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Open Comments: S2 Ep. 3 - Lights, Camera, Passion: The Drive Behind Authentic Filmmaking, with Meera Darji

• The Open Group • Season 2 • Episode 3

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What drives a documentary filmmaker to capture the untold stories of marginalized communities? Award-winning filmmaker Meera Darji takes us behind the scenes of her creative journey, revealing how mentorship transformed her approach to storytelling and empowered her to document India's hidden narratives.

Meera shares the pivotal moment when a university mentor encouraged her to explore documentary filmmaking, leading to her acclaimed work on India's hijra community. This guidance sparked a career dedicated to authentic representation through cinema verité techniques – filming reality as it unfolds without staging or manipulation. Her philosophy centers on transparency with subjects and capturing their genuine experiences through long takes and minimal intervention.

The conversation explores how passion fuels authenticity in documentary work. When genuinely curious about a subject, Meera explains, filmmakers engage more deeply and produce more meaningful outcomes. She views her process as a collaboration with subjects rather than simply documenting them, allowing their voices to guide the narrative alongside her directorial vision.

Currently working on "Majoor 9195," a feature documentary following women construction workers who build luxury apartments in India, Meera is pushing boundaries through ethnocensory filmmaking techniques. By creating immersive soundscapes that transport viewers to construction sites, she aims to provide audiences with visceral experiences that go beyond traditional documentary viewing.

For aspiring creatives, Meera offers liberating advice: "Don't overthink it. Just go there and film." She encourages experimentation without fear of failure, emphasizing that breaking conventions often leads to discovering one's unique voice. Her mantra, borrowed from Albert Maysles – "stay with it" – reminds filmmakers to keep rolling even when they think they've captured enough.

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Speaker 1:

Hello and welcome back to Open Comments with me, Ash. Today we have a very special guest, Meera Darji. She's an award-winning documentary filmmaker, lecturer at Birmingham City University and practice-based researcher. Her independent films have been awarded at international film festivals and experimental films have been presented at various exhibitions. As an Indian female practitioner, her research focuses on investigating cinema verite techniques to tell stories of marginalized communities in India. She is interested in ethnocensory combined with immersive technologies as a new documentary medium. Thank you for joining us today on Open Comments, Meera.

Speaker 2:

Hi, thank you so much for having me.

Speaker 1:

Thank you. So to start off with, please can you tell our listeners a bit more about yourself.

Speaker 2:

I am an independent filmmaker. I studied at a university quite a while ago actually. I studied media production, where I sort of learnt the art of documentary cinema and one of my mentors made me interested in documentary practice. I began my journey in documentary filmmaking yeah during university, um, when I made one of my um first kind of proper documentary films called Trans India, and I loved it. I loved the process. I loved how I could just be so free with the camera and my. My journey in filmmaking pretty much began then. I soon then did a master's, made another film, and then I ended up working at various different universities. I'm now at Birmingham City University as a lecturer and I teach on the BA Media Production course. So I teach students like filmmaking and cinematography and editing, which is basically what I do. So I do a bit of that and then I do a bit of my own filmmaking, kind of balancing out both. And, yeah, currently working on my first feature, documentary.

Speaker 1:

That's amazing. And with you just speaking about mentorship, can you tell us a little bit more about how important mentorship has been for you and also the importance of having a mentor throughout your career?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I, I mean it literally was um the starting point of everything.

Speaker 2:

I don't if I didn't have the mentor.

Speaker 2:

So my mentor, his name is Ken Farrow and he's a radical, uh, filmmaker and an activist, but he's he was also a lecturer and um at the time.

