LA Asian Pacific Film Festival - Raksha
When a young woman is told that she is cursed at birth, she must cleanse herself before she succumbs to her ominous destiny
Interview with Writer Vidhya Iyer
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
We wanted to tell the story of a young woman straddling conflicting cultures and struggling to find where she belongs and what she should believe - about her world and herself.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
We believe that the film depicts a universal issue that we all face – how do we find ourselves when the rest of the world tells us who we are supposed to be.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Most of us have an idea of how we are supposed to be, who our families expect us to be and who we would like to be. Somewhere between those ideas, we have to discover ourselves and lead the live we’d like to lead. All these questions are at play with the film
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
Vidhya Iyer and Jhanvi Motla wrote the script over the course of 3 months. We went through various iterations of the story to tell the best version of it that we could. In the end, we landed on the version we have today. Our team did a lot of research into ancient Indian traditions, the mythology of the curse that was the backdrop for our film and worked with our director, Meredith Koch to bring those themes to life on screen.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
The film has received a wonderful response across the board. We’re currently in 9 film festivals and won the best short film award at the Delhi International Film Festival and the runner-up award at the academy accredited Best of India Shorts festival.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Most overwhelmingly, we have been amazed that the story has transcended cultural borders and appealed to audiences across the board.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
We made the film to share it with people and wearemovingstories is an amazing platform showcasing the work of talented female filmmakers. We hope to have more people watch the film so we can share our art with larger audiences.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Vidhya Iyer and Jhanvi Motla, who wrote the film, are currently developing a feature version of the short. We hope to use the short film to get more eyeballs from film festival directors and journalists to leverage the exposure and gain traction for the feature version we are developing.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
We hope that people who watch the film will experience catharsis and leave the theater feeling that we are connected and the struggle for authenticity is universal.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Are we a victim of our circumstances? Do we have agency in our lives?
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
The writers Vidhya Iyer and Jhanvi Motla are working on developing the feature concept for this short. As with any creatives, we are working on several things at once. Jhanvi Motla, who produced the film in addition to co-writing it, is in the process of financing a feature documentary about redefining the idea of employment, delving into the lives of housewives and other unconventional jobs that don’t actually make income.
Vidhya Iyer has just completed the prestigious CAPE New Writers Fellowship and is currently working on writing two pilots. She is repped at Kaplan Stahler Agency and Meyer Management. Meredith Koch continues to be prolific about directing. Most recently, she directed a short film called ‘Scars’. She also directed ‘Margo and May’. Meredith is dedicated to telling the stories of complex women battling ingrained societal prejudice.
Interview: May 2018
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We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, scifi, horror, world cinema. 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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Raksha
When a young woman is told that she is cursed at birth, she must cleanse herself before she succumbs to her ominous destiny
Length: 19:54
Director: Meredith Koch
Producer: Jhanvi Motla
Writer: Vidhya Iyer & Jhanvi Motla
About the writer, director and producer:
Vidhya Iyer, Writer: Vidhya is a computer engineer turned filmmaker. A recent graduate of the MFA program at the American Film Institute, Vidhya was hired to write a feature for an Indo-US co-production. She is one of the 8 fellows in the 2018 CAPE New Writers Fellowship and is repped at Kaplan Stahler Agency and Meyer Management. Vidhya writes stories of adult women coming of age. https://www.vidhyaiyer.com/
Jhanvi Motla, Writer/ Producer : Jhanvi holds a BA in Producing for the Visual and Media Arts from Emerson College and a Master’s degree from the American Film Institute. She served as Executive Assistant to the creator of Will & Grace right after college. After writing and producing her AFI Thesis film that has screened at 9 festivals and counting, Jhanvi is determined to bring to light the stories belonging to underserved audiences.
Meredith Koch, Director : Meredith Koch is a director based out of Los Angeles, CA. She holds an MFA in Directing from the American Film Institute, AFI and a BA in Directing from UCLA. Meredith sees beauty in the details. Her thoughtful and thorough directing style is inspired by the characters' subconscious and she uses these elements to bring audience into the story
Key cast: Nitya Vidyasagar, Vanessa Patel, Sharmila Devar
Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists): Producers, Buyers, Film Festival Directors, Journalists
Social media handles:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RakshaTheFilm/
Instagram: @rakshathefilm
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month?
· LAAPFF 5/6 9:30 pm @ Downtown Independent in Los Angeles