Interview with Indian director Leslie Carvalho by film critic Lalit Rao (FIPRESCI) dated 01.03.2024
Leslie Carvalho is a multifaceted personality of Indian independent cinema. Apart from being a filmmaker, Leslie also happens to be a professional Tennis coach, German language teacher, painter and a book writer. He has been on India’s national jury for choosing films for ‘Indian Panorama’ section of India’s most prestigious film festival ‘IFFI’. He has also rendered his services as a ‘script doctor’ to many filmmakers. His début film ‘The Outhouse’ was shot in mere 13 days. It won the first Gollapudi Srinivas award. Leslie Carvalho sat with film critic Lalit Rao (FIPRESCI) to talk about the experience that he gained by studying at NYFA in New York.
Lalit Rao : Ladies and gentlemen today is 1st March 2024 and I'm here at 15th Bangalore International Film Festival 2024 and my special guest is Leslie Carvahlo, the filmmaker from Karnataka. Leslie studied cinema at New York Film Academy. So Leslie could you please share your experiences studying at New York Film Academy and the kind of films which you saw in America ?
Leslie Carvalho : I'd be glad to talk about the New York Film Academy because it was a real great experience for me. It exposed me to a whole lot of Cinema which was not just Hollywood but also films from all over the world. We had the European Masters and the best thing about the New York Film Academy was that our teachers were like our friends. We could meet them at anytime, anywhere at the cafeteria, we could take them out for lunch and discuss anything about Cinema. So that was a great opportunity as a young filmmaker to learn about film. I was at the New York Film Academy many years ago in 1995 but those memories, that experience is still there which helped me make my first film ‘‘The Outhouse’’ which won a couple of national awards and it was at all the festivals all over the world but the training that I got from there was very thorough in the sense that everything was not given to you on a platter. We had to work hard and our teachers were very co-operative. They always stood by us and they kind of encouraged us to see as many films as possible and also to discuss, dissect and to talk about films in a very academic way and plus relating to it in a very practical manner. So I think that really helps. It was a very comprehensive syllabus. So many of my classmates are doing very well in Hollywood or they have gone to their own countries and doing very well in Colombia or a small African country. So I think it was a very holistic approach towards film making. So I'm very grateful for that and we had to make four films a mise-en-scène, a continuity film, a music film and a final film. So what really happened was that at every level, at every step our teachers would support us and say you could do this better or maybe you know if you didn't do this maybe if you included this it would have helped and they are very cautious about our final film so they really helped us to sit and go through the entire script and tell us where we can improve and what we can do right and what we should actually be doing. So I wish we would have the same thing here in India. Hopefully, but let's hope for the best.
Lalit Rao : Leslie, you are at a film festival and if my memory serves me right New York is also famous for a particular film festival which used to have the title ‘‘New directors New films’’. So did you participate in one of those events, one of those festivals ‘‘New directors New films’’?
Leslie Carvalho : I wasn't there. I didn't participate because they had invited me but I had other commitments here in India. I wish I would have gone and participated but some friends of mine had participated who are my classmates and they said it was very, very good because it gave them exposure and for them it was like a launching pad since their films were there. They got in touch with other producers and people who came forward to help them and many of them are there now doing good in the field of cinema.
Lalit Rao : But when I say participate means part participate as a cinéphile, as a viewer.
Leslie Carvalho : As a viewer. Yeah, it's a good learning experience. Okay it exposes them and they got contacts and I think they can take it from there. It depends on the individual okay how much they can make out of it.
Lalit Rao : Thank you Leslie for sharing your views
Leslie : My pleasure. Thank you.
