INDEX

About Niv Film Residency 2023

About the Mentors:

i). Bhaskar Hazarika (Screenwriting and Direction)

ii.) Tribhuvan Babu (Cinematography)

iii.) M.K. Raina (Acting)

iv) Bina Paul (Editing)

v) Asheesh Pandya (Sound Design)

About Aditi Sharma, Course Coordinator

Course Curriculum

i.) Day 1

ii.) Day 2

iii.) Day 3

iv.) Day 4

v.) Day 5

vi.) Day 6

vii.) Day 7

viii.) Day 8

ix.) Day 9

x.) Day 10

Application Form and Course Fee

About Niv Art Movies

About Niv Film Residency 2023

Niv Art Movies, the award-winning production house behind films like 'Whispers of Fire and Water' (2023) and 'S Durga' (2017), is launching an exclusive 10-day Film Residency at its production office & audio-visual studios at Neb Sarai, New Delhi.

This intensive program for aspiring screenwriters, directors, cinematographers, actors, editors and sound designers will be mentored by outstanding filmmakers from these domains, whose work speaks for themselves.

The program is geared towards finished short films by the end of the course period, preparing the participants for collaborative work, casting, location scouting and film production. Camera, sound, editing equipment and studio facilities along with food and lodging at Niv Residency will be provided.

Selected residency films will be promoted by Niv Art Movies in the film festival circuit under its banner. All the participants will receive a course completion certificate from Niv Art Movies.

Apart from master classes and workshops with the mentors, the residency is interspersed with meet and greets with producers, streaming professionals, actors & technicians, film programmers, and film critics, who shall be working with the participants on industry culture and the dynamics of film distribution and reception.

About the mentors

Bhaskar Hazarika Tribhuvan Babu M.K. Raina Bina Paul Asheesh Pandya

screenwriting & direction mentor

bhaskar hazarika

Bhaskar Hazarika is a writer and filmmaker from Assam and working from New Delhi/Mumbai.

His debut feature Kothanodi (The River of Fables) premiered at Busan International Film Festival 2015. Kothanodi received the “Silver Lotus” award conferred by the National Film Awards of India for Best Assamese Film, 2016. His next feature, Aamis, premiered at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival in the International Narrative Competition section. Aamis subsequently had a successful box office run in Assam and select cities of India. Both films are now available on the streaming platform SonyLiv.

Bhaskar is the co-writer and producer of Assamese comedy film Emuthi Puthi (A Very Fishy Trip), which was released across cinemas of Assam in June, 2022. He has also co-written the story and screenplay for Abbas Mastan’s 2012 Hindi action film Players. Bhaskar has written screenplays for several TV and web series, the latest being Netflix’s teen drama Class. He has also produced, written and directed over twenty five documentaries and advocacy films for a range of partners including agencies of the UN, the Government of India, corporations, NGOs, and academic institutions.

Bhaskar is a two-time recipient of the Dr. Bhabendra Nath Saikia Award for Best Screenplay (Kothanodi and Aamis) and recipient of the Brajen Borua Award for Best Direction (Aamis), conferred by the Assam State Film Awards.

cinematography mentor

tribhuvan babu

Tribhuvan Babu Sadineni has been a cinematographer on more than 20 feature films to date. His filmography include Sajini Shinde Ka Viral Video (2023), Indian Predator: Murder in a Courtroom (2022), Har Har Mahadev (2022), Code Name: Tiranga (2022), Chakki (2022), The Girl on the Train (2021), Criminal Justice: Behind Closed Doors (2020), Hellaro (2019), For Bindiya call Jugnu (2017), Wrong Side Rajun (2016), Yudh (2014), My Romance with Life (2012), Shirin (2012), Tell me O Khudda (2011), Ragini MMS (2011), The Film Emotional Atyachar (2010) and Semshook (2010) and Sthaayina Sambaad (2009).

acting mentor

m.k. raina

MK Raina has been a well-known theatre luminary for over four decades. He graduated from the National School of Drama in 1970 with the Best Actor Award.

An actor on stage, film, television and web, he is also a director and filmmaker. He has worked extensively with urban and rural communities in South Asia and has been instrumental in reviving “Bhand Pather”, the traditional folk theatre of Kashmir.

