Our participants come from all walks of life, ranging from management to photography to engineering and more. They may be as young as 15 or older than 50. They may be in college or in full time jobs. Regardless of their diverse realities, what unites them all is a passion for films and filmmaking.
*****
*****
I joined this workshop to gauge where I want to be in filmmaking; in return, I got a fresh pair of eyes, a new perspective and hands-on experience of equipment. A combination of which was completely unexpected in a weekend workshop... Today I have a new found love for films which will last me this lifetime. So if you want to be inspired, look at this course.
Prashanth Vishwanathan, Documentary Photographer
Prashanth Vishwanathan, Documentary Photographer
Prashanth is a noted independent photographer working on news and documentary photography across India. He has worked for New York Times, International Herald Tribune, Forbes, Bloomberg, UNICEF and other organisations. He also teaches photography at SACAC, Delhi.
The extended weekends programme that I was part of in the year 2010 has had a huge role to play in my filmmaking life so far. Even today – after having made a feature film and 5 short films – whenever I am in doubt, I refer to the insights that I gained during those 6 months of the workshop at Impulse. These programmes are a boon for filmmaking aspirants from across the Indian subcontinent.
The extended weekends programme that I was part of in the year 2010 has had a huge role to play in my filmmaking life so far. Even today – after having made a feature film and 5 short films – whenever I am in doubt, I refer to the insights that I gained during those 6 months of the workshop at Impulse. These programmes are a boon for filmmaking aspirants from across the Indian subcontinent.
Sunit Sinha, Filmmaker and Theatre Director
Sunit is the director of the feature film Ranj (Slow Burn) that premiered at MAMI, Mumbai recently. He has also directed Pratihinsa and other shorts; is a founder of the Actor Factor Theatre Company; and was a creative director in advertising earlier.
Before joining, I expected this workshop to be a “how to” kind of training, but it really encouraged us to think on our own. As a student of journalism at Delhi University, I knew about films, but felt that something was lacking in the way they (the University) approached the medium. This course immersed me in the language of cinema, made it accessible and developed in me a passion which keeps me going till date.
Priyanka Chhabra, Filmmaker
Priyanka is an independent
filmmaker and editor who studied at NID after our programme. Her
experimental films, The Furnished Room and A Summer Flu have won acclaim
and awards in international film festivals. Her latest work is the
intimate documentary on the Partition, Picchla Varka.
I did the summer programme eight years ago and it was one of the most fruitful experiences of my life. It gave me the confidence towards making my own films. The foremost thing I learnt is the hard work that goes into making even a 5 minute film. There are lights, sounds, locations, production, art direction, schedules, etc. of which I had no clue earlier. It really is a film school experience in a condensed form. Highly recommended.
Ishan Sharma, Filmmaker
Ishan is an independent filmmaker, having made The Day He Sleeps and The God of Panic Street. He was Chief Assistant Director on Mantra, an indie feature film starring Kalki Koechlin & Rajat Kapoor. He's currently studying filmmaking at SRFTI, and is associated with some of our training programmes.
The Weekends Filmmaking classes are intensive and done in an intimate setting where all students are urged to participate and contribute. The faculty is amazing and the set-up helps learning the art of film making better. I was so inspired that I got down to making my own short film right after the weekends workshop. Kavita is a great mentor and continues to be a support in my storytelling journey.
Ankana Priyam, Marketing Professional
Ankana
is a Program Manager at Apple India; and has worked
extensively in the corporate sector. Since attending the weekends workshop, she has
made two personal film projects; and plans to study
filmmaking further in the near future.
I took the Summer Programme in 2016 and I must say that joining it has been one of the best decisions I have ever taken. Apart from all the learning, this workshop put me in touch with the filmmaking community in Delhi. Because of which, I was able to work in the camera team of a feature film (being directed by someone who'd attended a workshop some year back); plus volunteer for an international film festival. I cannot imagine a better launchpad for beginners who're interested in filmmaking.
Laksh Banthia, Film Student at SRFTI
Laksh completed his graduation and post graduate studies from Ashoka University, with Cinema as a minor. He recently joined SRFTI as a student of Film Direction and Screenwriting. You may read a longer review of our workshop by Laksh, here.
In the Weekends Intensive, I
really got a deeper insight into the different aspects of film
production, from writing screenplays to editing, until final completion.
I'd say it's a great start if you're thinking of making short films and
have a passion for the medium.
