By Meda Marwein
Fourteen minutes and twenty-six seconds, that’s all it took to tell the story of The Intern, a short-film, which, since 2019, has made it to several coveted film festivals across the country and come August 15, it will be screened at the esteemed International Film Festival of South Asia (IFFSA) in Toronto.
There is, however, a lot to rejoice for all the Meghalayans in this piece of news. Why? The filmmaker, one cast and one crew member are Shillongites.
Set in a convent school, The Intern tells the story of a nun on a journey of self-realisation and breaking away from the role that she was put into. The idea of the nun as the sole character of the film is director Gaurav Kuri’s way of “disassembling an institution of power and authority”.
Initially made as a part of an academic project at Roopkala Kendro, a film school in West Bengal, The Intern, says Kuri, through somber shot compositions and execution, establishes a kind of cathartic mood. “It was made to prepare the viewers for the final ceremony of separation; to establish a mood that would lead them on a cathartic journey,” he says.
“For the story’s purpose, I had to construct a sort of ‘institution’ – a visual one (in this case) so that the establishment somehow can take the form of a school run by nuns. Here rules and roles play a part in the schoolchildren‘s and the nuns’ lives. Choosing the nun as the central character is apt per se; a woman who knew nothing but rules her entire life found out that there is more to life than just that. Her transition and defiance of authority is what carries the story. After all, rules are meant to be broken, isn’t it?” Kuri says.
According to Kuri, The Intern is a layered film with its central theme revolving around the LGBTQ+ spectrum. “For years, the LGBTQ+ community has been thought as a taboo in the society. So, putting these sensitive subjects in audiovisual format was an attempt on my part to make these subjects part of everyday life and not some kind of ‘sickness’ the society has made it to be.”
Being the first-of-its-kind film to address the issues by using an old, conservative institute as its background, Kuri says that it is up to the storyteller to weave stories that will break the mold and ask introspective questions to the audience.
Prior to working on the film, Kuri has made tons of public service announcements (PSAs) on LQBTQ issues and have received positive reactions from critics. He believes that though mastering the art of storytelling is a hard nut to crack, one’s passion plays a big part in achieving the goal. “Mastering the art of storytelling is a hard task but when you are passionate about composing and cultivating stories, anyone can do it. But one must understand why a particular story needs to be told and that’s what budding filmmakers need to learn and hone. For instance, the need to tell the story of The Intern is quite straightforward – no one is alone; whatever is your personality, individuality, there is always a tribe out there that will resonate with you,” says Kuri.
Speaking of his upcoming projects, the Shillong-based director says, “I cannot wait to bring in more projects that would enthrall people. Storytelling is an art and we are working on another film that will be released in August and perhaps will be a ‘treat’ like The Intern.”
The film will be screened on August 15, 7 pm IST in the IFFSA Toronto site: https://iffsatoronto.com/movie/the-intern/