Pooja Batra, who is currently pursuing a course in film making from the University of California, Los Angeles will make her directorial debut with a short film. “My film will show an Indian girl’s encounter with three American cops who are not in uniform. What happens when she meets them forms the crux of the story. See, in a short film you cannot do much. I have to tell my story in 10 minutes and in those 10 minutes I want to shock and keep the audience on the edge of their seats.�

Pooja said that taking up filmmaking course was the most enriching experience that she had in the US. “Making a film is a part of the filmmaking course that requires me to script it, go location hunting, produce it and later edit it.� Pooja added, “Making a film is a part of the first semester course that lasts about six months. The second semester involves activities such as making the posters and the faculty will tell us which film festivals we should send our films to. It is after this that we begin the third semester.�

Pooja continued, “It was only through this course that I learnt that there was so much to filmmaking. They also introduced me to short films made in different languages that had won awards at various festivals. They also showed me films made by Martin Scorcese and George Lucas and spoke of how they began their careers as short filmmakers and went on to become the most successful directors in the world.�

Courtesy: DeccanChronicle