“A course in film direction course helped me understand nuances of the film industry,” says Manav Bhinder, an Associate Director
I have a diploma in Film Direction from Whistling Woods International (Mumbai) (WWI), B.A Hons in Global Media Practice from Bournemouth University (UK) and a Certificate course in Scriptwriting from MET Film School, London UK. Since my teens I always wanted to become a filmmaker, tell my stories and share them with the world and these courses prepared me to pursue my dream.
I was 19, and youngest at WWI. Most of my batch-mates were professionals, experienced and few were even married. They never ragged me but always took care of me. They were very protective and caring. Even the other students were really nice and helpful. There was only one thing that was common between all the students and it was a passion for cinema and a love for filmmaking. Making a movie can be very difficult and stressful so having such awesome batch-mates was a blessing. Making a movie is also about team work and it was a pleasure collaborating with all of them.
Our day began early and was packed with long lectures. I opted for direction as my specialisation. Before the end of each semester we made a short film and for me it was as a director. Being a filmmaker is not an easy job, it has erratic working hours, is stressful, tedious, and involves dealing with people with egos. As a director you have to be captain of the ship. My professors who were also industry professionals helped me a lot in these aspects.
I am grateful to my mentors Subhash and Meghna Ghai for sharing their knowledge, experience and guidance. We used to have a lot of guest speakers, industry professionals who shared their experience of making movies and interacting with them really helped us gain tremendous knowledge.
For people outside the industry, a career in films revolves around the famous actors and actresses, and they believe it to be the best and glamorous place to work. However, a course in film direction helped me understand the nuances that go behind the scenes, and know how difficult it is to execute ideas. The art of narrating a story, visualizing a scene, casting the right characters and knowing what audience wants were some of the many things taught to me here, The first film I worked on post the course was Agneepath by Dharma Production. The two years at Whistling Woods were the best years of my life and it shaped my career.
As told to Monarose Sheila Pereira