There will be a screening of shorts by the filmmakers whose films are selected for the First Feature Competition. This is followed by an interactive discussion about their journey and experience of making their debut film – what it takes to make the big leap from short to feature length film, the intricacies of getting the project financed, the formal choices different from the approach to short film, and eventually trying to find the film a distributor and an audience. 

The session will be preceded by the screening of short films made by the filmmakers of the films in First Feature Competition.

Bio-notes

Jian Yi
An independent director, visual artist and author, Jian Yi is the founder of Artsimple Studio in Beijing, a small art community focusing on films and photography with strong social concerns. In 2005-06 he collaborated with documentary filmmaker Wu Wenguang to select ten peasants who would each make a film on the new political system in their village. These films have been shown in the US and the UK universities, as well as at international festivals. 

Omar Ali Khan
Omar Ali Khan was born in London and spent his childhood watching Hitchcock and Hammer horror films. He attended film school at Emerson College in USA. Khan is the co-founder and proprietor of the Hot Spot chain of restaurants in Pakistan. He also has a radio show and writes on film for a variety of local publications and has made a number of shorts.

Djenar Maesa Ayu
Born in 1973, Djenar Maesa Ayu is a successful writer and an actress and has now become a producer, director, and scriptwriter with her first feature They Say I’m a Monkey. The film is based on stories from the book which went into eight editions and was nominated for the Khatulistiwa Literary Award in 2003.

Ruel Dahis
AntipuestoRuel Dahis Antipuesto is a self-taught photographer and filmmaker. Since 2002 he has been making music videos, documentaries, animation, short features and commercials. Antipuesto also runs a visual communications company in Cebu City.

Jerrold Tarog
Jerrold Viacruis Tarog is a filmmaker and composer. He has composed scores for critically-acclaimed Filipino independent films The Bet Collector, Kaleldo and Foster Child. Tarog believes music and cinema are parallel art forms and has devoted equal amounts of time and passion to both fields.

Naghi Nemati
Born in 1977, Naghi Nemati is a graduate of Film Directing from Soureh College of Isfahan. He started making amateur short films in 1993 and his first short film, Like the Umbrella of the Kids received several awards in national festivals, while his last two shorts, Free Line and With Him received recognition at international film festivals. Nemati has held different positions in the Iranian film industry as scriptwriter, editor, actor and photography.

Zhang Yuedong
Born in Shandong Province in 1975, Zhang Yuedong has been involved in theatre, advertising and documentaries. He studied painting at Shandong Fine Arts College and majored in film direction from the Beijing Film Academy.

Sarthak Dasgupta
Sarthak Dasgupta did an Engineering degree from Mumbai University and a Masters in Business Management from the Symbiosis Institute of Business Management in Pune. He is an accomplished Hindustani Classical vocalist and has been an artist with All India Radio. After working for five years in Mumbai’s corporate world, he left his job, began writing and gradually turned to directing and producing short films. The Great Indian Butterfly is his debut feature.

Dersu Yavuz Altun
Born in 1967 in Ankara, Derzu Yavuz Altun began his career in theatre as an actor in 1987. He worked as actor, director, art director, founder and manager in theatre groups and taught drama at several institutions as well. More recently, Altun has worked as writer, actor and assistant director on a variety of TV shows.