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Bahrain-based director and copywriter Anish Babu Verghese is all set to brush shoulders with top-notch movie makers at an exclusive film festival in India next month.
The inaugural Pravasi Film Festival 2010 to be held in Delhi from January 3 to 6 will showcase the works of well-known film makers such as Deepa Mehta and Mira Nair.
Anish will be the only person from the Middle East showcasing his short film, Chandranile Chayakkada, one of 20 to be screened at the India Habitat Centre.
He explained that the film's focus was to highlight stories about Indians living outside the subcontinent.
He said: "The context of the short film seemed just right. The theme talks about identity and I felt this was the right platform for it to be showcased on.
"My main intention for submitting my entry is that the subject creates awareness about labourers in the Gulf, and what better place to be heard than in New Delhi, the country's capital."
Chandranile Chayakkada, which literally translates to Tea Shop on the Moon, will also be the only Malayalam language film at the festival and will be screened at 7pm on January 4.
It tells the story of two Indian workers, Pappan and Lonappan, and the alarming rise in suicide cases by Indian workers living in the Gulf.
Anish submitted his entry to the Pravasi Film Festival in November when he stumbled upon the news online.
In order to study and understand his subject intimately, Anish even spent days waiting at bus stops where he overheard conversations between labourers waiting for their transport.
He said: "I began researching further on the subject by stocking on news clippings and trying to understand what is really happening to the labourers living in the Gulf states."
So involved has he become in the subject that he has already thought about a storyline for his next short film, that he will soon start work on.
He said: "There are a few stories to be told from here. My next film will be about people who have been living for a very long time in this region."
Anish is also looking forward to the chance of having his work noticed by renowned filmmakers, and most specifically, by one of his favourite directors, Adoor Gopalakrishnan.
Anish said: "I heard that he would be attending the event and I really hope he watches my film."
Chandranile Chayakkada was also showcased at last year's Cinergy Film Festival that was held at the Gulf Air Club in Salmabad, where it won an award for Best Production Design.
About the director
Born in Kochi, in the southern Indian state of Kerala, 38-year-old Anish Babu Verghese came to Bahrain seven years ago as a copywriter. He has since cherished his dream of becoming a film director.
He said: "After coming to Bahrain, I was lucky to get the opportunity to start making my own films. It is a long, winding road until I am able to accomplish myself as a director."
His portfolio includes his first short film Peekaboo (2003), about the trials and tribulations of children growing up in the Gulf, which was aired on Asianet TV. His second film The Oar (2005) was based on his own short story Green Lantern which he collaborated with Latvian art director Girts Barenis and actor Guntars Gravins. It premiered at Al Riwaq Gallery and at the Elham LiveArt Festival in Bahrain.
Shanthi (2008) is based on a 28-day road trip across India from down south to the Himalayas in the north. It premiered at Al Bareh Gallery and Qal'at Al Bahrain Museum.
He lives in Riffa with his wife Fouzia, a photographer, and their two sons, Sami, seven, and Arsh, five.