Sanskriti Shrivastava, Data Analyst
Sanskriti has a background in engineering, works as a Data Analyst, and is a huge film buff. Since the workshop, she has begun to produce and direct her own short films. Her recent work, Aparajita, was screened at the International Goa Short Film Festival 2019.
Sanskriti Shrivastava, Data AnalystSanskriti has a background in engineering, works as a Data Analyst, and is a huge film buff. Since the workshop, she has begun to produce and direct her own short films. Her recent work, Aparajita, was screened at the International Goa Short Film Festival 2019.
I attended the workshop a few years ago, and found it extremely helpful in developing my film basics. We had great discussions and exercises during the workshop, that helped me shape my film language, and decide on my career as a colorist in Mumbai. Highly recommended.
Himanshu Kamble, Film Colorist
After completing the Summer Programme in 2014, Himanshu moved to Mumbai, where he works as a colorist at Bridge PostWorks. An avid cinephile, he is currently working on his personal experimental film projects and street photographs.
In 2012, I left my corporate job to pursue filmmaking; joined a workshop at Impulse; and shifted to Mumbai next year. After assisting in numerous films / TVCs / music videos and directing a few corporate promotionals, I realised this – that the foundation for whatever I am able to achieve now was laid during the workshop. It not only taught me filmmaking but also prepared me for the real battle ahead. The hands-on experience that you get here not only boosts your confidence but also expands your vision and impacts the way you look at cinema.
Mayank Rai, Assistant Director & Production Manager
After the workshop, Mayank began to work in Mumbai as Production Manager, an AD, and as a director of promotional films. He has assisted in various capacities on feature films like Neerja, Gold, Shab and a couple of Hollywood productions in India.
The skills which I had learned in the weekends workshop helped me a lot in my career as a communication specialist working in the development sector. During the course of my career I have commissioned several short films and worked closely with independent filmmakers to produce films on the environment and other social issues. This course had definitely helped me to establish a solid foundation in understanding the art of filmmaking.
Rebika Laishram, Communication Specialist
Rebika works in the international development sector, providing strategic planning for knowledge management and communications. Organisations she has worked with include InterNews, the German Development Corporation, UNDP and the IFPRI.
The weekends programme turned out to be exactly what I was looking for. For one, I learnt a lot of things that I never expected to – like how to manage the difficulties of teamwork under pressure. I’ve learnt to handle the production process from zero – organising actors, locations, and more. It’s been really instructive – and tough – to apply everything that we had learnt in the practicals to the final film shoot. The editing table was a source of constant learning. It has been very close to what it’d be like to shoot a professional project.
Maribel Izcue, Journalist
Maribel is a Spanish journalist from Barcelona. She has spent almost a decade in Asia as a correspondent for Agencia Efe, and has also reported for El Periodico de Catalunya. Maribel takes a keen interest in social documentary.
The past few weeks have been great for my creative growth. With this programme, I hope to start working on my independent filmmaking projects.
Sarang Sena, Fashion and Fine Art Photographer
Sarang is a photographer specialising in fashion, advertising and fine art photography. His work has been published in Vogue, Elle, Cosmopolitan and other magazines. He has won various awards and his series The Everyday featured at the India Art Fair in 2017.
I
found this workshop to be an excellent space to develop an
understanding of film language. Eight years hence, I still fall back on
things I experienced and discussed during that workshop. I credit the
workshop for helping me decide on my further studies in a film school
and my career as a cinematographer.
Udit Khurana, Cinematographer
Udit Khurana, Cinematographer
Udit
is a cinematographer and an alumnus of the L V Prasad Academy, Chennai.
His work includes the feature film, Chronicles of Hari (dir: Ananya
Kasaravalli); the award-winning short fiction, Devil in the Black Stone;
the international docu on the film star Rajnikath, For the Love of a
Man; the web series Pusphavalli; etc. etc.
Sunayana Singh, Cinematographer
After
the workshop, Sunayana assisted cinematographer Rafey Mahmood on Rajat
Kapoor's feature film, Mithya; co-shot a documentary series for BBC 4;
and was cameraperson for the award winning docu, Tales from the Margins.
She then returned to her studies, doing Cinematography at FTII Pune.
Currently, she's working on a project documenting the Sujani folk
embroideries of Bihar and Delhi.
