Independent filmmaker Vaishali Naik on her Palm Springs honour

The story of the 19-minute film Dinosor Entertainment that had a successful screening at the festival on June 22 revolves around two brothers who don dinosaur costumes and perform at malls, birthday parties, and even weddings but then get stuck indoors due to the pandemic. The short film has also been screened at Brooklyn Film Festival 2022, Manchester Film Festival 2022, New York Indian Film Festival 2022, as well as the Athens International Film + Video Festival 2022. It has also won Audience Choice Award for Best Short Film  at IFFLA (Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles) and it’s currently screening at the ongoing London Indian Film Festival? Naik, who has been writing for the screen for the past 10 years and is also the writer of the upcoming film - Baipan Bhaari Deva (Marathi) which will be presented by Jio Studios, and has conceived and worked on popular prime TV shows like Barrister Babu, Yeh Unn Dinon ki Baat hai and Tu Mera Hero, in an interview with Firstpost talks about validation international festivals give to independent filmmakers like her. She also talks about how a few months back, when the idea of the film struck her, it was too bizarre to resist. “But as the writing process began, I couldn’t ignore the pandemic and its woes. I witnessed the Indian exodus of migrant workers from the cities back to their villages. The tragedy found its way into the film organically, yet urgently. What began as a whim, became a responsibility,” she said. Excerpts from the interview: This film has traveled to many films and got appreciation but how is Palm Springs screening special and different? As a first-time filmmaker when you are googling through the lists of festivals for short films, Palm Springs is amongst the very top ones. So when you get recognized by a platform like that, it does feel special. How are such accolades important for independent filmmakers like you? An independent filmmaker is out on a limb, working on experimental themes with minimum resources at their disposal. So at the end of that arduous journey, when a festival rewards you with a selection, welcoming you into their community, it feels reassuring and motivating, to keep making independent cinema. Do you think such validation coming from the international stage changes the perception of your own industry people? It’s both ways actually. Certain people from the industry itself encouraged me and made me believe in the film and myself, and therefore the film is where it is. But yes, now that it’s there, a lot more people will give it a chance. Would you like to take us through the making of 7 Star Dinosor Entertainment?  We were in the middle of the pandemic when the idea came to me. There used to be a lovely brass band that used to play near my house. But when the pandemic struck, the sound of their music stopped. And made me think about how the local entertainers must be suffering in the days of the lockdown. Once casting began, we met Raj Sutak and Deepak Patil, the ones who operate the animatronic dinosaurs in the film. These both actually used to work at Imagica as dino operators and lost their jobs because of the pandemic. Their personal stories also seeped into the script eventually. But to bring the script to life, I had a rock in the form of my cinematographer Swati Jain, who helped me to capture those huge dinosaurs to life in the chawls of Mumbai. Seems you enjoy working across languages and wear many hats including writer and editor.  I did not really feel like I wore multiple hats on this one. For me, editing is almost like an extension of writing. As a writer, you are imagining and editing on paper. Once you have the footage, you are writing the final draft of the story. You have also conceived and worked on popular prime TV shows so what do you have to say about how many are calling TV content regressive nowadays?  Any art form can be progressive or regressive. To single out tv would be unfair. There have been progressive tv shows as well. People try to express their unique voices and do their best in every industry. When is 7 Star Dinosor Entertainment releasing in India? We are still focused on the festival run. Post that we shall look for a suitable platform to release the film, anyone that helps us reach the maximum audience. Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook_,_ Twitter and Instagram_._