A Purpose...
by Sabina Shamdasani on 11/09/10
When you're in film school, they say that making short films is just a calling card into the industry. There aren't too many short film distribution companies out there, so beyond practicing your skills as a filmmaker and trying to make feature films, there isn't much more of a purpose.
I beg to differ.
Tonight, I met a group of about 8 kids, let's see if I can name them all...Natalee, Roman, Leo, Simon, Shane, Rachel, Chelsea, Jose, and Becky...okay, 9 kids, through a group called Venice Arts, based in West LA. For months, I've been in touch with Cathy, the coordinator for Venice Arts, to coordinate a screening of 'Dada Ji' for the kids.
Just like the previous event with LA After-School All-Stars, we started by tossing a little foam ball around and asking everyone what their dream was. This group was a little different - the kids were between 10-13 years old, and they meet on a weekly basis for a class called "My Life As a Movie." So they're already learning about filmmaking, using tools like IMovie, Flip Cameras, and Photoshop. That puts them wayyy ahead of the game :)
Like last time we watched the movie, and then they had some great questions...what inspired the story, how did we create a family atmosphere on set, oh, and they were very taken with Mr. Kumar Pallana, the lead actor. We also watched Kumar's Magic Show (it's on the bonus features of the DVD). At the end, everyone got their own copy of the DVD, and they asked me to sign them :)
The kids were very gracious in allowing me to come & giving 'Dada Ji' their full attention. For me, tonight was inspiring...I felt blessed when I was able to make 'Dada Ji' and I feel blessed to be able to share the movie. There's definitely a bigger purpose behind making 'Dada Ji'...and I'm realizing that every time we screen it!
