Naik on his film screening at Cannes: I don’t make films to achieve something
Director Chidananda S Naik is proud, but says he has a long way to go as a director
Director Chidananda S Naik’s short film Sunflowers Were The First Ones To Know has found it’s place at the Cannes Film Festival this year as part of the La Cinef. The film, screened on Tuesday, was Naik’s graduation project at the Film and Television Institute of India. Hailing from Mysuru, the 29-year-old tells us, “For my graduation project, I always wanted to do a Kannada film, so that’s where it all began. While we were brainstorming, I pitched the idea and my team really wanted to take this up as our graduation film.”
The short film, based on an old tale from Karnataka, talks about an elderly woman from a village who steals a rooster and sends the whole community into a whirl. “The story was very interesting and our team couldn’t stop thinking about it. Our source of inspiration was dependant on us getting into the mental space of the audience and what listening to this kind of a story and growing up really meant to all of us. Editor Neeraj Voralia mentored me throughout the journey and helped us find our voice,” Naik says.
The director, who studied to be a doctor from the Mysore Medical College, shifted into filmmaking to follow his passion. Ask whether reaching a global platform such as Cannes was ever an aim, and he says, “I don’t make films to achieve something, I never look at films in that way. Films, for me, are a way to express and creatively showcase everything that happens around us. I’ve loved watching films that were screened at Cannes, especially the ones that were a part of Palm d’Or. This festival is the place for every filmmaker and every cinephile to be, and it feels really great to be here! I am so proud to bring a Kannada film here.”
Adding to the achievement of bringing in a Kannada film to a global platform, Naik shares, “Even though mine is the first film to be a part of the official selection at Cannes, the Kannada film industry has always been global! We are getting all the eyes now.”
Ask Naik what he is working on currently and the doctor-turned-director says, “I am working on my debut commercial film in Sandalwood. I love the feeling of watching a good film in the theatre and I was beyond excited to witness my feature here at Cannes. I think now, genres are bending. We need to tell new and fresh narratives. That’s what audiences are also looking for. I would like to pitch my script to all the actors I have met at Cannes and if they love the story or characters, I would definitely open it up for some great collaboration.”