'I find Bangaloreans friendly'

A movie buff and an equally enthusiastic film-trainer, Daniel Smith is simply passionate about cinema. He works on idea development, editing, creating resources and assisting young people to learn about films. Daniel also squeezes in time once a week to watch a wide variety of world cinema. Coming all the way from the UK to conduct a film-making workshop for students in the City, Daniel says that it’s been an eye-opening experience.

So is there a difference in the kind of films that Indian and Britain kids watch? While one would assume there is, Daniel begs to differ. “Although I had assumed that it would be different, the workshop has revealed that kids here and there watch the same kinds of movies,” he says, adding, “looks like children here and in the UK are influenced by English and Hollywood films largely. Most of the themes the youngsters are coming up with are related to friendship, magic, relationships and conflicts.” Impressed with the abilities of children in Bangalore, Daniel says that the stories they came up with as part of the workshop were multi-dimensional. “The stories were strong and there was depth to the characters. It is very encouraging to see such an interested lot,” he smiles.

Daniel, who has been to Goa previously, says that he has fond memories of the trip. Coming to India for the second time, Daniel will be off to Bangladesh soon. “I find Bangaloreans friendly. Although I haven’t seen too much of the City, from what I saw, the place is pretty. Unfortunately, I have been too tired to venture out,” he explains.
“But one day, I want to travel around India as I find the country interesting,” he adds.

The film-maker, whose forte is post-production, is yet to watch Indian-made documentaries. However, he has seen a couple of Bollywood films and feels that all of them follow a particular pattern. “For instance, they always tend to be a love story with a conflict and a happy ending. But the stories and acting are impressive,” he says, adding, “the films are so vibrant. They are very different from the ones made in the UK.”

   Daniel, who hopes to come back soon, says, “We want to do more of these workshops after we review this one. We wish to replicate the work we do back in the UK.”

Later this year, he will begin training in film production with a focus on editing to further expand his opportunities to engage with and support young people through film-making projects.