It's raining good news for filmmaker Suman Sen. The script of his debut film Eka (Solo) got selected at the La Fabrique Cinéma de l’Institut Français this year. Eka has been selected alongside nine other projects from around the world, made by first and second-time feature filmmakers for this esteemed programme. Eka’s script was a part of NFDC Film Bazaar’s co-production market in 2019 and was also selected by Torino Film Lab Next (TFL) in 2020.
The film is an immersive narrative of the decaying social, economic and cultural conditions of our society from the perspective of a vulnerable and fragile common man. Set in Kolkata, it takes us through a week of 56-year-old diabetic insurance agent Biplab’s life and how certain events in his life give rise to a powerful worldwide movement. We chatted with Sen about the same and more.
When are you planning to shoot Eka?
We are planning to start the preproduction by end of this year and begin the shooting by mid next year, but everything depends on the pandemic situation. We are still in discussion with a few of the finest actors in the country. We also want to cast actors from Bangladesh and I would like to do a thorough auditioning process for that.
What’s the status of your first short film?
The Silent Echo is set in Mustang region of Nepal. A tale of four teenagers, from a remote mountain village, this film chronicles their experience when a band competition is organised in a neighbouring town. We just finished the film’s post-production and waiting for the festival run.
Any other films you are working on?
There’s my second short Pseudo, a story of a professional mourner named Xixi in Taiwan, who suddenly feels that she is losing control over her emotions since she is not being able to cry on command. I have already received a production grant from the Taichung government and we are in talks with a few Taiwanese actors for the lead role.
How has the journey been, so far?
I think every director’s journey is personal, cathartic and intense in its own way. I enjoy this journey, every micro-moment of it, I like developing projects. I think the key point of my filmmaking journey is the collaboration beyond borders — it’s the only way through which we can create a common visual language.
Any actor you wish to work with?
I never like to retrofit a character thinking of an actor but given a hypothetic situation, I would definitely like to collaborate with Fahadh Faasil and Vinayakan. I closely follow the new wave in the Malayalam film industry and I am fascinated by the same.
sharmishtha.g@newindianexpress.com
Twitter: @sharmidas