Gaurav Gokhale

Cinematographer

A graduate from Prague Film School with honours in cinematography in 2012, Mumbai based Gaurav convinced us with his proposal:

“I would like to tell the story of the valley. What I mean is, I would like the film to deal with art as a medium of communication, a language. The 12 artists are conveying something about themselves through their work. This is getting transcended into the valley and the hills and the people. I want to tell the story of art through its effect on the valley and through the eyes of the artists. I dont want to focus on the event in general or the visitors who come to attend the event. The idea is to keep it as intimate as possible.”

Five Days In Gunehar so far…

Making a documentary film here and being the sole crew member has had its challenges. The first three days got spent in dealing with the overwhelmingly beautiful landscape. I realised that things function here at their own pace and have their own rhythm. I wasnt able to settle into it at first. Trying hard to find my film, I was questioning whether my concept that is closely connected to ambiguity in form, may be a tough cookie to crack. However, Gunehar brings a certain calmness with it that is almost reassuring.

Today on the 5th day, I feel I am beginning to hear the rhythm that Gunehar has been offering me all along. I have decided to call my film “As we speak“. I attempted to capture candid converstions that would organically give me a distinct flavour of the village. I think this is a good way to resonate the voice of the village.

Thirteen Days in Gunehar so far..

Gunehar is a small village that is just a couple of kilometers away from Bir. But it cuts a contrasting image from its neighbour. The people have cohesively managed to preserve the innocence that roots from its land. You only see a few traces of commercialization in this village. All in all, it still holds its voice and is vibrant in the people. I saw this as a point of focus for my film. Intrinsically acquiring stories by just listening to the people. This way my characters appeared to me rather than me having to find them. This unobtrusive approach of filming has become the skeleton of my film. It will serve as a guideline for me and the viewer, taking us back into the strongly rooted essence of Gunehar. If I am led astray, It guides me back to it.

Putting this into practice however, does have its difficulties. Being inconspicuous with a camera and a microphone totally negates my own theory. This is the biggest obstacle of my film. From here on my pursuit is to bridge the gap that is still apparant to me.