Filmmaker Nilima Abrams, 28, of South Burlington with kindergarteners Suresh (left) and Appu in Andhra Pradesh, India. Abrams received a Fulbright fellowship to make a feature-length documentary exploring a reinvented, culturally-diverse family she met there in 2005. (courtesy photo)
Filmmaker Nilima Abrams, 28, of South Burlington received a Fulbright fellowship to make a feature-length documentary exploring a reinvented, culturally-diverse family she met in Andhra Pradesh, India. Two parents had taken in 35 orphaned children.
Abrams, a University of Vermont graduate, left her camera with the family in 2005. These children have filmed their lives for her since.
?They have unique access and perspective, balancing their now educated, dignified selves with the people and conditions they left,? Abrams said.
The film, which will include children?s footage and input, will highlight the melding of cultures in order to overcome poverty, both that of material deprivation, and the universally felt poverties of anger, loneliness and fear, Abrams said.
Abrams taught herself filmmaking while studying Political Science and International Community Development at the University of Vermont. There she won the Wertheimer Prize for Outstanding Senior Honors Thesis, for a project on media?s potential to improve primary education in India.
The Fulbright-Nehru Student Research Fellowship is funded by the U.S. State Dept and the Indian government. The Fulbright program provides a living stipend in the country, and round trip airfare, but not supplemental funds for film equipment or crew.
We spoke to Abrams on Sept. 5.
What did you want to be when you were a little kid?
At one point I wanted to be an inventor, and then an architect. I would draw and create, build forts, design go-carts. I loved animals, too. I also had an idea to run a home or school for orphans, much like the program I?ll be filming. I never dreamed of working in film, with technology, or teaching.
How has that dream changed?
I don?t have the patience needed for architecture, but have kept creating in many ways. I was scared of technology, and thought I was too shy to teach, but realized that to share the issues that were important to me, and to express myself, I needed a medium to do this. Thus, I have worked in film, taught kids and college students, and plan to work in film and directly with kids in the future.
Tell me about your endeavors.
In 2005, while at UVM, I was in India to film a promo video for a child-labor program. I met a couple raising needy children in their small home. The scene I found was an American father, a Filipino mother, and South Indian children.
I had visited many schools and orphanages, but never seen such a contrast between the kids? previous and current realities and personalities, nor such a unique mix of cultures. I immediately wanted to make a film on this family, but lacking the skills or resources, I left my camcorder with them to record their lives while I completed my education in the U.S.
What is your crowd-funding campaign all about?
To raise the money necessary for expenses not covered by Fulbright, I opted to do a crowd-funding campaign online. This is a way for supporters of a project to contribute and help see it come to fruition.
Budgets of documentaries are often around $150,000. My goal is $20,000 for film equipment for myself, and the children I?ll be teaching, and also to hire a cinematographer to work with me for part of the time.
Why is what you are doing important?
Many of the children in the film used to act, and be treated, according to their roles as beggars. Now they are trying to believe that their value is intrinsic. True respect for the poor, even in charity is often sacrificed, compounded if the recipients feel unworthy. Every nation?s marginalized people face similar struggles for respect. The film will address this issue very gently.
What would you like people to take away from your work?
In helping the kids share their stories of transformation, I hope that they not only feel empowered, but that viewers gently question their own assumptions about what street children are capable of and who they are.
What do you need?
Right now I need financial support for post-production and distribution.
For more information visit Nilimaabrams.com or on Twitter @nilimaabrams. For the crowd-funding campaign http://www.indiegogo.com/familyinthekaliyuga
Source: http://blogs.burlingtonfreepress.com/hometown/2012/09/06/south-burlington-filmmaker-in-india/
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