India Archives - Directors Notes

Sandhya Suri on Crafting a Nuanced Crime Thriller About Violence Against Women in ‘Santosh’

Sandhya Suri discusses her decade-long journey to bring Santosh to life, blending crime thriller tension with a searing critique of gendered violence in India.

Film Festival, Live Action

Banned in India, Beloved at BFI Flare: Onir’s ‘We Are Faheem & Karun’ Tells Kashmir’s First Queer Love Story

Love, hope and apples on the Kashmiri border, DN speaks to Onir about surmounting censorship for his tale of forbidden romance amid the chaos of conflict.

Podcasts

‘Sister Midnight’: Exploring Misanthropy and Marriage with Karan Kandhari

Karan Kandhari on directing his debut feature, protecting his vision, capturing the nuances of marriage & why laughing audiences are the ultimate drug.

Awards, Live Action

Adam J. Graves’ Oscar Short ‘Anuja’ Is a Powerful Portrait of Sisterhood & Resilience in Delhi’s Garment Industry

Adam J. Graves reveals how he balanced the dark realities of fast fashion's child labour with moments of joy, resilience and hope in his Oscar nominated short.

Art & Fashion

Satya Gautam & Gili Twena Capture the Rhythms of Anxiety in Their Instinctual Dance Film ‘The Butterfly’

Satya Gautam explains the process of translating sensations of panic and unease into cohesive contrasting movements of loneliness and connection.

Awards, Live Action

A Misanthropic Newlywed Stumbles Through the Chaos of Adulting in Karan Kandhari’s Feature Debut ‘Sister Midnight’

A film for all the misfits who've misplaced their manuals for life, DN sits down with Karan Kandhari to dig into the making of his genre-bending debut feature.

Awards, Film Festival, Live Action

Sandhya Suri’s Debut ‘Santosh’ Navigates a World of Power, Prejudice and Corruption Through a Distinctive Female Gaze

Sandhya Suri delves into exploring the complexities between women in positions of power as a way of dissecting the all too common violence inflicted on women.

Live Action, Premiere

Pulkit Arora’s ‘Anu’ Explores Grief and Displacement Through the Confined Lens of a Solitary Hotel Room

Pulkit Arora tells us how a mounted jib arm enabled the evocative cinematography in his close quarters short about a lonely widow isolated in her mourning.

Music Video

Manish Khushalani Portrays the Delicacy of Relationships in His Vibrant Dreamlike Music Video ‘Jhula’

Manish Khushalani deconstructs the symbolic meaning of the choreographed movements and potent colour palette in his vibrant, dance-led music video.

Art & Fashion

Varsha Panikar & Saad Nawab Create a Portrait of Tender Intimacy in Visual Poem ‘Bodies of Desire’

Varsha Panikar and Saad Nawab discuss the intimacy workshops they conducted to get their non-actor performers ready for their intimate short.

Documentary, Premiere

Dan Braga Ulvestad Documents the Death Hotels in the Consecrated City of Varanasi in ‘By the River’

Dan Braga Ulvestad discusses the challenges of filming in a sacred city and his perspectives on capturing the perfect subjects for doc short 'By the River'

Asides, Documentary

Tungrus

Rishi Chandna’s delightful doc 'Tungrus' captures the life of a domineering pet rooster who terrorises a Mumbai family in their cramped suburban apartment

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