He has been a visiting faculty at the National School of Drama, Central University of Hyderabad, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Bhilai, and University of Hawaii. Raina is a Fellow of Stanford University and a scholar-in-residence at Jamia Milia University, Delhi. MK Raina is a recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award; the Sahithya Kala Parishad Samman; the Sanskriti Award; the Hindi Academy Award; the Badal Sircar Award and the B.V. Karanth Lifetime Achievement Award. He is a well-known social and cultural activist and the founder member of Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust (SAHMAT), a trust formed to promote communal harmony and social equality. He is a Trustee of South Asian Foundation, India; and Artistic Director of the theatre group, Prayog. He has directed several theatre productions like Kabira Khada Bazar Mein, Karmawali, Lower Depths, Pari Kukh, Kabhi Na Chooden Khet, The Mother & Andha Yug.

He has acted in a number of feature films and TV shows, including 27 Down, Satah Se Uthta Aadmi, Ek Ruka Hua Faisla, Tamas, Titli, Genesis, Tarang, Ankur Mayna aur Kabutar, Taare Zameen Par, Rab ne Banaye Jodi, Ek Ruka Huwa Faisla, Aysha, Noor, New Delhi Times, Everybody Loves Sohrab Handa, The Forgotten Army - Azaadi Ke Liye, Tanaav, etc.

editing mentor

bina paul

Bina Paul works mainly in Malayalam-language films. She has over fifty editing credits and has directed four documentaries. Her first editing work was in 1985 on Aravindan’s documentary The Seer Who Walks Alone and her first feature film work was on John Abraham’s Amma Ariyan in 1986. Paul won her first National Film Award for Revathi’s Mitr, My Friend (2002), which had an all-woman crew. Paul won Kerala State Film Awards for Venu’s Daya, Sarath’s Sayahnam, and Madhusudhanan’s Bioscope, and another National Film Award for Sarath’s Sthithi.

Paul has been the artistic director of the International Film Festival of Kerala and in 2017 she was appointed as one of the heads of “Women Collective in Cinema,” India’s first association working for equal opportunity for women in the film industry. She is currently the director of programming at the Dharamshala International Film Festival.

sound design mentor

asheesh pandya

Having graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune in 1988, Asheesh Pandya has been practicing the art and technique of Sound for films, theatre, music and audio projects. Has recorded, designed and mixed sound for several award winning Indian and international films and has travelled widely with some of the best names in broadcasting industry within and outside his country.

Visiting faculty at various prestigious institutions in India, he loves to engage with young minds. His sound workshops, titled 'Happy New Ear', have been very popular among students and young filmmakers, who've often found them as a life changing experience. A photographer, an occasional poet, a theatre actor, an amateur architect, Asheesh designed the sound scheme and studio for India World Radio and organized a festival of documentaries in his city, Gurgaon

about the Course coordinator

aditi sharma

Aditi Sharma is an India-based cinematographer and filmmaker. She studied cinematography from the Film and Television Institute of India and then went on to shoot and co-produce two award winning indie films “Tikli and Laxmi Bomb” and “Incessant Fear of Rape”, which were later released on Netflix India. Her last film as a DP “Not Today” won the FIPRESCI in 2021. In 2022, Aditi was chosen as one of the finalists for Netflix India’s Creative Equity grant to make her first narrative short “Home”. Aditi was the recipient of IEFTA Bursary for the 2023 INTRO:DOX and she was also a fellow at this year’s Interaction Doc Workshop at Serbia. She is currently directing her first documentary, which was adjudged Best Pitch at Doc Edge NZ 2022.

course curriculum

day 1

nov 25

• Introduction and welcome - discussion on ‘what the participants expect from filmmaking and the workshop’. The participants introduce themselves, talk about their motivations to make films. The coordinator divides them into groups, provides them orientation into the course, gives them an overview of what to expect and who the mentors are.
• Session on script and screenplay with Bhaskar Hazarika
• Introduction by Bhaskar hazarika - Bhaskar takes them through the journey from idea to screen. How an idea is shaped into a concept, things to keep in mind while writing for screen and how to adapt the screenplay into an audio visual medium. Briefing on developing a film language. Followed by QnA with Bhaskar Hazarika.
• Lunch Break
• Film screening (Aamis: directed by bhaskar hazarika)
  
• Session with coordinator on producing and budgeting. Participants, divided into groups, can discuss the script and do a breakdown, making a production plan.

