Docustan – Creative Documentary Course

About docustan

Docustan offers a comprehensive creative documentary film project development program designed to cater to the diverse visions of emerging Indian documentary filmmakers. This 5-month course is structured to empower a cohort of 15 participants through a combination of residencies, online mentorship sessions, masterclasses, and talks.

Over the span of five months, participants engage in a transformative journey, guided by globally acclaimed filmmaker-mentors. They will not only acquire a deep understanding of the essential principles in theory, ethics, and practice of documentary filmmaking but also begin their proficient journey toward becoming independent documentary filmmakers.

In this vein, each participant undertakes the production of a short documentary film, a culmination of their learning and creativity over the course’s duration. The teaching pedagogy and the candidate´s learning experience in the course will align seamlessly with the rich global tradition of documentary practice.

Faculty

Deepa Dhanraj is one of the most renowned and highly regarded Indian documentary filmmakers, who has been directing and producing films since the eighties. Her legendary works include “Something Like a War,” “We Haven’t Come Here to Die,” “The Legacy of Malthus,” “Sudesha,” “Nari Adalat,” and “What Has Happened to This City?” These films have been screened on ARTE, CBC, and SBS. A lifetime achievement awardee at IDSFFK 2023, her films have been invited to festivals such as IDFA, Berlinale, Leipzig, Oberhausen, Films de Femmes, Creteil France, Tampere, Vancouver, and Chicago.
Deepa has been actively engaged in the women’s movement for over four decades, with a particular focus on political participation, health, and education. She was a founding member of Yugantar, a feminist film collective that produced notable documentaries highlighting women’s labor and their resistance against domestic violence. Her extensive filmography delves into various critical issues, including the violence and manipulation associated with population control programs, the establishment of Muslim women’s courts providing an alternative to patriarchal judgments issued by Sharia courts, and the emergence of Hindu majoritarianism.
Guided by a strong passion for education, She has dedicated substantial effort to collaborating with government schools in developing tailored pedagogical approaches suitable for first-generation learners hailing from Dalit and Adivasi communities. She also shares her expertise by teaching video production to women activists and regularly delivers lectures on media theory, engaging with audiences in both academic and public forums.

DEEPA DHANRAJ DEEPA DHANRAJ

Masterclass

Payal Kapadia, an FTII alumna, is a prominent voice in contemporary Indian cinema. Her debut feature-length documentary, "A Night of Knowing Nothing," earned her the prestigious Golden Eye award at Cannes in 2021. In 2017, her short film "Afternoon Clouds" was the sole Indian selection at the Cannes Film Festival, and featured in the Cinefondation section. Her experimental short film “And What Was the Summer Saying” premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2018, where it received the Special Jury Prize. It also garnered acclaim at the International Documentary Film Festival of Amsterdam (IDFA) in 2018 and was honored as the Best Experimental Film at the Mumbai International Film Festival in 2020.
Her work delves into the less visible, often hidden realms of memory and dreams. It is within the realm of minor, fleeting feminine gestures that she seeks to uncover the truths that define her practice.
Currently, Payal is working on her debut feature film, “All We Imagine as Light,” a project she developed during her residency at the Cinefondation Cannes Residency in Paris (2019-20), with support from Hubert Bals funds and many others.

Payal kapadia Payal kapadia

Talk

Spanning a career of 35 years, with over 25 films directed and many more as a cinematographer, R V Ramani has made an invaluable impact on Indian independent documentary practice. His one-man-army, impressionistic films have earned him global and national recognition, including India’s National Film Awards, Best Film at the Mumbai International Film Festival, and the prestigious Bala Kailasam Award, among others. His notable films include “Oh, That’s Bhanu,” “My Camera and Tsunami,” “Santhal Family to Mill Re-Call,” “Brahma Vishnu Shiva,” “Saa,” and many more. His works have been showcased at significant festivals such as Yamagata, Busan, IDSFFK, Jeonju, and many others.
Additionally, retrospectives of his films have been featured at festivals like documentArt in Germany, MIFF-India, and the Asia Pacific Triennale, among others. Prior to graduating from FTII with a specialization in cinematography, Ramani worked as a photojournalist. He has been teaching and mentoring generations of young filmmakers at various Institutions.

R V RAMANI R V RAMANI

Guest Mentor

Born in Bangalore, Saumyananda Sahi originally studied philosophy at St Stephens College in Delhi before deciding he wanted to be a cinematographer, attending the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune.
Over the past decade, Saumyananda has worked on a variety of projects, both factual and fiction, with such filmmakers as Kamal Swaroop, Shaunak Sen, Prateek Vats, Arun Karthick, Anamika Haksar, Thomas F Lennon and Prashant Nair. His work has played at film festivals around the world, including Cannes, Berlin, Sundance, Rotterdam, Locarno, Busan, Toronto, Hot Docs (Canada) and IDFA (Holland). He was nominated for an Asia Pacific Award (Balekempa, 2018), a 2021 Filmfare Award and, more recently, a 2023 Critics Choice Award for Best Cinematography.
His most recent work includes the documentary ‘All That Breathes’ (nominated for both a BAFTA as well as an Academy Award, and winner of the ASC Award for Best Documentary) and the Netflix limited series ‘Trial By Fire’, which opened to rave reviews and features on IMDb’s Top 100 list.
In 2022 Saumyananda was selected as one of the ten participants of BAFTA’s Breakthrough India programme. Film Companion also selected Saumyananda as one of India’s ‘Disruptors’ for the year 2022.
As well as his work as a cinematographer, Saumyananda has directed two documentaries and is presently completing his debut fiction feature as a director.
As a teacher, he has conducted workshops at the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute of India, BITS Pilani (Goa) and NYU Abu Dhabi.

