“It’s Only Natural” … Filmy Kids Follow in Parents’ Footsteps

The short films penned and directed by the IB Film students of Singapore International School were screened at the Light Box Preview Theatre in Santacruz. The event marked the second annual “SIS Dream Team Premiere,” and featured short narratives, art films, trailers and 1920’s-style silent films created by the current batch of 11^th and 12^th grade SIS IB Film students. Rajkumar Hirani with wife Manjeet Hirani, Deeya & Tony Singh, Sutapa Sikdar, Abhinay Deo with wife Smita Deo along with American film & theatre director Ellen Dash Walter were present to cheer their kids.

Thanks to the Film Program at Singapore International School Mumbai, an IB World School, high school students can study film history, theory and production in depth as part of their daily high school curriculum.

Taught by American film and theatre director, Ellen “Dash” Walter, the students are encouraged to break new ground in cinematic approaches. “The International Baccalaureate (IB) promotes creative thinking and instilling a desire in students to take informed risks,” says Ms. Walter. “This is especially important in the Arts, and the language of film can positively affect the world in many ways. Our students are the leaders of tomorrow, and I believe these students will use their futures to create a ‘new wave’ in Indian and global cinema, as evidenced in their latest work. I am so proud of all they have achieved.”

Current IB Film students at Singapore International School include the children of film industry leaders like Irrfan Khan and Sutapa Sikdar, Rajkumar and Manjeet Hirani, Tony and Deeya Singh, Abhinay and Smita Deo. One of the featured filmmakers includes 18-year old, Simran Jehani, who was recently featured as a supporting lead in Disney’s Khoobsurat with Sonam Kapoor and Fawad Khan. Her father, Farhang Jehani, will also be featured in a short documentary about his internationally acclaimed restaurant, Leopold Café. These and other parents joined the wave by putting their faith in SIS Film program to nurture the future of their children over the next few years.

All of the 11^th and 12^th grade students engage as actors, directors, cinematographers and crew on each other’s’ films, making the program an integrated and collaborative learning experience.

The highlights of this year’s previews include a short narrative, The Little Things, filmed entirely in north and south Goa. Written, directed and edited by Simran Jehani, it involves a child whose father encourages her to search for “the angels at sunset” in order to communicate with him while he is away on duty in the Indian army. Cinematographer, Avneesh Kakodkar, brings the lush and picturesque story to life through the lens, bringing the story of love and loss to life through the innocent eyes of a child.

Getting Better With Age – A Documentary of Leopold Café, is directed by Vidhi Agarwal, DOP’d by Akash Jadhav and written by Simran Jehani. The short film features interviews with Farhang and Farzad Jehani, who walk the audience through the long and changing history of one of Mumbai’s favorite hang-outs. The film features re-enactments and a realistic sense of how the famed café bounced back from its devastating terroist attack.

The juniors got their feet wet by filming two silent movies in the style of the 1920s black and white era where film history began, shot in Goa and in Mumbai’s “Film City.” Vir Hirani wrote and edited the funny, yet moving story, The Two Comedians, of two vaudvillian-style performers whose only wish is to cheer up a beautiful but sad maiden. He and Irrfan Khan’s son, Babil, star in the silent comedy. Yug Deo used German impressionistic style when conceiving his Fifth Ace, a murder mystery revolving around age-old deceit and revenge themes, starring Vir Hirani, Babil Khan, Jashan Singh Arora, Rhea Kadakia and Yug Deo. The films were group-directed and shot by all of the 11^th grade film students, which also included Shwet Agarwal and Danisha Sheikh.

Vir Hirani, Babil Khan, Jashan Singh Arora and Yug Deo, among other students, make their on-screen acting debuts, as well. It’s not hard to imagine them starring in and directing the next generation of Indian cinema, considering their “family ties.” However, not one of them needs to be given any preferential treatment with such a good start at such a young age.  These film students will also likely bring a keen sense of international mindedness to their future films, thanks to the International Baccalaureate program’s focus on a broad spectrum of global film perspectives.

 “Most of the students who come to SIS to take IB Film are serious about the craft and plan to make futures in the film industry. In fact, three of four graduating seniors will take up film at American universities. This program allows them to experiment through hands-on learning, while also learning to write about and analyse important genres and historic trends which may influence their choices as directors and screenwriters in the future,” says Walter. “The students coming through this programme are not formula followers. They are breaking classic film rules with intelligence and creativity in favour of finding their own voices. This class encourages an organic creative approach, which is grounded in understanding film language established by the great filmmakers through history, then using that language to create their own unique styles of filmmaking. “

The students and their parents will be on hand at the screening to answer questions and to share their feelings about the success of the IB Film programme. For more information on the IB Film program at Singapore International School Mumbai, please contact admissions@sisindia.net.