day 2

nov 26

• Follow up with Course Coordinator
• Session on cinematography with Tribhuvan Babu: Film design and how to approach a script from a cinematography lens, Script breakdowns, Importance of lensing and lighting (how that affects the mood and feel of a story), Brief on color palette, How to approach grading, How to incorporate a visual design into the script breakdown.
• Lunch Break
• Practical sessions with Tribhuvan Babu on cinematography.
• Session with course coordinator - working on project decks combining all information from direction and cinematography mentors.
• Film screening (To be announced)
  

day 3

nov 27

• Follow up with Course Coordinator
• Session on Coloring with Tribhuvan Babu:
• 1. Color Theory and Palettes
• 2. Practical on Da Vinci Resolve
• 3.Production Design for Cinematic views
  
• Lunch Break
• Workshop on Acting With MK Raina:
• 1. Acting for Cinema
• 2. Approaches to prepare for a character
• 3. How to cast for a film.
• 4. How to direct actors.
  
• Session with coordinator - Coordinator discusses her experience of working with actors in her latest project as a director.
• Film screening (To be announced)
  

day 4

nov 28

• Follow up with Course Coordinator
• Session on Live sound recording and Dubbing with Asheesh Pandya
• 1. practical on live sound recording
• 2. practical on dubbing
• 3. difference between live sound recording and dubbing
  
• Lunch Break
• Division into 2 teams and shoot videos and record audio
• Film screening (To be announced)
  

day 5

nov 29

• Teams continue with Shooting and audio recording
• Lunch Break
• Teams finish the shooting Session with coordinator - the coordinator welcomes everyone as a ‘film-maker’ and discusses their experience of shooting and recording.
• Film screening (To be announced)
  

day 6

nov 30

• Session on Editing with Bina Paul:
• 1. Creating Lineup
• 2. Converting footage into lineup pacing and buildup in film making shot selection
• 3. creating stories that work
  
• Lunch Break
• Teams use their footages and edit Session with coordinator
• Film screening (To be announced)
  

day 7

dec 1

• Follow up with Course coordinator
• Film editing session 1
• Lunch Break
• Film editing session 2
• Film screening (To be announced)
  

day 8

dec 2

• Follow up with course coordinator
• Session with mentor on sound designing - how sound is used as a tool for storytelling and how to design
• Lunch
• Session with mentor on music - how music helps in elevating a film, how a film is scored Participants discuss and design sound and music for their films
• Film screening (To be announced)
  

day 9

dec 3

• Follow up with course coordinator
• Sound/Music session 1
• Lunch Break
• Sound/Music session 2
  

day 10

dec 4

• Follow up with coordinator
• Final packaging for films and delivery 1
• Lunch break
• Final packaging for films and delivery 2
• session on festivals/distribution
• The Screening of Final Residency films for the public
  

Application Form and Course Fee

course fee: 40,000 inr

About niv art movies

FILMOGRAPHY:

1. Oraalppokkam//2014/Feature

2. Ozhivudivasathe Kali (An Off-day Game)/2015/Feature

3. S Durga/2016/Feature

4. Unmadiyude Maranam (Death of an Insane)/2017/ Feature

5. Eli Eli Lama Sabachthani/2017/Feature

6. Chola (Shadow of Water)/2018/Feature

7. Nani/2019/Feature

8. Kayattam (A'hr)/2019/Feature

9. Nila/2019/Documentary

10. Aahuti/2020/Documentary

11. Transpirit/2021/Documentary

12. Kopfkino/2021/Short

13. Whispers of Fire and Water/2023/Feature

Launched in 2013 by producer and gallerist Shaji Mathew, Niv Art Movies swiftly became a robust presence in the indie ecosystem with notable award-winning feature films. Niv’s slow-burn social thriller “Ozhivudivasathe Kali” (An Off-day Game) put the banner on the map by winning Best Film in the Kerala State Film Awards 2015. Its 2017 social horror thriller “S Durga” catapulted the banner to critical attention by winning the Hivos Tiger Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, the festival’s top prize, and the road-trip thriller “Chola" (Shadow of Water/2019) competed in the Orizzonti section of the Venice Film Festival. Niv’s latest feature “Whispers of Fire and Water” was selected to the official line-up of Locarno Film Festival 2023 and competed in the 'Concorso Cineasti Del Presente' segment. The film also got nominated for the Green Pardo Prize, jointly awarded by Locarno and the World Wildlife Fund.