Speaker 2:

Then, you know, I didn't really think much of it, but that guidance and that kind of um, you know, because you're not aware of like, different kinds of cinema or styles, modes, and with that person telling me about these amazing films and techniques and just giving me that push, really motivated me to kind of see another side of filmmaking, not just kind of the narrative fiction, kind of drama kind of films and, um, I wouldn't have been exposed to otherwise because some there was a little. You know, you're doing research and you're reading stuff, but at the time when you're university you're doing so many things and sometimes some students have jobs and whatnot. So to me that was so vital and every time I do an interview, anything like this, I always mention my mentor, because without him I don't think I'd be a documentary filmmaker, um, and without that push of like pushing me to go to India and tell stories that I'm close to, I don't think I'd be, you know I'd do that. So mentorship is absolutely, you know, significant.

Speaker 1:

It's really important nice, would you also say. Passion plays a big part in terms of, you know, being passionate about what you do, fueling everything that you do, but also the lens that you have, you know, with how you see the world as well yeah, definitely no.

Speaker 2:

I really like how you put that, because passion is like it comes across. It comes across in your any project you do. It doesn't have to be filmmaking, it could be any medium, it could be any, any art kind of practice, any. Any project really doesn't even have to be artsy.

Speaker 2:

But if you don't really have the passion, it kind of you don't really engage with it, you don't really engage with your subjects or clients really well, and then you end up with something that's just maybe bog standard, whereas if you're passionate about it, you're trying to like find these new answers, you're discovering new data, you're engaging with these challenging topics, you're asking questions that you're genuinely interested in. So it's I think it goes hand in hand with like passion and learning something new. You know you got that guidance and the thing is like with that is you could just be excited about something and not really know how to go about it, but just that excitement and being passionate about it drives you to that kind of destination and that's what I found. So if you, if you, really are interested in the topic or subject matter, I'd say go for it, because those make the best kind of outcomes would you also say as well.

Speaker 1:

Sometimes you know, with the passion that you carry, you may not have. I guess, thinking about the analogy of your example of you know baking a cake, you may not have all the ingredients, but starting from scratch can help with understanding. You know the type of ingredients you want to involve in that said cake and then seeing how it comes together. So it may not be how you've always envisioned it, but the outcome is maybe more than you realized in what you learn from the process as well yeah, definitely.

Speaker 2:

I mean, um, you would just take the example of my um first kind of documentary, which is called trans india and it's the story of india's hijras. So in India there's a community that comes under the umbrella terms of the transgender community and they're called hijras and I made a film on them and their kind of, how they, you know it included their journey of, you know, there's history in there, there's a religious context, there's loads of different elements, elements, you know, involving issues and their identity. And when I first set out to make this film, I only set out with an interest, a passion to make this documentary, because I was seeking answers that I didn't really, you know. Know, um of like my kind of, you know, thoughts and processes were quite negative. So, you're right, like those ingredients, as you said, was like I only had a few like, and because I was so keen to find the answers, it led to the kind of final output, but I wasn't thinking of interviewing and all that. That just kind of came about throughout the process.

Speaker 1:

Would you also say the spark of curiosity maybe helped as well, because it sounds like you know you always want to learn about things or ideologies and ideas that you may not necessarily know much about. You've always you know with the person that you are, you always want to learn more, so you're always finding that you know like that, what, if or why are things like this, and then putting the pieces together, yeah, a hundred percent.

Speaker 2:

You know a lot of like um growing up kind of in an indian household, there has been a lot of kind of um different traditions and ideologies and things and things that you kind of grow up thinking that is normal. So as I've um matured, it's always questioning family members of why is it like this or why can I only do certain things as a girl, and all of that. And so when I questioned and I challenged that they didn't really know the answers and I feel like obviously it's just something that's been passed down through generation. So it's obviously to stop that cycle and to find out the answers. Yeah, you're right, I was really curious to to go and just find the answers for myself and just be like, okay, wait, why does this dated law exist in India? Why? Why is it that here we have this process, or you know, there it's like that, and then I just okay, I'm on this journey, let me just figure it out, let me just find out. So yeah, curiosity is a really nice word actually to describe that. Thank, you.

