The Road to Oscars was an interesting subject dealt with in great detail by two Oscar award winners and a member of the selection and voting committee in the ‘In Conversation” schedule held last evening. It was an evening in which the two Oscar winners, Resul Pookutty and Guneet Monga Kapoor presented their viewpoint with passion and precision and on several occasions disagreed with each other. Carter Pilcher the CEO of Shorts TV was at times amused as the two disagreed with each other.
The session started with Resul raising an interesting
question. As to whether it was important for an Indian film to win the Oscar,
considering it was an American award for the creative community of that
country. He said he did not understand why everyone was so fixated on the
Oscars. It was a symbol of appreciation for that community he said. He said he
would rather discuss at platforms like this as to why films were not in Cannes,
Sundance and of Oscars too instead of this subject. But he said one had to recognise
the fact it was one of the most important for film actors. To be on the podium
you have to be exemplary.
Guneet Monga Kapoor Producer of ‘The Elephant Whisperers’
which won the Academy Awards 2023 in the Best Documentary Short Film category
said that distribution is the key in getting a film to excel in the path to
Oscars. “Films that are distributed in the US have a head start in the race for
Academy awards. You need knowledge of the system, a strategy and right
partners. The Committee that chooses films for Oscars in India must optimize
the chances of getting the film shortlisted”, she added. Guneet Monga Kapoor
also emphasized the role of film festivals in highlighting the films on the
global stage. For increasing the chances of a film at Oscars, Guneet Monga
Kapoor reiterated that the film should be screened at international festivals
and win awards there.
Guneet Monga Kapoor has also produced close to 30 feature
films including The Lunchbox, Masaan and Gangs of Wasseypur, all of which
received critical acclaim at prestigious international festivals such as
Cannes, TIFF and Sundance. Sharing her Oscar winning formula, the ace producer
said that she starts with an assumption that every film she makes will win
Oscars.
Resul Pookutty differed with Guneet Monga Kapoor that only
international collaborations will bring Academy awards to a country. Resul
Pookutty opined that when India is sending a film to the Academy Awards, the
film must necessarily represent the country and its diversity. Quoting legendary
film maker Ritwik Ghatak, he continued, “The most nationalistic we become, the
most universal we become. The most nationalistic idea can even become a
universal thought”.
Resul Pookutty also suggested that the Government could set
up a fund for supporting Indian films on their Oscar journey so that they can
run successful campaigns with the help of public relation agencies. He also
added that there must be a healthy and competitive streamlining of films in the
process of selecting films for Oscars. As a piece of advice to young film
makers, Resul Pookutty and Guneet Monga Kapoor said that one should not be
fixated only about Oscars as it is not the be all and end of film making
excellence.
Carter Pilcher, Chief Executive of ShortsTV and voting
member of both the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) and
British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) who was also part of the
session said that it is great stories that win us awards and India has got many
rich stories to tell. Carter Pilcher also admitted that the competition has
become intense even in the short films category of the awards. Carter also
elaborated on the process and timeline followed by the AMPAS in deciding Oscar
awards.