His juniors from college remember him as the one who introduced them to a range of great films and triggered the spark of filmmaking in many of them. So it came as no surprise when E.A. Abhishek, a student of the University of Hyderabad, was selected for Locarno Film Festival’s summer school, amongst 25 other students from across the world in Switzerland this year.
Having worked as a film journalist before starting his Masters, Abhishek has toured most of India’s recognised film festivals both as a journalist and a delegate. His most recent stint was with the critically acclaimed MAMI, the Mumbai Film Festival, where he was invited as a member of the Young Critic’s Club last year.
Interestingly, Abhishek had applied for the summer school at Locarno last year, but could not make it. Undeterred, he went ahead and applied this year too, and as they say, ‘the rest is history’.
“My main goal was to attend an international film festival to understand their approach towards films and filmmaking. For example, I have a project, a documentary based on Kerala that had to be shelved while we were trying to figure out funding. I wanted to step outside the country and see if there were any takers for my documentary as also what roadblocks students face in their respective countries,” says Abhishek.
How was the Locarno Film Festival different from the Indian film festivals? “Indian film festivals are mostly about big names and the big guns, screening movies from Cannes and Venice. Locarno, on the other hand, is mostly about short films and lesser known names, not to forget the Academies and their courses,” explains Abhishek, adding, “I once had Ethan Hawke walking around me after a lecture, I can’t complain!”
He shares that Locarno Academy includes Documentary Summer School, Directors Academy, Critics Academy and the Industry Academy. The school is organised by Universita della Svizzera Italiana and the Locarno Film Festival.
Abhishek feels that his conversations and interactions with the 25 students during the summer school will be his Locarno legacy. “I will cherish connecting with and knowing these 25 people. How they create content, what are their inspirations, what are the struggles that they face it is like a reality check on where you stand and how young content creators today have a similar narrative of their works.”