Speaker 1:

And next question what role does collaboration play in your filmmaking? I I mean, speaking to you, you know just now about everything. Collaboration really comes out at me in terms of you know what you do as a filmmaker, but also the people that you've worked with, and even mentorship as well. I feel like collaboration is such a big part of, I guess, what we all do, in the sense of we need that community or that collaboration to help us along the way, but to also learn from individuals and others that can help us. You know, not only support us, but also taking their experiences vice versa as well yeah, no, exactly, collaboration and having that support is, um, is much needed.

Speaker 2:

Although I say I'm an independent filmmaker, you know, I always have a little crew with me and I'm collaborating with my crew, whether it's someone with sound or there might be a local in India, um, so when I'm integrating myself within the community, I know the language fluently.

Speaker 2:

But, um, having a local or friend there just to kind of, you know, break that kind of um, that awkwardness or, yeah, help me to get access, really helps. I'm always collaborating with my subjects, I think, because it's not just me making a film about them, it's them making a film with me. It's like their voice, so, as well as it's my voice through the lens and where I point and shoot my camera, it's all about they kind of guide me to this film. So I'm constantly collaborating with them. But other than that, I'm also I always also collaborate with a range of different artists from different disciplines. So I've worked with dancers and musicians and actors and actresses and we've made some really cool, interesting pieces. So when you're reading my bio, I'm interested in experimental cinema and it's just about how can we use a different form of art to express the meaning?

Speaker 1:

so, um, I've constantly been collaborating with, with different kind of range of people, and I still am, and I would love to um, but yeah, that's, that's the fun part, because you come from different backgrounds, so it's like fusing them together would you also say authenticity is really important to you as well, in terms of how you, you know, portray not only, uh the subject you know of your films, but also how authentic you are in your own life, but also the people that you bring on as well, in the films too yeah, um, you're coming out with really good words.

Speaker 2:

Actually, that's so relevant to my entire practice. I feel a few actually. But authenticity always comes up and I always try to say that with my practice I try to be as authentic as possible because I try to follow the cinema verite kind of manifesto. It's a technique in documentary filmmaking, filmmaking, and I won't go on about too much, but it was, it was. It was born in the 1920s where filmmakers were like we want to capture kind of pure objective reality. So they didn't want to kind of um intrude and they just wanted to film life as it is.

Speaker 2:

So you might have heard of the term fly on the wall. Yes, um. So that's why I tried to kind of adopt that kind of I'm not necessarily a fire on the wall. I mean I'm there, you know, with my kicks and my cargos and I, even though I look, I am Indian, as they still know, I'm different, so or I'm foreign, um speech marks, um.

Speaker 2:

So I try to kind of not reconstruct. Or there's no staging, there's no lighting, it's just trying to film as long as possible. Long takes. Try not to like overly, like um change anything in terms of reality. Yes, because I want to be authentic with um capturing the most kind of accurate representation, because a lot of things we see in the media, unfortunately, there are stereotypes and things are edited and manipulated.

Speaker 2:

Yes, now, obviously I edit my films, but I'm trying to kind of include longer takes. So you're trying to um see what that community is like or what those subjects are like actually you know in real time. Um, yeah, being authentic is is super important and I tell anyone that's on board crew wise, you know, I have this kind of um I'm straightforward with with what I say and ethically, um, it was follow what Frederick Wiseman, a really kind of well-known documentary filmmaker. He always says that he goes up to his um subjects it could be anyone and he just says, look, I'm going to make this film and it's going to have long takes and I might film everything, I might not, I'll edit it. And just being straightforward and transparent really helps because they know what your intentions are and I think that's important for authenticity and I think that also might help with nerves as well.

Speaker 1:

For example, you know, if someone hasn't been in a film before just saying, you know I want to capture everything as authentically as possible, that also gives them the reassurance that it's not going to, things are not going to be like glossed over. Or, you know, when they see an edit they might not really recognize themselves. It's going to be captured, as you say in that moment, as raw as possible, and I think that's really important.