The workshop was an amazing first step for me since I was interested in films and had no idea how to start. It helped me understand the process behind what goes into making a film. I work independently as an editor now and the workshop helped me understand and study films at a deeper level. I'd recommend these workshops to anybody who is interested in films and wants to get a head start.
Atin Bajaj, EditorAfter attending the workshop and finishing his graduation, Atin moved to Mumbai and began to work as a video editor. In 2019, he joined FTII to further his education and specialise in the digital editing programme.
The
most useful aspect was the practical exercises. The situations got
close to real conditions and proved valuable as learning experiences. It
was great working with different people and I learnt the importance of
good team work.
Ankit Mehrotra, Advertising Filmmaker
After
the summer programme, Ankit studied filmmaking at FTII. Based in
Mumbai, he works in films and advertising as a Producer-Director. His
work in advertising can be found on Brushd.com and his work as a
filmmaker is on Movidiam.com.
I don’t think I would have such a strong hold over the basics of filmmaking if it weren’t for this programme. It changed the way I perceived cinema. Making a short film in such a professional environment made me confident enough to make more films and go to a film school.
Manpriya Makhni, Cinematographer and Baker
Manpriya
studied Cinematography at the Prague Film School, and has worked with
broadcasters BBC Four and CNN-News18. She freelances as a colorist and
cinematographer on short films and documentaries. She also runs Caked, a
bakery based in Chandigarh.
I found this workshop to be an excellent space to develop an understanding of filmmaking. The classes are well organised and keep students' learning as the priority. This workshop helped me get great exposure and further work assignments for over one year... I have kickstarted my filmmaking career from here.
Amulya Aphale, Editor
Amulya is a video editor based in Mumbai. He works at GoodFellas.Studio, where he edits commercials and promotional films; and is working on an independent short film of how own.
The Summer Programme was a wonderful starting point for someone like me who doesn’t want to invest more time pursuing further studies in this field. Before this, I'd gone through articles and other content on film making, which had given me a theoretical idea, but I wasn’t confident about the process in its entirety. This programme helped me to deconstruct the filmmaking process and make it less mysterious.
The final exercise in shooting fiction was the high point for me. Working with actors, conceptualizing a scene, understanding the narrative structure and story flow – it was a wonderful experience. The course was also very insightful in terms of what to expect in real-life shooting situations. Lastly, the programme has been great for me in terms of developing a network.
Richa Lodha, Wedding Planner
Richa has worked extensively in corporate communications. 2015 witnessed her starting Weddingz.in, where she is now the Head of Content, Communications, and Marketing. She is currently based in Mumbai.
My whole experience at the workshop makes me feel more confident about what I want, and how to take things further from here.
Jessica Sadana, Filmmaker
After our programme, Jessica studied film at FTII, Pune. Her directorial credits include the documentary, Prabhat Pheri (2014); and the popular web series, Adulting (2018), produced by Dice Media.
Varun Sud, Cinematographer
After the programme, Varun studied cinematography at Whistling Woods International, Mumbai. He has shot diverse projects for Amazon, National Geographic, Tissot, L'Oreal and more. His latest is his first feature film, 'Hum Chaar', produced by Rajshri Productions.
My expectations from the programme have been more than met. Before joining, I never imagined that we will reach this far; and the final film was truly a learning experience. The preparatory shoots, scripting sessions and story boarding exercises with their mentored inputs were a great learning experience. The editing of the final project was an eye-opener – I realised that half the film is made on the editing table.
Manu Khurana, Architect
Manu Khurana is an architect by profession, a jazz lover and a film buff. His work as a still photographer has been exhibited in public.
The environment was great for learning, without fear of failure. Over a period of time, I found I was able to judge my own work - sometimes even critiquing it myself before others had a chance to do so. Handling the camera equipment was undoubtedly the best part for me – I doubt we’d be allowed to get so much freedom with cameras elsewhere. Today when I watch a film, I feel I am not a mere spectator. Even while walking on the road outside, I see things as if I were looking at them through the frame, through the camera…
I’ve understood that sometimes a film is made in the scripting, and at other times its made on the editing table… Oh, and I continue to still read the study material – it’s such a compact set of inputs that we can build upon.
Astik Sinha, Public Policy Professional
Astik Sinha attended the workshop while studying journalism at DU. Previously the Editor-at-Large for Youth Ki Awaaz, he is currently a public policy professional working in Delhi.
