Porsche Awards 2015 Winners: Sumit Kumar

The 2015 Porsche International Student Advertising Film Awards have once again highlighted fresh new commercial directing talent, garlanding spots as varied as the personalities behind them: from hardhitting charity films to sexy car shoots via comedic choreographed capers. Take a trip with us into the creative minds of these stars of spots to come

How did you get into directing?

I have been fond of telling stories based on my imagination since childhood. After graduation I worked as a graphic designer and VFX artist. But my passion for film drove me to join the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, on a film editing course. It’s one of the finest and oldest institutes in the country.

Tell us about your winning idea.

The film is about a boy who is very curious about the sound of a car, which he keeps hearing. He isn’t able to see the car, so he draws his own through his imagination. The idea is very close to my heart and I just made it to share with people without expectations. I never thought it would be considered for the competition as the film didn’t have the look of traditional ads. I’m thankful to all the jury members who noticed the soul of my film, despite it not having a very professional look.

What about casting the little boy – what were you looking for in the actor?

When I was developing the script the first face that I saw was Nirbhik, who is my teacher’s son. I asked his parents if I could cast him in my film for the competition and they agreed. The most important element was the character’s curious eyes. I already knew that Nirbhik was naturally very curious about his surroundings. Whenever I used to meet him his questions always surprised me.

What was the biggest challenge during the production?

I wrote the script because I thought it would be easy to make with the resources I had, but soon realised I underestimated the project. One day I suddenly realised that I should at least share my idea with people and as a student I might never find a better platform than the Porsche Awards.

Your name appears a lot on the credits… was that to save money or for creative freedom?

Before joining film school I had worked as a graphic designer and VFX artist. This experience definitely gives me extra freedom and a wider perspective when thinking about different kinds of ideas and concepts. Also working in various jobs helps me to understand the whole workflow.

Would you like to continue working in that way, or would you welcome a more collaborative approach?

It depends what the demand of the hour is. I think filmmaking is a collective effort which becomes better with collaboration, other perspectives and suggestions.