Saumyananda Sahi Saumyananda Sahi

Guest Lecture

Heejung Oh is a prominent and dynamic producer of documentaries and fiction films and the founder of Seesaw Pictures (2017). She grew up in South Korea, and her life is divided between Seoul and Amsterdam/Paris. She is an alumna of EAVE, Eurodoc, Rotterdam Lab, and Berlinale Talents, and has been invited to the selection committee of IDFA Bertha Fund, Sheffield Doc/Fest, DOK Leipzig, and AIDC.
The films produced by her company include “Pearl of the Desert” (IDFA 2019) and “Porosity Valley 2: Tricksters’ Plot” (Berlinale 2020), “Queer My Friends” (Hotdocs 2022), “Delivery Dancer’s Sphere” (IFFR 2023), and co-production titles such as “Nam June Paik Project” (Sundance 2023), “Dragon Women” (Vision du Réel 2022), and many more.
As a sales company, Seesaw Pictures represents “The One Who Runs Away Is the Ghost,” which was selected for IDFA International Competition 2021, and “About Love,” which received awards at many festivals, including Sheffield Doc/Fest 2018 and was acquired by POV and MUBI worldwide. She loves working with young and seasoned filmmakers who have artistic visions and powerful questions.

Heejung oh Heejung oh

Guest Lecture

Arya Rothe is an independent filmmaker from Pune, India, and co-founder of NoCut Film Collective. Her debut feature-length documentary film A Rifle and a Bag (2020, India, Romania, Italy, Qatar) won the Special Mention of the Jury at the 2020 International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) in the Bright Future Competition. The film received support from prominent documentary funds, including the DMZ Docs Fund, Creative Media Europe, Netherlands Film Funds, and others.
Her short documentary film Casa da Quina (2015) had its World Premiere at DocLisboa and won the Special Mention Jury Award at the International Film Festival FILMADRID in Spain. Her short film made in Hungary, Daughter’s Mother (2018) had its world premiere at the 61st Dok Leipzig Film Festival. She graduated in 2016 from the DocNomads Master Course. Before DocNomads, she studied at FAMU – National Film School of the Czech Republic.

arya rothe arya rothe

Guest Mentor

All MEntors & FACULTY

Course Overview

The four-month course focuses on individual short documentary project development, offering tailored mentorship, lectures, masterclasses, and talks.

APPLICATION: Participants apply with a basic documentary idea and undergo an application process, including an interview.

1st phase (Jan): In-Person: The initial stage of the course consists of a two-week residential workshop. During the first week, participants delve into the fundamentals of documentary filmmaking, both in theory and practice. The second week focuses on project development, writing, and pitching. In addition to the three permanent mentors, two guest mentors guide this phase.

2nd phase (Jan - Feb): Online: Following the initial two weeks, participants return to their hometowns or production locations to commence project development. They dedicate 45 days to project development and the initial production phase, during which they receive individual and group online mentorship from our permanent mentors. This online phase features important masterclasses conducted by internationally acclaimed filmmakers and educators. Furthermore, we host film screenings and talks by renowned filmmakers who have made significant contributions to the documentary circuit with their exceptional films.

3rd phase (March): In-Person: The second phase of the workshop is a four-day residency period during which all participants and the permanent mentors come back together to collectively view, analyze, and engage in discussions about the footage created by the participants. Following this intensive mentoring session, participants return to their respective production fields for a two-month period to continue working on their films.

4th phase (March - April): Online: In the fourth phase, participants continue to receive both individual and group mentorship as they approach the finalization of their second rough cuts. This online phase also includes enlightening masterclasses led by internationally acclaimed filmmakers, festival curators, producers, and educators.

5th phase (Late April): In-Person: The final phase of the workshop, spanning 6 days, is solely focused on the final edit of the films and providing guidance to participants in creating a final output. The final screening shall take place in the presence of an audience composed of established filmmakers, artists, and locals of the region.

Important Dates

Course Dates: Nov to April, 2024-25

Open Call for Applications: 2nd week of July, 2024

Regular Deadline: TBA

Late Deadline: TBA

Eligibility

Any Indian citizen residing in India can apply irrespective of their educational background.
The minimum age requirement for candidates is 21, with no upper age limit.
Applicants should have at least a basic documentary idea or concept when applying, and they can submit project ideas in various stage of production, including pre-production, production,or editing.
Candidates should have either previously created a short film of any genre or played significant roles in a film project.
Candidates must possess basic knowledge and skills in camera handling, editing, and photography.

Fee & Scholarship

Program fee: Regular deadline -TBA
Program fee: Late deadline -TBA
The fee includes faculty and mentor fees for the entire 5-month duration. It also covers the participant’s accommodation for 31 nights, and all on-site and off-site costs of running the residencies and online phases. These costs include technical rentals, internet, and other necessary materials.
A limited number of full scholarships are available for Indian citizens residing in India.

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CONTACT INFO

Country : India

Email Us : info@docustan.org

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