report

For the Asia & Japan program F I had a wonderful Q & A with the absolutely delightful & talented Shalini Kantayya for her film "A Drop of Life".

Here's some highlights:

Why this story/theme?

She went to india in 2001 for the Ganges River religious festival & was very affected by her experiences.

On incorporating facts into a fictional story?

Having had experience in making docs, she was able to balance the real with the fiction.

How long did it take to make the film?

She filmed in a desert town in India for a week. Filmed in New York for 3 days. Then she had to toil while working on other things for a couple of years to edit & other post-production work to finish the film.

On the metered water dispenser machine?

She modeled hers on actual machines in use now & had an engineer friend make one for her to which they attached a water hose to produce the desired effects.

Finally, she said that when she started making the short, she thought she was making a film about the near future but was greatly disturbed to find that the story is happening now!

Back soon.

DJ John