INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Filmmaker Kartiki Gonsalves created history when she became the first Indian Film Director to win an Oscar for her debut movie, The Elephant
Whisperers, earlier this year
Running at 41 minutes, this short documentary explores the tentative, yet precious bond between Raghu, an orphaned baby elephant, and his
caretakers - a mahout couple named Bommanand Bellie, who devote their lives to protect him from poachers and raise him.Gonsalves, who had a
successful career as a wildlife and social documentary photographer, photojournalist, and cinematographer, left her cushy job for her maiden
venture.In a free wheeling chat with ETimes at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) Goa, the young filmmaker talks about her
I think I like to approach it differently
I think the Oscars are secondary
First, you go in with the passion, love for the work you do, commitment and time that you have to offer towards a subject you want to follow
Oscar win?It changed a lot
I have been talking to a lot of people
It is not just the physical appearance for being called to many locations to meet and talk, it also goes beyond the cause of the documentary
Because, initially, I created the documentary with a core thought process to increase awareness about the Asian elephant and its plight in
I don't think the process is over
project?Personally, for me that has changed
I think people have started believing in smaller stories
They give funding to different types of stories
I started out as a young filmmaker who wanted to tell a story that would not get financial backing
because lack of support is the biggest problem that we are facing today
What excited me after the Oscar win was the fact that an indigenous story won an Oscar
This gave me hope that we were looking at an impact driven story that has gone outside
That changed the way I saw the documentary space.What is the one tip you want to give to emerging documentary filmmakers?I think documentary
storytelling happens by chance
It really goes back to the passion for the work you are trying to do
Also, navigating the path of where you want your documentary to be seen
I think from an early stage, once I decided to make a documentary, I wanted to go global.And, what is the key to going global?There are
certain common things that unite us as people across the planet
We all sleep under the same sun, same moon and same stars
There are a lot of countries that divide us but there are a lot of common things that unite us as well
I think trying to navigate into what connects us as people on this planet, is what really brought out the vastness of how the story could
The human story with emotions and honesty really has the power to reach out to people around the world.The other important thing that I have
I think people at some point are looking out for hope
Positive stories really connect with people
I think people are done and dusted with crime and murder because we see that not only on news, but also on television
before I pitched it to Netflix
The concept of the story that I was doing was very appealing to people
They fell in love with Raghu
what is working for us?We are in a great space at this time
We have stories from different parts of India which are so diverse with the language, place, types of storytelling
And there's a certain richness that people want to see
I think people outside of India have been in a space where they are not able to experience other cultures
I think that is what has changed
The openness to going to different spaces, understanding stories from different walks of life, the openness towards foreign language
films.How does it feel to be back at IFFI?I first attended IFFI in 2004 from college as a student
That was the first film festival I attended in my life
It is a proud moment for me to be back and be speaking here this time
I think it is a larger family not just limited to India
