Supriyo Sen (wearing black cap in the foreground) with his cast and crew

The Berlin Film Festival Committee invited entries from all over the world to commemorate the fall of the wall in 1989 with a series of five films titled ‘My Wall’. Calcutta-based documentary filmmaker Supriyo Sen’s Wagah is among the chosen five.

Your short film Wagah has been selected from among 180 scripts...

Berlinale Talent Campus has organised a five-film series called ‘My Wall’. It can be anything — a real wall, a conceptual wall, or a psychological wall. Out of 180 scripts, 16 projects were initially selected and we were invited to the last Berlin Film Festival. There we had to pitch our projects in front of 10 German producers, who decided the final five. The other four films that were selected are from the US, UK, Lebanon and Germany.

You have already done two films on the Indo-Pakistan border...

This, for me, is the third film on the border and it kind of completes a trilogy (Way Back Home, Hope Dies Last In War). I am happy to be able to extend my take on the border. This time, however, I am looking at it through the eyes of the future generation. In Wagah I have taken a futuristic viewpoint. The film is in its post-production stage and will be premiered at the next Berlin Film Festival.

Stills from the short Wagah

So what is the film about?

My film looks through the eyes of three children who stay in the nearest border village of Attary. They are privy to the most bizarre event that takes place on the Wagah border called the Retreat Ceremony. This particular check-point experiences this euphoric event every day. Both sides have this completely orchestrated parade displaying a lot of hatred and angst. The scene there is of complete madness. It’s a 35-minute-programme with more than a thousand people coming down from each side every day. The whole place looks like a gladiator’s arena with these military men getting into a mock fight of sorts. You get to see a whole lot of expressions on display — patriotism, hatred, curiosity...

All of this definitely has its negative and positive impact. But my point of interest is my three little protagonists. They belong to very poor families and lead a border-centric life. But they are so impressively rational. That’s what moved me. Every evening they go down to the border to sell DVDs of the parade to the onlookers. Thus they earn money for their own education too! Their take on the border is very interesting. They say they could sell more DVDs had the border not been there. But again like any child they also look across the border and watch kites flying there and wish they could play with the children on the other side. What’s amazing is that they remain quite unmoved by all the madness around them.

How was your experience working with the young German producers Fabian and Henning.

I came to know them well during the Film Residence Programme in Berlin. They are very young producers, very energetic, educated and with a global outlook. We were all on the same plane of thought so it’s really nice working with them. We got along so well with each other that we are thinking of taking this relationship forward with a bigger project.

We have been to each other’s country to get a feel of the place. Both of them loved Calcutta very much. Through them I got an insight into a different kind of border situation — the one that exists in Germany now after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

What is your take on the India-Pakistan relationship?

I was not allowed to go to Pakistan to film from that side of the Wagah border. Nazaf Bilgrami is a filmmaker from Pakistan and a friend I met in Berlin. We collaborated with him to get the footage from that side. It felt strange. I could see my man across the border through the tele, filming for my film, but here I was unable to physically cross over.

This is where you get the essence of the border very strongly. But I think through the film we are able to blur the border. Though we could not cross the physical divide, there is this strong connect we have achieved through this film. I believe, if not as one country, India and Pakistan can at least live like good neighbours.

Fabian Gasmia and Henning Kamm, producers of the film Wagah, were in Calcutta last week. they shared their Indian experience

Fabian and Henning

What made you produce Wagah?

First of all we felt an immediate connection with Supriyo. He is a very talented director. Second, the strong appeal of the project, visually and substance-wise. The project has the beauty of a contrast between the celebration of patriotism and the obvious curiosity to get to know the ‘other’ side.

There is great potential to touch a lot of people. It is truly cinematic.

How was your Indian shooting experience?

We had a very dedicated crew. It was a colourful, vibrant and professional experience.

How was the experience of working with director Supriyo Sen?

To work with someone you have a strong personal relationship with is always a blessing. True honesty and absolute freedom of speech about any aspect of the project are two qualities that can’t be measured highly enough. It is great fun!

Does Calcutta inspire you to do films here?

Absolutely. We plan to produce the first modern cult movie of Calcutta. It’s a very inspirational place. The whole city has such an intense vibe to it. It’s a bustling place with lots of energy and tons of stories to tell. On top of it its whole architecture is like a film studio. One evening we were walking down a small deserted street and we thought, this just looks like a film set...

How do you feel about the cultural exchange between India and Germany?

There is already a strong economic and political relation between the two countries. The best way to witness the cultural exchange is by visiting the Max Mueller Bhavan, which is doing a great job in promoting German culture, the German language and most important, offering a place to communicate.

We had great evenings there, meeting Bengali filmmakers, university professors and painters.

It is amazing how well known German literature, poetry and philosophy are in India.

But it is not a one-way street, the spiritual aspects of the Indian culture, Bollywood movies and yoga are very well known and practised in Germany as well.

Now we have to intensify this relation by working together and taking the exchange on to the next level.