A young Indian woman living in Australia gets a call from her mum back home.

Interview with Writer/Director Anoop Lokkur

Congratulations! Why did you make your film?

I’d been wanting to make a short film based on my personal experiences, which I could explore through characters that I'd find relatable. Initially, it felt like any ideas I'd come up with was too contrived until my mum called me one night – the conversation I had with her inspired me to make this short film. She asked me how my job was; I said that my 9-to-5 was going well when in reality I'd been sitting in my living room most of the day trying to come up with film ideas. I was struck by how many lies I'd tell her just to satisfy her expectations of me.

Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?

It’s a film about family, love, and life – and a particular exploration of my feelings that I haven't seen on a lot on screen before. The film places emphasis on cultural distinctions and how these play out in a modern setting.

How do personal and universal themes work in your film?

I find it easier to think of personal themes as just universal themes given context – while the main character, an Indian lesbian woman living in Australia, seems to be a character that might not be relatable for everyone, her relationship with her mum is all about the divide between her reality and the expectation of being a "good Indian daughter". While some people might not experience this division to such a large extent, I feel that the friction between wanting to live your own life and wanting to please the people you care deeply about is a universal experience, especially when the division between them gives rise to negative emotions like shame.

How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?

It's evolved a lot since the first draft, which I wrote the night I spoke to my mum. The cast and I discussed the characters extensively during rehearsals, which led to many changes. The single-shot style actually wasn't part of the first draft but was a decision we arrived at through lots of discussions. I think all these changes were necessary and helped add to the way the story was told – the pacing and the movement of the characters became a lot more natural, and the story became a lot simpler without losing any poignancy, I felt.

What type of feedback have you received so far?

The film had its premiere at the Wicked Queer Film Festival. Unfortunately, we couldn't be there to witness its reception, but we're really hoping to be there at its next festival premiere. The kind of reception which would satisfy me the most, whether negative or positive, is one which stems from the audience actually being able to relate to the characters.

What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?

We believe in this story and want to share it with people. We’re also planning on making it into a feature as there’s so much more we can explore that we couldn’t in a short film. We hope the film reaches a lot of people especially individuals who can relate to the experiences of Aayushi.

Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?

It would be great to get in touch with more film festival directors – knowing that the film is getting shown to such a large audience across so many continents is incredible, and it's really the only way that meaning of the film can be translated. Journalists would be really helpful by way of publicising the film through reviews. I'd also love the opportunity to see this film expand into a feature, so producers – please get in contact!

What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?

I generally judge whether I like a film based upon how much it made me think, and how well I could relate to the characters – those are the ones which inspire me to continue trying to write and make my own films. My hope is that audiences might feel that way after watching Long Distance, especially with regards to writing films based upon their own experiences.

What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?

To what extent is it okay for us to lie to the people we care about in order to please them?

What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?

Besides a feature film script for Long Distance, I’m also developing a feature film about a modern love story.

Interview: March 2019

We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, 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

Long Distance

A young Indian woman living in Australia gets a call from her mum back home.

Length: 7:16

Director: Anoop Lokkur

Producer: Tiffanie Jowie-Liew

Writer: Anoop Lokkur

Key cast: Sakshi Singh (Aayushi) , Kirti Dube (Mamma) , Meg Spencer (Laura), Ram Avtar Singh (Pappa)

Looking for: journalists, producers, film festival directors

Instagram: @longdistancethefilm

Hashtags used: #longdistancethefilm #longdistance #longdistanceshortfilm #longdistanceaus

Other: IMDb

Made in association with: løkk+weave studio

Funders: Self-funded