'Storytelling through the moving image is intuitive'

Environmental challenge

Born in the UK’s Isle of Wight to a British mother and an Indian father, British film director and writer Suri Krishnamma won a BAFTA (British Academy Award) nomination for Mohammed’s Daughter, his graduating film at Bournemouth Film School in 1985. Then, he went on to make films like A Man of No Importance, New Year’s Day and Dark Tourist and television dramas like A Respectable Trade and The Cazalets.

In an exclusive email interaction with Jayashree Narayanan, the senior lecturer in film production at Arts University Bournemouth (AUB), who is heading ‘Big Green Film Challenge’ for Indian students, talks about the competition, the agenda behind it and his film journey.

How did filmmaking happen?
When I was young, oddly I didn’t want to make films. I didn’t grow up as a budding filmmaker obsessed by movies. The turning point came when I was studying still photography at AUB in the 1980s. The head of the course asked me what I wanted to do with my life. I said I wanted to be a photojournalist. But he felt I wouldn’t have it easy. He told me to go to the film department to see a man called Nick Wright who then asked me to meet him at 6 am outside the building the following morning. I got there to find a van parked outside, which was being loaded with equipment. We then drove to the film location where I spent the day on set and learnt about the process of filmmaking.
I watched students collaborating to make a film and actors performing in front of the camera. A new world was beginning to open up in front of me. After packing up, Nick asked me, ‘do you want to join us?’ I said yes. In that moment, I realised the future was going to be different.

What interests you about the moving image?
The ancient art of storytelling, through the moving image, is intuitive. We communicate our stories either verbally or as written text — but our ideas and structures are formed as images in our minds first. Audience understands this, viscerally. Our job as filmmakers is to get in touch with that intuition and channel it, honing our skills to efficiently connect our stories to our audiences.

How do you see filmmaking right now?
The UK film industry is currently growing faster than any other area of the British economy. Bollywood continues to swell in revenue terms. And as Hollywood’s tentacles spread further across the world, global cinema audiences are seeing a huge rise. Employability statistics for film production graduates continue to be impressive.

Tell us about ‘Big Green Film Challenge?
It is about using the medium of film to cross international boundaries and bring an Indian take on sustainability to a UK audience.
The special thing about this competition is that it provides a platform for young Indian filmmakers to test themselves by using their experiences to connect to an audience outside of India. Sustainability means contrasting things in different parts of the world, just as it does in the various parts of India. The subtopics in the challenge — people, places and innovation — give students a chance to produce video content that is unique to their own lives, thought processes and surroundings.

How can one participate?
The competition organised by AUB is open to Indian students aged between 15 and 19 years. Using an online form which can be found at aub.ac.uk/BigGreen, students will need to post their films on Youtube or Vimeo and send us a link through the competition website before September 5. They’ll also need to do a short write-up about the making of their film. AUB will be working with competition partners, The Chopras to engage with schools and young people across India.
 
What will the selection process entail?
We’ll be judging the films on structure, casting, framing and lighting. We’ll also be very interested in the accompanying write up about the making of the film, so anyone interested should pay close attention to the written element because this might well be the deciding factor.

How significant are films on environment?
I think that there are thousands upon thousands of important stories to be told about the environment, particularly from a local perspective. In terms of raising awareness, films, whether in the form of documentaries, ‘viral’ short videos or fiction, have a fantastically important role to play.