Speaker 2:

As you say, like things get fabricated in this day and age very easily, so what we see may not necessarily have started out like that, but we wouldn't really know that unless we were involved in that process right, or seeing it firsthand yeah, because, like, I can just take my camera and film all the kind of, I guess, exciting bits um of their lives and they might just be sitting there and having a conversation or drinking tea or something, and I'm filming that and they might go, that's, that's just like what's so interesting about that. But if beforehand I go the way, I'm going to film everything from the car and you kind of walk into this place and all that, then it becomes normal to them and it's not like unexpected, and then again there's no that kind of awkwardness on camera. It's just, it's natural and it flows. So, yeah, you're right, you're right, it's definitely important.

Speaker 1:

Right, you're right, yeah, definitely important and speaking about flow, would you say there are occurring themes or messages in your films that you intentionally explore, or is it more about the feelings?

Speaker 2:

that you have in the moment per se. I think different subject matter is slightly different. So, depending on the kind of community or people that I'm going to be filming, it is dependent. So that film that I filmed on the transgender community in India that was heavily the themes were about, you know, pre and post colonization, you know things like identity, religion, finding a place in society, whereas I've got a current film right now which is on a documentary on the women construction workers in India, and that one the themes are a bit more about, you know, women as a place in society, the roles they undertake.

Speaker 2:

You see a bit of like inequalities. So it taps into inequality of gender, pay, human rights, different, how different social constructs like class really play into that kind of film. So yeah, I think it's dependent. But I think if you know me and my films and maybe even when you listen to this, you probably have got a sense of that I'm really interested in just that person and their voice and just their journey and it can be as simple as possible, but I just find like how they've kind of got through life just so fascinating.

Speaker 1:

And moving on to lifelong learning, how do you approach lifelong learning as a filmmaker, and what tools, resources or experiences help you grow along the way? This is one of my favourite questions, I think.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it's quite rich, as, actually, because you're constantly learning and you're never really like I don't feel like, oh, I'm the best filmmaker, because I'm not, and I I still make mistakes. I still like have loads to like learn, and it'll be moments through like interviews like this, or, um, like I did a q a the other day during after my screening for my film and um, someone asked me about my voice and I was like, actually wait, um, I always say it, my films are about you know their voice and the people's voice that I'm filming, and then in the process, I've forgotten about my voice. I may not have. So it's like I have little epiphanies throughout these conversations that are really engaging.

Speaker 2:

And it makes me think about different perspectives. So, yeah, the tools I use, as you know, conversations with people, and what I love is when people watch my film, people that are not filmmakers. They have some amazing responses and they might be like, you know, they liked it, liked it, but they also might go. I really found this interesting and I might have thought of it as a flaw or I might have thought of it as not even thought about it. So you know, then, that kind of makes me think okay, maybe I've not really considered that perspective or maybe that's something nice to maybe work on or write about. Um, so that's one of my kind of processes. But another one is, you know, constantly the kind of like watching different documentaries and watching different, going to exhibitions, looking at different mediums, thinking about, kind of, what is the best way to tell that story? Um, and it might not necessarily be through an interview, it might be through something a little bit more obscure, but I think I think I prefer like experimenting through the process.

Speaker 2:

So it's not just like, okay, I'm gonna make a film the way I've done in the past few years, it'll be like that. It's like no, what are these? I'm coming back to that analogy. What are different ingredients I can use? That might not work to make the cake, but maybe I'll try and see if it actually works. So yeah, I think experimentation, don't shy away from that. I tell my students all the time like there's no right and wrong way, there's a conventional way. But I think, break those rules, because sometimes you end up with something different and you're trying to figure out your own voice and style. So the only way you can do that is by trying new things.

Speaker 1:

Do you think as well it? It helps, as you, you know, if you just spoke about, in trying new things. We also learn more about ourselves through the process and what works for us. But also a process, or you know, um, for example, a skill set that we may not know that we have already, or we're not sure that you know we should take up that skill once we try it. We may surprise ourselves in the process of how I don't want to say easy, but how, um, maybe natural it feels for us. You know so, before we may not have considered that skill, for example, but then after we might think actually it works well for us and use that going forward too yeah, definitely, um, I think that's so like important to like.

