Indian student grabs the ‘Best Film’ award at the 70th Venice International Film Festival

Madiha Jawed | shiksha.com

Shubhashish Bhutiani

Making its way into the 70th Venice International Film Festival, 'Kush-The Film', grabbed the ‘Best Film’ award at the world's oldest film festival.

Directed by Shubhashish Bhutiani , a 22-year-old Indian student, the movie is now one of the 10 short films that is advancing in the voting process for The Oscars 2014 - 86th Academy Awards!!

No I didn't know it, but I've always loved movies and somewhere I knew I wanted to be a part of it.

It feels fantastic to have played at one at the world's oldest Film Festivals. They were extremely hospitable and it was such a huge honour just to be there. 

I had heard the story in my classroom when I was in Class 11. When the teacher was telling us the story the images were already running through my head. I wanted to make a film that I really cared about when I was finishing school, and this was the idea that had stayed with me for the past 6 years. It's impact on me inspired me to make the film. 

This is such a hard question because I feel I could write a book on this.  Our teacher told this story that captivated me, six years later I decided to make the film and we raised the funds through some prize money awards the script won at my film school -- School of Visual Arts which is in New York. I flew my cinematographer down from the US and after spending months in preproduction we shot the film in 5 days. I edited, and did the post production in New York. My music composers, Dharam-Sandeep, were in Mumbai and did recordings for me from there. The film played in the school's festival, The Dusty Film Festival, in May where it won the Best Editing, Director and Film. In July, we got accepted into the Venice Film Festival where much to our surprise we won. It's been quite a journey, and it's not been easy but the whole experience was worth it.

The movie is about the journey back from a field trip of 17 school children and their teacher when Anti-Sikh riots break out in 1984 after the assassination of Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi. It is the story of how a teacher must protect her one Sikh student, Kush, and bring all the others safely back home.

I think while the situation of the riots is unheard of in the West, the themes in the story make the film universal. We've also with low resources made a film that is no less than any professional film and for that all credit goes to my team.

I went to school at Wooodstock School from elementary school to High School. It's there that I started to take part in the Theatre program, and went from acting to writing/directing. I was very passionate about cinema from an early age, and decided to go to the School of Visual Arts to pursue filmmaking. Kush is my thesis film.

We've gotta stick together!

I want to keep making movies, and if I get to wake up everyday and do that, I'll be happy.