This week Neha is in the studio with documentary film maker Surabhi Sharma whose film 'Phir Se Samm Pe Aana (Returning to the First Beat)' was screened at the 19th Mumbai film festival. Listen in as Surabhi breaks down how to pursue subjects and premises for a documentary, what are the pros and cons of documentary film vs a fictional film and how her last film 'Bidesiya in Bambai' about bhojpuri music and 'Phir se...' about classical musicians took shape.

00:44 Intro/ accolades for Surabhi's films 01:39 Parentage/pursuing cinema 03:34 Transition to documentary/Jari mari 06:41 Making the 1st film and learning 11:25 Development of "Phir Se Samm Pa Aana" 17:10 Film time vs Real time 21:14 Time to film & edit 22:29 Video art 25:39 How shoots are structured? 29:31 'Bideshiya in Bambai'/Bhojpuri music/finding musicians 38:45 Funding 42:26 Who is the audience? 45:57 Spaces and platforms for documentaries 50:47 Learning about audiences 53:16 Identity as a feminist flmmaker 55:40 Negotiating with a privileged background 56:47 Deciding on an idea 57:49 Looking back at earlier work 59:24 Frustrations as a documentary filmmaker 1:01:25 Learning from students 1:02:22 Advice for filmmmakers 1:03:47 Next film 1:05:07 Relationship with collaborators 1:06:51 Recommendations

Read more about 'Phir Se Samm Pe Aana' here:https://www.mumbaifilmfestival.com/programmeDetail/248

Surabhi's film recommendations:

• A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings (2017, Dir: Prateek Vats)https://vimeo.com/208656271

• Kho ki pa lü / Up Down and Sideways (2017): https://youtu.be/zJsCbJfICoY

Also listen to the episode with the filmmakers of this film Anushka Meenakshi and Ashwin Srikumar here: https://bit.ly/2Hx7Ewm

For any questions or comments find Neha on twitter @neharthak

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