Speaker 2:

I was saying not shy away from that, because there is a bit of fear of like trying something new because you might not be good at it. So, yeah, I totally um resonate with what you're saying, because there's a sense of um learning a new skill just for the sake of it. And there's a sense of learning a new skill just for the sake of it and there's a sense of just learning it and just OK, maybe I might learn something new, maybe it might not be good, maybe I'll practice it, but a lot of the time the outcome is pretty much positive and I think if you don't try it again, you're never going to know. You know, we hear that all the time, even with me, like I'd always be sorry, I'd always be kind of worried to pick up a camera.

Speaker 2:

Uh, this was at university, because I always thought of it as this machine that's scary and predominantly like women, don't, you know, take on these roles, and I didn't have much inspiration at the time then of women directors and and cinematographers. And then, obviously, having that push of the um mentorship, yes, uh, I was like, okay, I can do it. I did some workshops and you know I filmed, I had my own rig and everything and I was actually. It's not as scary, I figured it out, I know what I'm doing and now I just shoot my own films and it's like I try to tell um all my students doesn't matter um what gender or anything like yes, don't be afraid of it. Like you could try it.

Speaker 1:

It might not be for you, but you can't like dismiss it until you've tried it I think also, perception may play a big part in terms of you know how, uh, the media we may um take in or, you know, watch, and the perception we may have of the world around us. Thinking to ourselves, this wouldn't really suit me, but without trying it, as you say, we don't really know. But having that preconception beforehand and breaking it, that's also quite satisfying as well, because it shows that that's just. You know, a society or even a person's certain perception, that's only theirs, right, it shouldn't.

Speaker 1:

It doesn't really apply to everyone, as they say, like um one, it's not a one size fits all approach. So I think it's really important, as you say, just doing as much as you can, but also not feeling overwhelmed as well. I think that's important. As much as we want to do so much right, it's great. But not really feeling like, oh, I have to do so much at this one given time. You know to be seen or to be heard when sometimes doing the little nuances are.

Speaker 2:

Actually, they become bigger, uh like with time, which I think is more important as well yeah, and I think that you have that freedom a bit when you're at university or you're trying to figure out what you want to do, because you have that space to try these bits out, and it might be script writing, it might be more kind of something technical yes and you have that freedom, space to do it, so why not just try it?

Speaker 2:

yes and then see if you like it or not. And if you do, then you can dabble in it more. And it's not just because not everyone does go to university. There are other opportunities where you could do. You could do a placement, you could do work experience, you can shadow someone on set, you can um, you know, you could try it out yourself with. You know it's loads of like youtube videos nowadays, or you could go to like a networking event or these spaces or places where you can talk to people, and that's kind of how you can figure out like I didn't even know there were certain roles that existed until I spoke to people and they're like, yeah, that's my job. And I was like that's so cool.

Speaker 1:

It's amazing, isn't it? Because it's one of those where we may know certain job roles already right, but there's so many other ones, almost like an umbrella, like within that umbrella, of sorts, right, and then it's like, wait, that's actually a career, it's quite amazing. And then you speak more about it to people and you learn more about it, and it's like just them breaking down what they do.

Speaker 2:

I think, as you know, like continuing conversations, but also um learning more about what people do is so important as well yeah, it is fascinating and still there's there's like a role that's so niche, like I've got um someone that I know that works in sound and film, but they also like edit dialogue and they also do a bit of foley and it's like it's so cool like these little cool little nuggets of like niche skills. Yes, so you can find your way, I think, within it, but it's not just a broad category of producer. There's little kind of, like you said, subcategories and roles within it.

