Hey, Gurdeep Singh, tell us about how the life of a cinematographer is from us regular people?
The life of a cinematographer is interesting, and fun and it will surprise you at some point how things can happen in the blink of an eye and you can get ideas about camera angles and lighting all of the sudden from your surroundings. Like any other job, there are some times when it gets serious, stressful, challenging, and tiring. Your brain is always thinking like an artist -whether at home or somewhere out like in a movie theater. You do not watch films to just enjoy them, but to see how they have done it, raise questions, point out mistakes, all in the name of movie magic!
What is the story behind “From a Barren State” and where did the title come from?
The title ‘From a Barren State’ represents the barren land that Lena was rescued from only to serve a childless barren woman who falsely promised to hydrate the barren life of Lena through kindness. It represents the journey of Lena from wandering in a barren land to the comfort of a home; alongside the journey of Martha from a barren woman to the desire of being a mother which ultimately seals her fate.
What were the director’s notes on the movie?
Lena, a woman in her mid-20s, expecting and alone, desperately looks for a home for her unborn child. She wanders around the desert looking for an old abandoned RV where she had started her life with her boyfriend years ago. Pregnancy cramps, as worse as they can get, takes a toll on her and she feels helpless in a land where she is surrounded by barrenness and aridness. She is rescued by George, a man in his mid-50s. He takes her to his home, where Lena meets George’s wife, Martha, in her mid-50s as well. They offered her a place to stay for at least till the baby is due.
What seemed like an act of supreme kindness, soon revealed its true nature before Lena.
She soon realized, the couple’s ultimate motive was to take the child away from her as they could not have one together, and they interpreted this situation as a perfect opportunity to have one for themselves; it did not take Lena long after that to realize that she would be discarded or rather eliminated after they had what they wanted.
Dominated and intimidated by the couple Lena initially accepts her fate and convinces herself that this would free her from all her miseries, but the thought of separation with the only sign of love that she has for her boyfriend acted as fuel for her to fight for what is her’s and in the process also for what is not her’s. This film focuses on the will and strength of a woman, more importantly, a mother. Belonging to the genre of drama and thriller, this film takes you around the world of Lena from the time she was rescued till she had what she wanted. This film deals with the social issue of suppression of women considering them to be physically weak. It’s a reply to the world, that physical strength is not the only factor that determines the winner in a battle; if that were the case, history would have been different from the day David decided to walk outside the Palace walls and take on the mighty Goliath.
I, as a director, believe in building up a scene and character together with talents. I have been fortunate enough to have such a wonderful cast and crew. With very useful and amazing inputs from every talent in the film, the characters developed a wide perspective of how one would react to any particular situation given at a time. The pace of the story development actually represents Lena’s state of mind till her world becomes calm again once she achieved what she desired.
Tell us about your experience working on,” From a Barren State”?
“From a Barren State”, I consider the best work I have done. From the moment Priyam Sadukhan narrated the story, I was totally engaged in the movie. It’s a well-thought out idea, but we have made a lot of changes to it with time. When it came to writing a screenplay, Me and Priyam had a lot of arguments, and considering it’s a sensitive topic, thus it was even harder for us to decide the options to move forward. We wanted to introduce a physical transition in each scene. If you look at the first scene, Lena with a baby in her womb, left the RV of her boyfriend, looking for a space in the barren desert, fell down on the ground, and a shadow of George becomes her only hope in the face of the rough world. Most scenes have physical transitions, then the ordinary dip to black, and the cross dissolves
What was your favorite scene in the movie?
I like the dinner scene, it was challenging, as we were supposed to shoot the scene in the daytime, but for some reason we got and it became dark in the middle of the scene. Now I have to replicate daytime lighting, and the house has a lot of windows. I used Joker pars ad 5 k HMI’s, then created soft shadows, and had to work at certain angles. It did consume more time, and we got limited in shot-making. But somehow we pulled it off. If we talk about aesthetics the middle scenes are more challenging as there were so many intense moments and the actors were in the mood. We didn’t want them to get out of character, that’s why it became even more important to have perfect internal communication.
