A Quote by Mira Nair
For seven years, I made films in the cinema verite tradition - photographing what was happening without manipulating it. Then I realised I wanted to make things happen for myself, through feature films.
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I was inspired by Maya Deren because she was the first woman filmmaker whose films I saw. I also loved Fellini and Goddard because they were so different from Hollywood films. But when I saw the cinema verite films that were made by Drew Associates with Leacock and Pennebaker I found my passion.
In India, we always look at feature films as a progression over short films. But, abroad, people make a living making short films. The revenue might not be as much as in feature films, but the return on investment is good.
Realism is always subjective in film. There's no such thing as cinema verite. The only true cinema verite would be what Andy Warhol did with his film about the Empire State Building - eight hours or so from one angle, and even then it's not really cinema verite, because you aren't actually there.
I was originally a painter, and I made films sort of as an extension of that, and then I started to try to make dramatic films because the early films were experimental films.
It's difficult to make the interesting feature films that don't fit easily into a genre, even on modest budgets. It's tough to get those films made, but I'd rather try to get those films made than compromise too much.
As soon as I finished film school I was thinking about, how do I get to feature films? It took about eight years, and I'm still working. Feature films was not the end goal. Feature films was one of the stages. Getting to the point of the Coen brothers or Tarantino, where you're writing your own material and have the budget to do it properly, that's the end goal, and I'm close to that.
Basically, I have always wanted to have an art-house cinema. A cinema where we can show films that are not necessarily the current offerings on circuit and films that are not commercial.
We made four feature films with Sherwood Baptist. The wonderful thing was the church (members) volunteered. It was an awesome atmosphere of attitudes. The hard part was (that) all four of the first feature films we made take place in modern-day Albany, Georgia. We know that not all of our films going to be (set in) modern-day Albany, Georgia.
Free time keeps me going. It's just something that's always been a part of my life. I was originally a painter, and I made films sort of as an extension of that, and then I started to try to make dramatic films because the early films were experimental films.
Some theatres back home used to screen arthouse films by Adoor and Shyam Benegal, and week-long festivals of films from France, Germany and the U.S.S.R. That was when I realised there was a world where people did not run around trees singing duets. That it was possible to make a different kind of cinema.
I usually take up short films when I am not tied up with feature films. Short films are easier to work on... because it doesn't take much of your time. The number of shoot days are lesser as compared to feature films.
My production company wasn't doing well, so we were not producing films. Over a period of time, we have realized that we are going to produce our own films and make cinema that we like. We've got so much in-house talent, and my kids are going to be coming, so we all decided that we are going to be in films and cinema.
Over the years I have always said what I wanted to say through my films. I have ensured that I will not allow anyone to question what I tell through my films.
Our cinema has evolved in last 60 years because we have made people happy through our films. The main purpose of our storyline is to spread happiness. Our cinema has an emotional connect.
I look at the feature films that come out, and by and large, 85 percent of them are things I wouldn't in a million years sit down and watch. The more interesting storytelling is happening on television by a long shot.
In feature films, I used to be the hero's friend, a regular character. In short films, I played the hero; I got roles where I could work on my character and performance. They made me aware of myself as an actor.
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