Three Third Year students of DSK International Campus, Pune, have made a short animation film I Am Depression which will be screened at Monstra — Lisbon Animated Film Festival 2018
What started off as a simple class exercise turned out to be a memorable event for three Third Year students of DSK International Campus, Pune. When Ankitsingh Gadiwale, Sanskar Chandar and Yadwinder Singh started working on the script, little did know that their short film would be selected for screening at Monstra — Lisbon Animated Film Festival 2018 in March.
Singh recalls, “It was just another day at college and we were having a class exercise, where we were supposed to write a script.” The scripts were then distributed amongst groups of students according to the size of the groups. The smallest group got the shortest script. “And ours was the smallest group,” he says.
The script that Singh’s group received was written by their classmate Rutuja Patil. Singh says, “Though the script was the shortest, we had to work a lot on the visuals and graphics.” With a lot of hard work from all the team members, they were able to direct I Am Depression. Singh says that the animated short film would not have been such a success without the amazing script that they got to work with.
“In the two-minute film, we had to set the mood right for the topic, display the styles, graphics and colours in a striking manner so that people could understand what was happening in the movie. This was indeed challenging,” says the young director adding, “There are several cases of depression in our society and many a time people commit suicide to solve their problems. In the film, the first person narrative allows the audience to put themselves in the shoes of those who are suffering from depression.”
Singh believes that depression is more than an illness and people need to be sensitive towards those who are suffering from it. “If you know someone who is suffering from depression, then it is important for you to try and help the individual, and listen to their problems and be patient with them to gain their confidence,” he says.
Singh believes that the reason people do not talk about depression on a larger scale is because of the stigma attached to it. Through their film, the three students want to create greater awareness of the problem.
“So far, the film has been loved and appreciated by all those who have watched it,” says Singh further mentioning that the festival will be a great opportunity for them to learn from other films as well as get reviews from professionals in the field.
“Animated movies are not just for children, adults too can learn a lot from such movies,” says Singh who believes that for a film to do well, the story has to be good.
Talking about choosing a career in filmmaking, Singh says, “Like any other Indian parent, my parents too wanted me to study engineering.” He did give it a shot but soon found his true calling in the creative field. Which is when he took up a course in animation at DSK International Campus. “I am pursuing my dream now,” he says.
