Filmmaker Kartiki Gonsalves created history when she became the first Indian Film Director to win an Oscar for her debut movie, The Elephant Whisperers, earlier this year.
Running at 41 minutes, this short documentary explores the tentative, yet precious bond between Raghu, an orphaned baby elephant, and his caretakers - a mahout couple named Bommanand Bellie, who devote their lives to protect him from poachers and raise him.Gonsalves, who had a successful career as a wildlife and social documentary photographer, photojournalist, and cinematographer, left her cushy job for her maiden venture.In a free wheeling chat with ETimes at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) Goa, the young filmmaker talks about her Oscar run, life after the big honour, and more...How difficult was the road to Oscars?Well, I dont know whether theres a road to the Oscars.
I think I like to approach it differently.
The main thing is about the passion for the work that youre doing.
I think the Oscars are secondary.
First, you go in with the passion, love for the work you do, commitment and time that you have to offer towards a subject you want to follow.
Anything that happens beyond that is not in your control and not something that you can plan.How has peoples perception changed after the Oscar win?It changed a lot.
I have been talking to a lot of people.
It is not just the physical appearance for being called to many locations to meet and talk, it also goes beyond the cause of the documentary.
Because, initially, I created the documentary with a core thought process to increase awareness about the Asian elephant and its plight in our country today.When it comes to documentaries, Im still continuing to look into work that benefits the Asian elephant.
I don't think the process is over.
For me, if you truly believe in something, a vision of what you want to do with the story lives with you for life.The Elephant Whisperers producer Guneet Monga returns to India after winning Oscar, says 'Film did its magic'Is it easier now for you to put together a project?Personally, for me that has changed.
I think people have started believing in smaller stories.
They give funding to different types of stories.
I started out as a young filmmaker who wanted to tell a story that would not get financial backing.
So, thats something I want to put out to young filmmakers, especially women out there, who are looking to go out and tell their stories because lack of support is the biggest problem that we are facing today.
What excited me after the Oscar win was the fact that an indigenous story won an Oscar.
This gave me hope that we were looking at an impact driven story that has gone outside.
That changed the way I saw the documentary space.What is the one tip you want to give to emerging documentary filmmakers?I think documentary storytelling happens by chance.
If I hadnt met the baby elephant that day, I would not have had The Elephant Whisperers.
It really goes back to the passion for the work you are trying to do.
Also, navigating the path of where you want your documentary to be seen.
I think from an early stage, once I decided to make a documentary, I wanted to go global.And, what is the key to going global?There are certain common things that unite us as people across the planet.
We all sleep under the same sun, same moon and same stars.
There are a lot of countries that divide us but there are a lot of common things that unite us as well.
I think trying to navigate into what connects us as people on this planet, is what really brought out the vastness of how the story could reach out to the world.
I think thats where The Elephant Whisperers got lucky in terms of the emotional side; anyone could relate to it.
The human story with emotions and honesty really has the power to reach out to people around the world.The other important thing that I have to mention is that we live in a world today thats really crashing down and theres so much negativity around everything.
I think people at some point are looking out for hope.
Positive stories really connect with people.
I think people are done and dusted with crime and murder because we see that not only on news, but also on television.
People also want hope.
And I think thats one of the driving forces.What are your upcoming projects?I am working on a feature-length documentary in Canada, the Pacific Northwest.
Ill be looking at the indigenous people over there who are called First Nations.
Its a new domain for me, but I am absolutely excited for it.How do you pitch your story?I actually shot half of The Elephant Whisperers before I pitched it to Netflix.
Thats when it all began.
I didnt really think about the funds at that point, I just went into it.
The concept of the story that I was doing was very appealing to people.
They fell in love with Raghu.
Thats the reason why I wanted to make the documentary.
I think it dials back to finding the right story, going out, and having an idea behind what you want to do.India winning big at Oscars what is working for us?We are in a great space at this time.
People have started to open up to cultures from different countries, and thats whats special about the phase we are in, because India is such a diverse country.
We have stories from different parts of India which are so diverse with the language, place, types of storytelling.
And there's a certain richness that people want to see.
I think people outside of India have been in a space where they are not able to experience other cultures.
I think that is what has changed.
The openness to going to different spaces, understanding stories from different walks of life, the openness towards foreign language films.How does it feel to be back at IFFI?I first attended IFFI in 2004 from college as a student.
That was the first film festival I attended in my life.
It is a proud moment for me to be back and be speaking here this time.
A lot has changed in my life and I think its a beautiful community of people gathering together with like-minded views, and the whole concept of going out and telling stories in whichever form you want feature film or documentary.
I think it is a larger family not just limited to India.
Its really special to be here.