Speaker 1:

And moving on to our next segment, do you have any advice for not only graduates but for those maybe starting out in their careers or, you know, maybe even picking up a new hobby, who may feel a bit stuck or, you know, not really sure what they want to do. Or even they picked up a hobby but they're not really sure what direction they want to take it in? Are there any like I don't know advice you may have, or even just nuggets of information?

Speaker 2:

yeah, I mean it can be, it could. It can be quite tricky and quite daunting. Actually, if you're in that stage of I really don't know really what I want to do. I've got this hobby but I'm not sure if I want to pursue as a career. But I think if you don't try it then you won't genuinely know.

Speaker 2:

So if, if there might be something that you do as a hobby, there might be like a group or a community that already exists that you could join and it might be voluntarily basis right now it might unpaid, but you could try a couple of months or a few weeks of that and see how it goes. You never know. There might be an opportunity within it or you might find a dislike for it eventually, but you might even enjoy it and you might end up thinking, okay, there might be something here I can study further. Um, I also feel like there are a lot of um free online and sometimes not free or like low-cost workshops or things. You can join um and it might be just as simple as oh, we're gonna zine making and you could join it and like, try it out and go actually quite like the kind of um making zines, but it might not be that specifically. You might join it and you might find a fund of interest in, I don't know, craftsy things that are a bit more physically, kind of art based, which might then lead you to something more further within that. So I think it could even be as simple as okay.

Speaker 2:

Maybe you want to do some photography. Why don't you try and go and take some photographs or do a little shoot with your friends, like it doesn't have to be models or people you know like well-known, like kind of like actors or anything in a short film, but I guess, try it, have fun with it, play around with these different kind of tools and free tools that are available and see what you can do. I mean, there's a lot of editing software that is free. See if you enjoy that, make a vlog. If you're going to go traveling, why don't you take like a disposable camera or take like a little handy cam and and see if you can make a little vlog, edit it if you enjoy it and it works, and maybe that might be something you're actually good at, and then that could lead you to, kind of like maybe, a career and looking ahead.

Speaker 1:

What projects are you currently working on and what excites you the most about them?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so, as I was saying earlier, it's my first feature documentary scary. But whenever I say I'm like, oh my god for like feature. But yeah, it's called Majoor 9195. Majoor, actually, in Gujarati it translates to labourerer. So, um, in India, um, the major people, men and women, usually build like construction sites um, and do a range of different labor work.

Speaker 2:

But I'm focusing on mature women, so women laborers who build, yeah, amazing, like luxury apartments um walls, yeah, um these really big kind of extravagant buildings that we see on billboards. And it's a portrait on their lives, not just building these homes, but I film them when they're um at home, cooking, cleaning, going to work, returning to work, where they sleep. So you, you see that kind of entire um, their entire lives, and it's a pure kind of visceral film, meaning that you know you were talking. We mentioned ethnocensory, so that is kind of like tapping into the senses of like you really hear the sounds of construction. They're long shots, it's very like immersive, so you kind of feel like you're in in the, in the sights, and it's noisy and it's yeah that's the film that's amazing.

Speaker 1:

I mean, just you know, with you speaking about that, it's certainly very inspiring as well. Speaking about um or touching on sensory, do you think that also plays a big part in when people watch your films, that they're fully immersed and you know the sounds, but also that the sound taking them on a journey, for example, you know, where you just mentioned that, that when it's documenting their like day to day, it's as raw as possible, so they're experiencing certain sounds, but also everything you know, and it's like taking what they want from that, but also putting the spotlight on an area, group, people that they may not know much about. I think that's amazing. With what you do as well, you know you're really offering another lens to that, but also you're educating people as well, and I think that's important too yeah.

Speaker 2:

So my current research, um, kind of I'm trying to like explore that kind of avenue. I was inspired by um, the sensory ethnography lab at Harvard University, and there's filmmakers that um that have made a film called Leviathan and Manicomina and these films, what they do is they really tap into the uh users or, I guess, the audience's senses, and it's not like 4D, it's not like that, but it's using still camera and sound, like you were saying, to really heighten that experience. So if we come back to like a conversation about authenticity, you've got the film, but how can we get the audience to experience what you know the subject is experiencing in in real time?

