Hasta La Motion!

To quote an old adage, a picture speaks a thousand words. Besides capturing a moment in it’s eternity, a picture can also tell a wordless yet resounding tale at a mere glimpse of it. Visual artist Nader Bilgrami opted to convey the untold yet underlying story of several acid attack survivors through his photographs that not only gave them a voice, but also struck gold at the recent Tokyo International Foto Awards.

Working out of Mumbai as well as Dubai, the photographer-cum-director has come to be known for his sui generis nature of photography which communicates a story in its essence. In an exclusive interview with Animation Xpress, Bilgrami sheds light on his recent project, the milestones in his career, and what’s up next that’s keeping his hands full:

What inspired you to touch upon a subject like acid attacks?

I have a very close friend who’s sister has been a victim to an attack. We’ve always questioned as to how something so dangerous can be so easily available over the counter in India. A complete disregard by the sellers, monetary gain over the social/moral responsibilty to the damage it can cause a human..its a weapon at the end of the day.

I had come across a photo of one such survivor on the ramp in Delhi Fashion week, this was a break through moment for the survivor as people were ready to embrace her cause, but on the other end of that spectrum one other survivor had stated: “Why her and not me?”

This statement made me think of the plight of other such survivors: yes, why not them? Why can’t they too have a moment of acceptance and have their stories told, after all they are all fighting the same stigma of social unacceptance in India.

How did you approach the acid attack victims?

I approached Sapna Bhavnani who I knew was campaigning for #stopaccidattacks; its purely because of her that I got to do this. She opened the door for me, in fact, a lot of people supported me during this cause. One cannot say from the photographs but fashion designer Little Shilpa lent me her head pieces too. However, no one took credit for this as they all knew it was purely for the survivors and not a campaign for Self Social Marketing.

Imran Khatri, the producer, arranged all logistics, while Sapna, Imran and I flew to Delhi to a school where the survivors were living temporarily and we spent the day there photographing them.

Could you explain the thought process behind shading your photos black and white, as well as the one line storytelling?

I didn’t want to overshadow the survivors with colour, sometimes a photograph is often disturbed with the use of colour in it, this had to be only about them. I did not even want to highlight their scars, it was purely about the person in the photograph, you can see a few of them are shy, one at a distance and some, graceful.

The shading process is a dark room technique called “dodging & burning”. I shot on 4×5 black and white negatives to retain film grains and than to apply this technique on post. I wanted to keep it as pure as possible.

The story telling wasn’t given much though till I started to write it, I just felt comfortable writing it that way, it just seemed natural to me at that point of time.

What was your reaction when your work struck gold at the Tokyo International Foto Awards?

It felt good, the more people the cause reaches the better it is for the survivors as their own social battles.

You have now been a professional photographer for 16 years. How would you describe your journey?

Almost always unsatisfied, because there’s always a ‘more’.

What are you presently working on?

I am mostly directing films now and take up photography projects purely based on availability and the subject.

What next social issue do you intent on touching upon, if any?

I am currently working on a project for underprivileged kids, so if any brands are out there open to be part of this with me, please get in touch, even if we can give one kid a chance, its worth a shot.

The post How Nader Bilgrami’s photography lent a voice to Delhi’s acid attack victims appeared first on AnimationXpress.

Award-winning French animation studio, Xilam Animation, has appointed Safaa Benazzouz as the SVP of media sales distribution for Latin America, Middle East, Africa and Southern Europe.

Safaa Benazzouz

Benazzouz will report to EVP of global sales development Morgann Favennec and will be responsible for sales across Xilam’s portfolio of kids’ animations including Oggy and the Cockroaches, Zig & Sharko, Paprika and new series Mr Magoo and Moka.

Favennec commented, “We’re thrilled to be welcoming Safaa to the Xilam Animation team. Having worked closely with Safaa in her previous role, I know that her wealth of experience in maximising sales opportunities for kids’ animated content makes her the ideal candidate to continue accelerating our presence in Latin America, MEA and Southern Europe and identifying new areas of growth.”

Benazzouz will be based in Xilam’s head office in Paris and is to commence her role from 25 February. Benazzouz will also work alongside Céline Carenco, the SVP media distribution who handles the Asia-Pacific, Northern and Eastern Europe markets to continue expanding Xilam’s international reach.

Benazzouz joins Xilam from French kids’ distribution company Superights where she held the position of sales manager for Asia, Latin America, Spain, Middle East, Africa and In-Flight sales and was also involved in acquisitions and global strategies. She first joined Superights as a sales assistant when the distributor was first founded by Favennec in 2013, playing a key role in building the company and quickly progressing to her most recent position.

Benazzouz added: “I am delighted to be joining Xilam during this exciting time of expansion. As Xilam continues to build its colourful portfolio of internationally loved kids’ animations, I look forward to once again working closely with Morgann and the rest of the team to bring the studio’s content to new audiences.”

The post Xilam Animation names Safaa Benazzouz as media sales distribution SVP   appeared first on AnimationXpress.

