17/03/2024
What makes us feel a sense of accomplishment?
A long time ago, I dreamt of living in Berlin, studying at the renowned .grade_berlin headed by Dirk Meier. Life had other plans and took me on a different path. I continued working with my hero at . Long after this, 2021, ’s documentary ‘Last Days at Sea’ premiered at the Generation Kplus section. It was one of the best films I saw in 2020 & I spent a beautiful week in December grading it with Venice. In the summer of 2022, Karishma Dube brought ’s NYU graduation film Incroci to me. I had a great time exploring Super 16mm with and it premiered in the Kplus section.
Last mnth, directed by got selected in Berlinale’s Generations Kplus category, was another hint from life to finally embrace the dream. Amidst complex life-work schedules, I somehow convinced myself to get on that plane. The dream of being in Berlin and learning to be good at what I do, was not a dream anymore.
Being artists, we do look for the response our films evoke in the audience. But nothing could have prepared me for what was in store for us at Berlinale. We all dressed up for our World Premiere & were surprised to see the almost house full theatre of the magnificent Zoo Palast at 9:30am. The spotlight followed us when we entered the theatre & it erupted in cheers. Uff! That was the moment for me. It was so gratifying to see the enthusiasm and response of the audience for something I had worked on in Bombay a month ago.
As I reminisce about my 2 fantastic weeks in Berlin, I am thankful to my wonderful team PostWorks, who took care of my projects back at the studio & made me look good.
Our dreams define our journey. No matter the shape or form, they always make it into reality. Persistence is tricky. It takes effort, hard work, putting away comfort and maybe even making hard choices. But when you are persistent and you finally see your dream come to life, I'd say one can feel accomplished.
.buddhavarapu .shankarsharma