Speaker 2:

so yeah, so it's kind of I'm trying to edit, I'm trying to get. Um, I've got a sound design on board where I'm trying to create the sound, so it's kind of I'm trying to edit, I'm trying to get. I've got a sound design on board where I'm trying to create a sound, so it's a bit more kind of I forgot the word, but Prominent maybe.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, prominent, but you have like these, almost like a 4D soundscape, so it goes from the left to right and it almost feels like it's around you. So you're you're in the center of the site wow you can.

Speaker 2:

You know you can experiment. It's more by having sound, uh, smells and things, but it's something that I'm trying to again, kind of going back to that conversation, I'm experimenting of how I'm going to distribute it or where it might be shown. But yeah, this is like kind of the guinea pig of that, that research project are there any resources that you can share with your film?

Speaker 1:

where, if our listeners want to learn more about it, where they can go?

Speaker 2:

yeah, sure, um, I don't really have a specific website dedicated to film, but I have my own website which I'm currently building and adding um material on there and information, um, for about all my films. So my website is called miradarjimyportfoliocom. I'm sure we'll try and put a link somewhere. But yeah, if anyone is interested, you know, in my work in general, will want to read more about it, then I will have information very soon. So if you do go on it by the time this is released and it's not uploaded, just revisit it after a few weeks and I'll have some information and on there I'll post announcements of where I might be premiering it or screening it. So yeah, stay tuned for that.

Speaker 1:

Perfect. Thank you so much. I'm wishing you all the best with that project as well. Thank you Now, to end, I'd like to ask this question. To ask this question if you could go back in time and give your younger self one piece of advice about filmmaking or anything in general. What?

Speaker 2:

would it be and why? Wow, that's a really good question. Um, I would say make more films, and it doesn't matter about overly planning it and overly researching it. Okay, don't overthink it. Just there were so many ideas I had at that time but I only made, like, say, a couple of films. So it's like just do it, like just go there and film. Secondly, I would say same with like like I enjoy photography, like buy a camera or like get a, you know, get a film role and develop the negatives, like just build up as much as you can for your portfolio because later on it'll help. But also you have this kind of um catalog of of your filmography which you can reflect on more. Right now I only have a few which I can reflect on and screen and talk about and, you know, discuss. But I feel like if I had more, I might be, I might be a few steps ahead where I've learned something. And now for this feature, I've already kind of tackled that earlier on. Does that make sense?

Speaker 2:

yes, that does yes so, yeah, don't be afraid to just like, have like a. I guess I'm saying, don't you don't have to have a permanent purpose for what you're making. Yeah, I don't really know what I'm doing, but just go and shoot it and have fun with it.

Speaker 1:

Zero budget, it's fine, I think also having that um playfulness with curiosity. That's really important. You know, when we grow up that child likeness, kind, of disappears a little bit.

Speaker 1:

But if we were to, you know, pick up things again, that it kind of sort of comes back, and I think that's really important with what you mentioned before as well, just having that staying curious but also not being afraid to, you know, venture out or try new things, but also not like putting too much going back to pressure, but not feeling like you have to do a to z all in one go, you know yeah, exactly.

Speaker 2:

No, I love that. It's also like um, during, like at university, we weren't really taught much about. We were taught about the process of filmmaking, but not even like not much about distribution and content distribution, and I felt like I had to figure that out on my own through film festival, independent or you know if your film is, or licensing and all that, and I feel like maybe at the time I might not have been exposed to that knowledge but I should have done a bit more independent research on what it was, because I kind of feel like I'm figuring out that now and it's a bit more difficult because I might not have contacts contacts.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah, do you think as well that whole process of you know, finding a distributor or figuring out where you want your film to, I guess, be presented, how does that like?

