Lost Time Fragments my Area of Work
By Pickle February 20, 2020
Share:
Mesmerised by the past, noted Indian Director and Screenwriter Mukul Haloi loves to dig like an archaeologist to uncover all the little fragments of time, one layer after another, and then reimagining them as a whole Interview with Mukul Haloi
Looking forward to meeting and collaborating with composers, sound designers, script mentors and co-producers, noted Director and Screenwriter Mukul Haloi has high hopes from Berlinale 2020, which he is attending as one of the Berlinale Talents from India. Haloi after a number of successful short and experimental films such as ‘Loralir Sadhukath’, for which he was given the Bala Kailasam Memorial Award, talks about his first feature-length fictional debut and his other future plans in a candid conversation with Pickle Congrats you are part of Berlinale Talents 2020.
What is your objective and what do you aim to achieve at Berlinale this year?
Thank you. I am very much looking forward to attend the event and communicate with other talents from around the world, to discuss and innovate on new thoughts and understandings about contemporary films. I am particularly looking at meeting people who are interested in Asian films, more specifically from South Asia. As I have been developing a film, I want to make use of this platform to collaborate with technicians such as composers and sound designers and also expecting to meet script mentors and co-producers.
What are the current projects that you are working on?
I’m developing my debut feature film. It’s in the research and development stage. The film is going to be in my mother tongue Assamese. It is based upon a popular Assamese folk story. Apart from this, I’m gearing up for a short film which I expect to shoot by this summer. Also, post-production of my second docu-feature is going on.
Any surprise at ‘Parasite’ winning script and screenplay in Oscars? Also, a non-English film has been bagging Best Picture award.
Looking at the trends over the years, I think it is not very surprising that ‘Parasite’ has globally made an impact and found an acceptance among moviegoers all over the world.
Is being an academic helps you as director and scriptwriter?
I’m not so much into academics, but I teach film in independent workshops and also write about them. It helps me to constantly question my own practices and further deepen my understanding of films. Directing films is not just a craft, but also a responsibility to do justice to your own thoughts and ideology. So, I feel that writing, teaching or reading keeps me in a conflicted territory of thoughts, which help me to create something.
There has been a phenomenal change in the popular Indian cinema with content-based films working well and commercial hits falling in numbers? What are your thoughts?
It’s a good sign. We as viewers have been exposed to so many film cultures of the world that now we can identify and choose our own subjects. Maybe, that’s why cinema with strong content or subjects is getting acceptance. Also, regionally there are so many good films getting produced. Specially, I am very much intrigued about the films coming out of Kerala, which are fresh, powerful and commercially viable too.
Personal remembrance seems to be your forte in your works.
The past mesmerizes me. Remembering it is an archaeological process—digging one layer after another; finding bits and pieces of markers to a time; accumulating them and then making a whole to imagine the time we have lost in fragments. Those fragments are my area of work.
There is so much of talent coming out from north East? Do you see visible change on ground?
We can see viewers’ acceptance of new experiments and mode of thinking,
though not so significant. In the last five years, there have been many films made by new filmmakers and they all are thematically and aesthetically and linguistically/ ethnically varied. To talk specifically about Assam, some films carry the neorealist practice of Jahnu Barua, but in a refurbished way. ‘Village Rockstars’ by Rima Das is one of such films. There have been another set of films which reflect on the insurgency-torn time of Assam. Jaicheng Dohoutia’s ‘Handuk’, Reema Borah’s ‘Bokul’ are prominent ones in this thematic classification. There has also been a resurgence of films in different languages. Rabha, Mishing, Bodo, Moran, Karbi—all these languages are now getting a place in films.
Few more film-makers who are creating new modes of expression are Bhaskar Hazarika, Deep Chowdhury, Kenny Basumatary, etc. Who has been your major influence in filmmaking?
There have been many. But among filmmakers — Yasujiro Ozu, Andrei Tarkovsky, and Hao Hsiao hsien are three names that stand out.
Finally, what are the goals you have set yourself in this decade?
I haven’t planned it for so long… But I want to make as many films as possible. One film every year would be great if possible. Also, I have been thinking over setting up something to inculcate film awareness and education in school children in Assam, which I will begin soon starting with my own village. Also, I am planning to publish my first collection of essays in Assamese by this year.
