He quit MBBS to pursue filmmaking and now, Chidananda S Naik’s short film, Sunflowers Were The First Ones To Know won the La Cinef prize at Cannes. Brut is the official media partner of the Cannes Film Festival. #Cannes2024
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Short filmTranscript
00:00I didn't know my film was submitted to Cannes.
00:02I never thought I will be a filmmaker.
00:04I was a doctor before.
00:05I was happy I called FTI.
00:07Can you confirm me this?
00:16Hello, I am Chidanand S. Naik for Brute.
00:27So FTI has these confidential rules.
00:30Of submitting into films.
00:31So they didn't usually tell me.
00:33So I directly got a message from the artistic director of the film festival.
00:36Like, is so and so your graduation film?
00:39And I was curious, like, why I am getting a message from Cannes?
00:43Then I replied and she said,
00:45your film has been selected.
00:47I was happy I called FTI.
00:49Can you confirm me this?
00:50It feels really great to be,
00:52my work being recognized.
01:00You spent so many years to be a doctor.
01:02And it was a huge part of my life.
01:05And quitting that and starting again
01:07was very difficult and for people around me also.
01:11So they were like quite scared.
01:13And they were like,
01:14few people were doubtful whether I can make it.
01:16So that was the time.
01:17But for me, the passion was like the driving force.
01:20And I love whatever I do.
01:22So this kept on moving.
01:24And somehow I could keep on.
01:28So basically the logline of the film is,
01:30one day a granny from the village
01:32steals the rooster and gets out of the village.
01:35And from that day onwards, the village never gets the sunrise again.
01:41I am Kannadiga.
01:42So I feel so proud.
01:44And my title of the film is
01:48And the English title is
01:49Sunflowers were the first ones to bloom.
01:51So I am very proud of that.
01:54And the English title is
01:55Sunflowers were the first ones to know.
01:57And whatever I am,
01:59I can tell the stories where I come from.
02:01And Kannada film is definitely
02:04We were making global films way before.
02:06If you know Shankar Naik,
02:08you might have seen Malgudi Days.
02:10We had such brilliant filmmakers before also.
02:12Now we are getting that recognition.
02:14So I am very happy.
02:15And this is just the beginning.
02:16Because these are the narratives we have been growing,
02:19listening like,
02:20we were listening
02:22these narratives while we were growing up.
02:24And we wanted audience to get into our mind space.
02:27Especially the folklore has their cultural context within.
02:30And our travelling metaphors is the one we
02:33usually express through.
02:35So I am very happy that
02:37this film got here and
02:40the work is being recognized here.
02:42Anyone can be a filmmaker if they feel
02:44expressing in this medium.
02:45And this is not the only way of expression.
02:47Some can write, some can paint, some can sing.
02:49So I feel I resonate with this medium.
02:52So I think anyone can be a filmmaker
02:55and everyone is an artist.