Mona
A graduate from AMDA College of Performing Arts, Los Angeles, he already has some commercials, acting stints and a hugely feted short film, Grafitti, in his kitty. “As we create opportunities for ourselves, we create work opportunities for others as well and then instead of being this single person, you become a part of a big team, all working towards creating this piece of art that started with you,” shares Divyansh.
The journey to the cinema capital of the world was not so smooth though. This Delhi boy went to get trained in acting and it was during the course that he learnt the ropes. “Studying independent of any factors always helps. But the fact that I could go to college in Los Angeles which is the heart of Hollywood immensely helped me get a better understanding of the business quickly. Moreover, it helped me grow as an individual and learn from different people and their cultures and teach them about mine.”
The story of Grafitti started with the character of Michael Dawson, who could only write about the woman he loved, after she passed away. “As the cast got involved, the project evolved. The film ended up dealing with universal issues like loss, moving on and forgiveness.” The film festivals took to it and the film has won more than 30 awards across the world, including Best Debut Filmmaker at New York Film Awards and Best Romantic Comedy at Los Angeles Film Awards.
“I love films and storytelling. So, I like to get involved in everything,” says the man, who wrote and directed this 30-minutes drama and acted in it too.
A Dream in Frames will be Divyansh’s first feature film under his production company Origins and the script has already won an award at LA Film Awards. “It helped generate a lot of buzz and interest in the script. A lot of people have come forward wanting to be on the production side of the film but building the team is the most important and crucial step, so we are taking our time.”
His crew has his very close friends. His Co-CEO Anthony Villanueva was also his roommate in college. As far as funding for films is concerned, a lot of the rental houses saw the potential and believed in the projects, while friends and family pitched in too. “Along with it everyone is making personal sacrifices as well. But if it’s your dream, it never feels like a sacrifice. Does it?” he asks.
India vs LA
I feel there is really one major difference. As an artiste you tend to feel you have more creative freedom to experiment in Los Angeles. And some of the facilities here for content creation are more readily available and affordable than in India just because there are so many of them here. Like rental houses, studio spaces and theatre houses. Having said that, geographical locations or some piece of equipment should never be the reason to create or not create art.
from The Tribune http://bit.ly/2HIfNQY
via Today’s News Headlines
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