Highlights
Uday Shankar forms New Tech and Media Venture with James Murdoch
CII Seeks Industry Status for M&E in Union Budget
51st IFFI Will Capture New Narratives in Cinema
15 Films Compete for Golden Peacock at #IFFI51
Top IFFI Picks: Another Round, Mehrunisa, Wife of A Spy
Hybrid IFFI From January 16
CII BIG PICTURE SUMMIT 2012: Growth Triggers From Ronnie
What Media Guru Amit Khanna Said in CII BIG PICTURE SUMMIT 2012
LATAM Market Ventana Sur from November 30
Blue Efficience Roped in For Ventana Sur
Films to watch @ Ventana Sur
India Rolls out Red Carpet to Foreign Filmmakers
Ramesh Sharma’s New Documentary Film on Gandhi at AFM
The Warrior Queen of Jhansi at AFM
With Film Visa, Global Producers Can Now Shoot in India
www.cinemarket.io – Buy, Sell & Engage
Embracing Cinema Through Screens of all Sizes
Nomadland wins People’s Choice at Toronto
MIPCOM 2020 Goes Entirely Online
South Korea will be MIPCOM 2020 country of honor
India, the Window of Opportunity
Get Ready for Hybrid IFFI
Film Making Centres of India
Get Your Film Take Wings at Virtual Film Bazaar
Make at least Ten co-productions in a year
Filmmakers Should Make use of India-Canada Treaty
TIFF: The Show and Business Goes on
Navigating Toronto Film Festival and Industry
Make in India, Show the World
Be Part of the Pickle India Focused Toronto Edition
ads2OTT set to Launch in Oct 2020
MovieSaints to release Memories of a Forgotten War
Truth Is Dead
Submissions Open For Berlinale Co-Production Market
Gender Equality-Berlinale Eliminates Silver Bear for Best Actor and Best Actress
All3Media, A+E Networks, BBC Studios, ZDF Join MIPCOM 2020 Global UPFRONTS Lineup
NürnbergMesse’s Content India Show from October 29-31
Berlinale 2021 Will be a Physical Festival; EFM in Hybrid Format
Best of 2020: A Dazzling Dozen
Striking the Right Chord
Ishaan Khatter looking ‘beyond clouds’ with promising upcoming projects
IFFI 2020 Adopts Hybrid Online-Physical Edition
India Unbound
20 Films That Make us Believe Freedom is Priceless
Krishna Janmashtami Special
National Education Policy: Game Changer
18 Must-See Films at Venice 2020
Ayushmann Turns Athlete
Indian Trio in Venice
Blockchain: The Future is Now
Not right time to open cinema halls: Ravi Kottarakara
Meet, ERICA. AI Actor in a SCI-FI Film
Vidya Balan Set to Shine as Shakuntala Devi
Straight Answers From Alexander Shulgin
Content is king for Saregama’s Yoodlee
Nuggets From Animation Thought Leaders
NYIFF Takes Virtual Route
From The Heart Of Disney
New Model of Filmmaking in India
My Journey: How I Did It
Animation in the Age of Art & Tech
Making Filming in India More Easy
Gaurav Banerjee: Star Unveiled
FDI cap of 26% for News Aggregators Under Consideration
The Changemaker
COVID-19 has Accelerated Digital Shift Towards Across Sectors
No Business as Usual for Film Industry
What’s Wrong With our News Media Today ?
The Fire Inside Regina
Gaming Industry Braves Covid
Disney +Hotstar Leads the Disruption
Taapsee’s takes on OTT, Nepotism & Covid
Oscar Invites QUBE’s Senthil Kumar to be its Member at Large
What’s New Search Engine Neeva Can Do That Google Cannot?
The New Oscar Award Date April 25, 2021
India to Offer Incentive Package for Film Shoots and Co-Production
‘NFDC Film Bazaar Goes to Cannes’
Strings of Genius
A Ray That Still Lights The Way
Best of the Cannes Official Selection 2020 Films
Most Awaited Films of India
56 Films: Cannes Reveals 2020 Lineup
The Making of Cannes 2020 Film Selection Process
Cannes Virtual Film Market Extends Earlybird Registration to June 12
Take a Look at Annecy Competition Lineup
Getting Back to Business, Reveals Media Consumption Pattern
Cannes 2020 to Announce Festival Selection Lineup on June 3
20 Work in Progress Tiltles Unveiled for Goes to Cannes
Annecy VR Works Selections for Digital MIFA Market
Film Bazaar’s Work in Progress Films from India Goes to Cannes Virtual Market
Navigating Virtual Cannes Film Market 2020
Meet the Streamers: HBO Max & Quibi Keynotes at Cannes Virtual Film Market
Dedicated Cannes XR Virtual Edition from June 24-26
Screen Moms; Best Movies to Stream on Mother’s Day
Vijay Deverakonda: The Lovable ‘Rowdy’
Sai Pallavi: Natural Beauty is a Natural Actor Too
Cannes Virtual Film Market Registration Opens May 13
COVID-19: Nuggets from Netflix’s Ted Sarandos on Filming and Safety Protocols
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan is New Sensation in Netflix Original Series Never Have I Ever