What were the most challenging parts of shooting, “From a Barren State”?
We had many day scenes and we were shooting in January with daylight saving time in place. It used to be foggy in the morning and sunset at 4 pm. Luckily our actors were on point, combined with good rehearsals from both the cast and crew and some camera and lighting techniques. We were able to pull it off in time before losing daylight on our scheduled shoot days.
How is the post-production, promotion, and film festival experience coming along?
We spend a good amount of time in post-production, especially for color grading and sound editing. I, Priyam Sadu Khan (director), and Aayush Gaur (editor) sat together for several days for more than 8 to12 hours to carefully select the perfect shots and then color grade it, as we wanted a specific look for tones. I am glad we were able to achieve that. The movie won the Best Cinematography Award at Beyond the Curve International Film Festival, Crownwood International Film Festival 24 monthly edition for Best Cinematography, Best Drama at the Paris Play Film Festival 2021, Calcutta International Cult Film Festival 2019 (Best Actress- Laura Van Yck), Indie Short Fest Best Actress,(Laura Van Yck), Virgin Spring Cinefest (Silver Award for Best Director and Best Actress).
What about the feedback from the critics?
We received review’s including from horrorsociety.com,” I’m glad that this short film provided me with a moment to step away from slasher films, possession flicks, and creature features to enjoy a taste of something different. The fact of the matter is – one of the scariest realizations that we can come to, is that often the most heinous acts are carried out by human beings that look just like you and me. You never know what hidden agenda a stranger has, and if it will push you to your psychological limit to escape them. A lot of these themes are tackled in the new title from Pretty Petty Humans and IM Films, From a Barren State. The film centers around a young woman, wandering through the desert in search of an abandoned home she used to live in. Did I mention that she’s very far into pregnancy? When she has lost all hope and is on the verge of collapsing, an older couple arrives to offer her shade and shelter from the heat. After coming to her senses, the soon-to-be mother realizes the couple has dark intentions that force her to make drastic decisions. And violent ones. Written, directed, and edited by Priyam Sadhukhan, From A Barren State stars Laura Van Yck, Sandra Bowes, and Sean McCormack.
From a Barren State is a coherent mix of horror, drama, and a psychological thriller. It starts out with a bang, a pregnant woman walking alone through the desert, and dips into each genre as the story progresses. Although, it definitely ends its narrative clearly in the world of horror. I was expecting zombies or cannibals, to be quite honest, but Priyam Sadhukhan went with an original approach and dared to do a story that’s more poignant and thought-provoking. Barren State centers fully on the struggles and strengths of mothers and women in general, and the things they will do to protect the family they nurtured. There’s that saying about mothers lifting cars off of their injured children, well, after watching From a Barren State you’ll realize mothers can kill, too. It also holds the theme that life is absolutely brutal; from giving life, to taking life, to receiving life – it’s painful and challenging, and sometimes it’s quite lonely. Then, imagine throwing a secluded, traumatized, crazy couple into the mix! From a Barren State is brutal and unsettling for more than one reason.
From a Barren State is also quite beautiful. It was produced by Ishan Mehra with executive producers Prasun Kumar Sadhukhan and Bharati Sadhukhan, and features cinematography by Gurdeep Singh Sidhu. When it hits film festivals in the near future, I can almost guarantee that it’s going to win numerous awards in several categories; mostly in the realm of production and music. From a Barren State is visually pleasing, except for a few shots during the final fight, and activates all your senses. For example, I could smell the old house, which was outdated in the greatest way and untouched by modern technology. This short film is a home invasion in every sense of the word, from a literal house in the middle of nowhere to the metaphorical home we find in those we love. One of the most beautiful moments in a woman’s life is ruined due to real-life horror, and the unmistakable pain that the older couple feels. It’s hard not to feel sorry for both sides in this amazing picture from Priyam Sadhukhan. If that isn’t a win-win scenario, I don’t know what is!
Final Score: 7.5 out of 10.