Speaker 1:

I'm always quite curious about that process in terms of how do you decide a where you know you may want to pitch your film, but also um ideas surrounding it. So, for example, like the audience that you want to see, or you know, I guess, um branching out to as many people as possible, but also being authentic as possible with where you film it too yeah, no, I think it's dependent on what you also want to come out of it.

Speaker 2:

Now, if it's something like a lot of the time I want to address a social issue or I want to the film to reach kind of authoritative people in a certain place for them to change that problem that began with in the first place, and so then it's about showing the film that they it would reach them. But it also combines with like who do you know and do you also want to make some, you know, some, um, some money from this film, because you know you've spent a lot of time on and perhaps a bit of funding, so, um, and then it's also about context, so you might go. I really want it to be on a platform like netflix but, it's not as easy as saying I want it to be.

Speaker 2:

It's about how do you pitch it there, who do you know and unfortunately a lot of that kind of industry is a bit like who you know how you can get your film if you've developed that earlier, then when you later on, if you do have like a proper film you've made, it's kind of like easier to get into those kind of places. Okay, whereas I found um, because I was kind of late in that process, I found kind of independent film festivals that the most quickest and easiest way to get my film out there. So I've been invited to like different countries, like Canada and, you know, india and every other Japan, and I've been able to then go there and meet people, which is great. But then it also means that my film might not be available to the wider public. Yes, um. So yeah, it's challenging.

Speaker 2:

I'm still figuring it out. I think this is great. Actually, you, you asked me that because I don't even know the answer to that sometimes. But I'm learning and maybe you know, we'll see. Sometimes maybe someone might listen to this who might be a distributor and go oh hey, mira, nice, yeah, thank you, I'm interested in it. So, yeah, that's how it works. Right, that's perfect yeah.

Speaker 1:

So right, that's perfect. Yeah, so on that note, would you like to share any inspiring quotes, or just any last?

Speaker 2:

you know, um, comments for our listeners. Yeah, um, oh. Inspiring quotes, um, I think one of my favorite quotes is um albert mazel's um again, documentary filmmaker. He always said, really simple, he said stay with it, which means with the camera, yeah, just keep rolling, um, but you can apply it to anything, just stay with it. So you know, if you have picked up a hobby or something, just stay with it. See, see if you like it, see if you can. It can expand to something else.

Speaker 2:

But I always think of it when I'm filming, um, I might cut and stop recording, and when I do and put my camera down, that's an amazing, exciting things happen. So I've kept that in my head and I go, okay, keep filming, keep filming, and I've had the best footage from that. So, yeah, that's, that's my favorite quote. Um, but no like, I think you know this kind of uh platform that you guys have for these podcasts. I think you know, listen to them, engage with the conversations, perhaps reach out to the people, um, but but take on the advice because you know it's it's not easy, it's, it's kind of challenging, but you'll find your way, you'll find your voice and I think don't be afraid to experiment and and and break conventions and just try new things.

Speaker 1:

I love that. Do you mind repeating the last bit that you said? I really like that about conventions yeah about.

Speaker 2:

So, just um, you're breaking rules, breaking conventions, trying new things, and there might be something in your head that might look good and it's like pick up the camera and try it. Does it work as a shot? Does it work as an editing style? If not, then who cares? But you never know, it probably might actually end up working. So, yeah, don't be afraid and just just go. Just stay with it.

Speaker 1:

I love that. Thank you, mira, for joining the open comments podcast thank you so much for having me thank you.

Speaker 1:

It's been great learning about your journey with film and your career so far, but also the importance of lifelong learning, mentorship, career advice you have for those you know starting out graduate advice as well, further learning about what collaboration and mentorship means to you. It's been a truly inspiring episode, I'm sure, for our listeners, but also for me as well. I've learned a lot. So thank you so much and for more episodes. Please stay tuned to the Open Comments podcast and we hope to bring similar episodes like this one to you very soon. Thank you so much. Stay safe Until next time.

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