The Best Movies of 2001-2019 Not Streaming in OTT Platforms
Best Movies of the New Millennium Streaming Now
Best Movies of the New Millennium Streaming Now
Best Movies of the New Millennium Streaming Now
Best Movies of the New Millennium Streaming Now
Best Movies of the New Millennium Streaming Now
Annecy Unveils Virtual Film Festival and Market in June
Roskino to Host Russian Virtual Digital Content Market from June 8
27 Rishi Kapoor Films to Stream at Home Now
Virtual Nab Show Express will Take Place May 13-14, 2020
51 International Film Festival of India, Goa ( 20 -28 November, 2020)
Films to Watch in 2020
Christopher Nolan Films Tenet in Mumbai
A Call From Uttarakhand For Filmmakers Of The World
FFO Rolls Out Red Carpet For Foreign Filmmakers
INDIA@BERLINALE-Indian Cinema’s Voices Emerging
51st IFFI TO Mark Satyajit Ray’s Centenary Celebrations
Infusing Life With Dubbing AT VR Films & Studios
Sailing well in Animation Waters
Berlinale 2020: India’s Laila Aur Satt Geet Selected for ‘Encounters’ Section
Prateek Vats’ Eeb Allay Ooo! in Berlinale Panaroma
Berlinale Shorts: Ekta Mittal’s ‘Gumnaam Din’ to showcase of pain of separation
Berlinale Talents: Seven Indians Make It to the List
My Salinger Year is the Opening Film at 70th Berlinale
GET READY for EUROPEAN FILM MARKET 2020
BERLIN FILM FESTIVAL 2019 WINNERS
Berlinale Forum Celebrates Golden Jubilee in 2020
Berlinale 2020 Poster Unveiled
British Actor Jeremy Irons Will Be the Jury President of Berlinale 2020
Amit Khanna: The Renaissance Man
Fantastic Friend
THE MEDIA GURU-AMIT KHANNA
STRAIGHT ANSWERS FROM AMIT KHANNA
THE DEFINING DECADE -THE 1990s
10 Achievements of Amit Khanna
Reflections on Amit Khanna
Valuable Moments
India Enchants John Bailey
The Big Bachchan of Bollywood
ETERNAL SUPERSTAR: RAJINIKANTH
IFFI 50 & Fantastic-Lifetime Achievement Award to Isabelle Huppert
INDIA’S FLAGSHIP FILM FESTIVAL TURNS 50
BACK IN BUSINESS WITH A BANG
GET THE BEST OUT OF FILM BAZAAR 2019
Transforming Hollywood from pixels to voxels
Government of India committed to Safeguard IP content: Commerce Secretary
Must do Things at AFM
Why India Attracts Foreign Filmmakers
Pickle at MIPCOM 2019
INDIAN COMPANIES AT MIPCOM
Super Audio: Licensed to Thrill
Jungle Book Season 3 Ready
Issuance of VPL in India
Editor’s Note: 44th Toronto International Film Festival Pickle Sept 2019 Edition
The OSCAR RACE begins HERE…
Seven Indian Indie Filmmakers To Watch
Indian Cinema Of Today: A Culturally Responsive Artifact
Indie Resurgence
Indian Films At Toronto a Sparkling Quartet
IFFI Matters @ 50
Four Indian Films at the Toronto International Film Festival 2019
India Pavilion at Toronto International Film Market 2019
Made in Afghan Film ‘Hava, Maryam, Ayesha’ To Compete at Venice Festival
Keerthy Suresh: The Mahanati of Mahanati. Best Actress, National Film Award
Uttarakhand Bags National Award for Most Film Friendly State
66th National Film Awards Winners for 2018
Watan Adds Colour to Indian Independence Day
dream hampton and Brie Miranda Bryant to Feature in MIPCOM’S Women in Global Entertainment Lunch 2019
Making a Song and Dance of it
NFDC Invites Applications for Production of Films in Indian Languages; Deadline September 8, 2019
IFFI Calls for Entry for Indian Panorama in 50th Edition
Ease of Filming in India
Come, Film In Inida
Why TikTok wants to invest $1 billion in India?
Priyanka Chopra’s The Sky is Pink Set to Premiere in 2019 Toronto Internaitonal Film Festival’s Gala Section
Gitanjali Rao’s Animation Feature Bombay Rose to open Critics’ Week at Venice International Film Festival
76th Venice International Film Festival to Open With Hirokazu Kore-eda’s ‘The Truth’
Indian Cinema’s Soft Power Misses the Mark in Nirmala Sitharaman’s Maiden Budget Speech
Shahid’s Kabir Singh Becomes Top-Grossing Film of 2019
Finance Minister Proposes FDI Norm Relaxation in Media
Media & Entrtainment as Champion Sector Figures in the Economic Survey 2018-19
Indian Cinema’s Steady Rise on Global Stage
Glimpses of the future
IFFI Marching Towards 50th Edition
Cannes or Netflix? Is Netflix an acceptable remediation for Cannes’ decades-long little regard for Indian Cinema?
Play Small & Live Long Did Wonders for Me
Hotstar makes world record: 5.5 million simultaneous viewers
Animation Co-Production Projects by Screenyug Creations Pvt.Ltd.
France To Be Country Of Honour at MIPTV 2019
Indian Content Catalogue 1
Resilience and Agility are Buzzwords at MIPCOM
Indian Content Catalogue
