ART FILMS
A tribute of my own to Toto. 🖖🏾🌿 Anurag Shanker's ROOTS series for TFA Awards has us exploring the journeys of their brilliant nominees through these video edits.
TITLE: Roots ft. Bhau, Temsu Clover, Shilpa Ananth and Krameri
TOTO FUNDS THE ARTS MUSIC AWARDS | EDITED BY: Nisrin Aziz for The Fictionary
These films were the greatest hands-on experiment of photorealism and the immersive Unreal Engine experience for me. My friends at InkInc always know how to push past the edges with cinematic exploration and the music they hold space for always has my heart.
TITLE: It's the Devil & Psyklone
PRODUCTION HOUSE: Walkabout Films | DIRECTED BY: Nisrin Aziz &. Navzar Eranee
The Seedling is a poem. It was born while being boxed in a tiny apartment within a super populated megacity during lockdown. Without access to any greenery, without having my head under a sky and without my feet on grass for months altogether. Seedling was written in a moment when a rose plant in my window threw a shadow of a rose bloom on the palm of my hand. There was such a sudden rush of emotion that took over, a revelation almost, that I just needed to spill it out and communicate what I felt. Seedling is a resonation of a connection to our Earth Mother. A desperation to be closer to her. An almost divine reverie of being one with our planet.
TITLE: Seedling
PRODUCTION HOUSE: The Fictionary | CREATED BY: Nisrin Aziz
This film is a whimsical journey in a day of the lives of two teenagers who have a chance encounter in a fantasy inspired Bombay city. From the story corners of Megha Ramaswamy & Shreya Vaidya's hearts, this film has been an experience of the absurd and it inspires me to let loose and be silly everyday.
TITLE: What Are The Odds?
PRODUCTION HOUSE: Film Karavan | ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR: Nisrin Aziz
An exploration of cyberpunk retro-futurism inspired by the art of Sam Madhu & hung over the distinctive music from the incredible hip-hop star, Rajakumari, this film speaks of opening your third eye and connecting yourself to a past-future world drawn from spiritual cyberspace.
TITLE: Bindis & Bangles
PRODUCTION HOUSE: The Fictionary | DIRECTOR: Nisrin Aziz
One of the things that draws me to Navzar Eranee & Anushka Manchanda's ways of seeing the world is how open they are to the universe and to the natural order of things. She wanted to make a piece on the environment and he wanted to make a piece of death. The two themes slipped in and blended together quite seamlessly with this concept.
TITLE: Don't Be Afraid
PRODUCTION HOUSE: Walkabout Films | CONCEPT & DESIGN: Nisrin Aziz
This film is my foray into creating something for a mass-Indian crowd. Written by the wonderful duo Parzaan Dastur & Nitesh Ranglani during the very nascent years of their own production company, the characters of Keith and Auritra Ghosh were brought to life by the sheer grace of Karishma Chavan's choreography.
I drew inspiration from how all of us young filmmakers duplicate ourselves for survival in the eyes of others of the Bombay film world and how some of us constantly flirt with our most lucid dreams. This film would be nothing if not for the people who held my hand through it.
TITLE: No Game
PRODUCTION HOUSE: Ten Colour Productions | DIRECTOR: Nisrin Aziz
This film is a moment suspended in love that knows no gender. A silent urge to create something simple and yet moving bubbled out of one of the most inspiring jam sessions with Navzar Eranee that I will forever hold very close to my heart. This film is true testimony to artists who support each other unconditionally when our intentions are strong and true.
TITLE: Lay You Down
PRODUCTION HOUSE: Walkabout Films | CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Nisrin Aziz
When Aaryan decided to make an English number following his hit Hindi one, we wanted to find the perfect balance with film to appease his current audience and at the same time lure them into music that perhaps is different from what they usually listen to. Abhishek Bhatia wrote and directed this with me hanging around, teaching little film tricks and in turn learning what makes things mainstream.
TITLE: Back in the Day
PRODUCTION HOUSE: The Fictionary | CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Nisrin Aziz
Equipped with gathered change from our pockets and a strong spirit to tell stories, we brought together some of our closest crew mates to create multiple little pieces of art. Romince is one of them.
TITLE: Romince
POETRY & PERFORMANCE: Faraz Khan | DIRECTOR & EDITOR: Nisrin Aziz
"Hey! Namaste" is a tribute to Gokarna - the foundation stone of my sense of self. A terrible experience on my last ever trip to the place inspired this edit as a pledge to the Gokarna Police. Tourists in this gorgeous temple town have been repeatedly assaulted on the grounds of moral policing and it seems like nothing will bring back the Gokarna of my memories.
TITLE: Hey! Namaste
PRODUCTION HOUSE: The Fictionary | DIRECTOR & EDITOR: Nisrin Aziz
One of the first experiences we had as a production house was the getting together with amazing artists like Ranjit Dahiya, Sangram Soni and Rhea Rawat to break our mundane commercial lives with some Sunday afternoon paint.
TITLE: Chaos Collective
PRODUCTION HOUSE: The Fictionary | DIRECTOR & EDITOR: Nisrin Aziz
The experience of Fitoor was like that of art school. It's where I learned how to tame the soul and fire it into design. I made many mentors and wonderful friends on this journey; saw magnificent new places and fuelled my understanding of self. Fitoor really is an encapsulation of all the obsessions of the naive filmmaker in me.
TITLE: Fitoor
DIRECTOR: Abhishek Kapoor | ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR: Nisrin Aziz