanities and Cultural Studies in Tehran before becoming the first individual awarded a scholarship from Magic of Persia to attend the two-year MA Filmmaking program at The London Film School. During the course, Fateme wrote, edited, and directed more than ten short films including a few documentaries for BBC World Service.
Her graduation film “One Thousand and One Teardrops” has been shortlisted in more than 40 festivals all around the world with two nominations for the Best Animated Short at the Orlando Film Festival 2014 and Best UK Short Film at the East End Film Festival 2015. It also has won awards for the Best Documentary of the Beeston Film Festival 2015 and Special Jury Mention at the East End Film Festival 2015.
Fateme is the writer and the co-director of “Chandra” produced by Youku Original and Asian Film Academy, premiered in the 20th edition of International Busan Film Festival and screened in many more prestigious film festivals including: Fribourg, Palm Springs Short Fest, Sao Paolo, East End, Flickers’ Rhode Island and Festival Del Film Locarno.
Currently, Fateme works as the researcher on a feature documentary titled “Iran & Us: A love Story” directed by Taghi Amirani.
Fateme's Filmography:
• 2015 Chandra, 15 minutes, AFA & Youku original
• 2014 One Thousand & One Teardrops, 17 minutes, MOP & London Film School
• 2013 Shiva, 3 minutes. Shirin Neshat Workshop, London Film School
• 2012 Jafar khan Has Returned From The West, 12min, BBC World Service
• 2012 Ten Nights of Poetry, 26min, BBC World Service
• 2010 If I Should Die, 12min. 16mm Colour, London Film School
• 2010 In The West Of London, 2min. B&W, European Commission
Representative in UK & London Cinema Museum
• 2010 Summer & The Soldier, 3min. 16mm. B&W, LFS
• 2008 Occasion, 14min. HD, Iranian Youth Cinema Society
• 2007 An Ape Man, 15min. HD, Ali Ahmadi
• 2006 LIFE, 1min. 16mm. Colour. Art University of Tehran
Asmita Shrish:
Asmita is a Nepali filmmaker working in fiction and documentary. Her short documentary Auntie Ganga, a portrait of an elderly Gurkha couple living in Britain, has played in 15 festivals around the world including in Britain and Nepal. It was selected by the British Council to play on National Old Age Day, and won an award from Human Rights Watch Film festival in London. After Auntie Ganga, Asmita was commissioned by BFI and The Arts Council of England to make a follow-up project, Little Nepal, following retired Gurkha soldiers in Britain. She also produced the short documentary Kaloo School (2013) exploring the challenges of education in the mountains of Afghanistan.
The film premiered at the International Documentary Film festival Amsterdam in 2013 and was winner of the One World Human Rights Film Festival, Prague, the Human Rights Film Festival Bir Duiyo Kazakhstan and many other festivals around the globe. As a fiction filmmaker she co-directed Chandra, the moving story of the journey of a boy and his grandfather through a devastated Kathmandu. The film was funded by Chinese giants Youku Originals and Heyi Pictures for the 20th Busan International Film Festival’s Asian Masters and Newcomers Project, and has already been selected for a number of festivals including Locarno Film Festival, Palm Springs International ShortFest, São Paulo International Short Film Festival, FLICKERS Rhode Island Film Festival and Fribourg International Film Festivals.
Asmita completed her Computer engineering degree from Kathmandu University at age 19 and
pursued her creative career by doing an MA in Visual Arts and Animation from the University of Gloucestershire, taking a certificate in documentary from the National Film and Television School, and was one of 8 directing fellows in the Asian Film Academy 2014 nurtured by auteur Béla Tarr.
Filmography:
Gyalmu’s House-18’ 31” (2016) Post Production - Producer/Director/Additional Camera
Chandra -15’ (2015)– Director
Brother- 10 ‘ (2014) - Director
Little Nepal - In production – Director/Editor/Camera
Withdrawn – 3’ (2013)- Director/Editor
Auntie Ganga – 12’ 09” (2013) –Director/Editor/Camera
Kaloo School – 10’ 41” (2012) – Producer
Beyond the Burqa (2012) – 20’ Producer/Screenwriter
Show me the Money BBC4 Storyville - 90’ (2012) - Researcher
Redress 20th Anniversary –Post war conflict (2012)- Researcher/Transcript/Logger/Translator
An evening with Kids of Kathmandu – 3’ 52” (2011) – Director/Editor/Camera