Shooting on our own from the very first day, and then analysing it together, was really helpful. "Learning through mistakes" been the highlight of the programme for me. It’s also been great to learn from other people’s works. Moreover, the exhaustive study material is great.
Bhamati Sivapalan, Media Professional
Bhamati studied Mass Communications from MCRC, Jamia after which she joined Tehelka.com as a video correspondent. She works as a freelance videographer and editor, based in Delhi.
I now understand the kind of effort that goes into a production. This understanding – which I did not have earlier – is invaluable for me towards my work.
Kabeer Hazarika, Marketing Professional
Kabeer is a Partner in Mediacraft, a digital media production company in Delhi.
I learnt so much about exposure, white balance, light, colours – all those things one tends to ignore when one is so used to digital cameras. I found the film screenings very helpful – when we watched movies at the end of a day, it was no longer about the story – it was all about light, sound, colour, camera placement, acting… we saw these films in a very different light, we paid attention to detail.
Arunima Sen, Asst Director in Mumbai
Arunima currently works in Mumbai at Yash Raj Films and has assisted on films like Lipstick Under My Burkha (dir. Alankrita Shrivastava), Meri Pyaari Bindu (dir. Akshay Roy) and Hichki (dir. Siddharth Malhotra); and the web-series, Bang Baja Baraat created by Y-Films.
I used to dream of making films earlier, but now I have found the way to make those film-dreams come true.
Vishal Aggarwal, IT Professional
Vishal works with a multinational corporation based in Gurgaon; and engages with writing, photography and filmmaking for the pleasure of it.
The programme completely exceeded my expectations in the amount and quality of training we got in such a short period of time.
Khushboo Rastogi, IT Entrepreneur
Khushboo is a Managing Partner at Maven, a company in the IT sector. She is also the Director and Co-Founder of Nibiru Solutions, that provides IT-enabled services.
You think you know something, you think there hardly is anything to it, and then you get down to actually learning it and doing it, and you realise how wrong you were! This realisation was vital for me, as I intend to take up film-making as a career. The final fiction shoot was really important to me. It was my one chance at litmus-testing all that I had learnt in the preceding weeks. We cribbed about the hours, and the heat and the sun, but we all knew that what we were learning was immeasurable.
Shayoni Sarkar, Media Professional
Shayoni is currently a Communications Manager at Cardiff University and also the editor of the award winning alumni magazine, Cardiff Connect.
The most useful aspect of the workshop is the hands-on approach. The practical exercises - particularly the outdoor ones - helped bridge the gap between theoretical understanding and technical capabilities. The workshop added fuel to my interest, consolidated my understanding, and helped me realise my limitations.
Claire Prest, Travel & Tourism Professional
Claire is co-founder and executive manager at Grass Routes, a destination management company. She currently resides near Puri, Orissa.
I have become more observant.
I pay attention to colours & light lot more.
Tanushree Bhasin, Wedding Photographer
Tanushree attended the summer workshop while in college. Previously a photographer and writer with The Pioneer, Scroll.in and Huffpost, she is currently a partner in Camera Waale Baraati, a wedding photography outfit.
The most useful aspect is that each participant had been given access to the camera and was encouraged to use it - without instilling any fear of the equipment.
Swastika Mehta, Broadcast Professional
Swastika is a broadcast professional. She has worked with NDTV, MidiTECH, and several media production organisations in Delhi.
The screening sessions introduced me to the world of documentary and international cinema that I didn’t know anything about before joining.
Soniya Bharat, Home Chef
After completing the summer programme, Soniya worked for several years with a Delhi based media production company. She is currently a home chef with Foodcloud, and a travel enthusiast.
Comfort with cameras.
I finally understand what an aperture means and does…
Jaideep S. Warya, Architect and Poet
Jaideep is an early-career architect and a published poet. He is based in London and currently works at The Landscape Partnership.
The hands-on technical experience on equipment like the Sony cameras, Final Cut Pro, shotgun mics etc. etc. would have otherwise been impossible at such an early stage in my career.
Abhimanyu Chaudhury, Editor and Post Production specialist
Abhimanyu studied Editing at FTII after the workshop. He has over 120 adverts to his credit, including those for OPPO, Flipkart, and Paytm. He is based in Mumbai.
TO KNOW ABOUT OUR UPCOMING WORKSHOPS, CLICK HERE
TO READ ABOUT THE WORKSHOP FILMS, CLICK HERE