Standing on the success of previous edition of Indian Media & Entertainment Conclave (IMEC), Media & Entertainment Association of India (MEAI) has successfully delivered the second edition of this conclave which is set to become one of the most efficient Indian M&E B2B marketplace.

IMEC is a closed door B2B event that sees speed matchmaking between the buyers and sellers. IMEC 2019 was held on 4 and 5 February, 2019 at Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC), Hyderabad. Like the previous edition, IMEC was co located with Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council of India (ESC)’s IndiaSoft.

IndiaSoft is India’s premier IT event that saw 350+ hosted buyers from 60+ countries looking to do business with 200+ Indian companies including 50 startups. This resulted in 4000 business enquiries. 79 companies used this platform to launch their innovative products.

The event was inaugurated by Government of India Commerce Secretary Anup Wadhawan and the guest of honour was Cuba Minister of Communications Wilfredo Gonzalez Vidal. Other dignitaries included Government of Goa Minister of IT, Revenue, Labour & Employment Rohan Ashok Khaunte, Government of India Additional Secretary Commerce Sanjay Chaddha, Government of Goa IT Secretary Ameya Abhyankar and Telangana Government Principal Secretary, Industries & Commerce (I&C), Information Technology (IT) Departments Jayesh Ranjan.

IMEC 2019 saw 19 MOUs being signed with a value of over Rs. 9.8 crores.

MEAI Secretary Ankur Bhasin commented, “We are grateful for ESC’s patronage for continuing to host this alongside IndiaSoft. This has given a well-rounded definition to the event providing technology aspect to the M&E industry that we have been focusing on. We will continue to co-locate with IndiaSoft and will aim at 100+ buyers for the next edition. We are also seeing strong interest from international studios to come and sell in IMEC  – we already had 2 people from Japan this year. This is the intended path as it will also spawn additional service opportunities for Indian studios.”

Executive Director of Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council (ESC) DK Sareen speaking about IndiaSoft commented “This event up until now has basically been looking at emerging markets. For the first time, we have also co-located a brand GlobalSoft. GlobalSoft will allow foreign countries anywhere in the world to make use of this opportunity of global connections. This show will be the world SME meeting event moving forward.”

MEAI EC Member Kamal Pahuja commented, “On behalf of MEAI, I would like to thank all our partners and our title sponsor Bhasin Group for making this happen. We have grown more than twice the last time and this is only possible with the great team that we have along with the great team of partners and sponsors.”

MEAI President Sushil Bhasin commented, “I would like to especially extend our heartfelt gratitude to TVAGA for their excellent support. They helped spread the word about IMEC and actively got their members to participate in the event in large numbers. TVAGA President Rajiv Chilaka personally attended the event and lent us his gracious support.”

Even the international delegates seemed to have had a successful event as Tareq Zuaiter from Jordan asserted,  “It was a wonderful event. It was well planned, organised and successful. Congratulations on a job well done. Thanks to everyone for all the hard work and efforts. I made four memorandum of understanding and attended all the meetings I scheduled to do so. That is the outcome of excellent organized efforts.”

The post 50 buyers, 40 sellers, 912 meetings, Rs. 9.8 crores+ business make IMEC the most efficient Indian M&E marketplace appeared first on AnimationXpress.

“Love is composed of single soul inhabiting two bodies” – Aristotle.

The Greek philosopher’s take on love might sound cheesy and perhaps have also evoked different opinions; but as they say, “love is blind”, and is possibly the most prized sentiment of all emotions. It’s a beautiful feeling that’s beyond any race, religion, caste, creed, class and even sex.

To celebrate the power of love everyday (and not just restricted to V-Day), here’s our favourite couples from animated movies who shattered the barriers of class and stood strong for their love –

Cinderella and Prince Charming (Cinderella ; 1950) :

Who doesn’t know the tale of this lonely maiden who was constantly tortured by her step-mother and step-sisters? Though Cinderella belonged to a stable middle class family, she was ill-treated and led the life of a house help. She was even devoid of basic freedom to dress up well and go out.

But, fate finally had mercy upon her when she was able to attend the royal ball with the help of her fairy godmother. Prince Charming almost fell instantly in love with Cinderella without knowing her background, and sent people to find her after she hastily left the ball at the brink of midnight. His love for her didn’t lessen even after knowing that she isn’t a princess and they possibly spent a happy life afterwards.

Belle and Beast (Beauty and the Beast ; 1991)

Belle, a charming village girl abandons her normal life in return for adventure in exchange for her father’s freedom who is imprisoned by a cold-hearted beast. As the story goes, the pampered prince is transformed into a hideous beast as a punishment for his selfish ways, and in order to return to his former self, he must earn the love of beautiful Belle who he imprisons in his castle.

The ragged beast learns kindness and manners from her and eventually falls in love with the kind hearted Belle and placing her happiness before his own, releases her to tend to her sick father, realising that the curse remains unbroken. But as the saying goes, love pertains all! Belle returns to the Beast on realising her love for him and their true love breaks the curse bringing him back in the charming prince ‘avatar’.

The film asserts the feeling of love that transcends times, and the importance of purity of heart more than one’s physical looks.

Aladdin and Jasmine (Aladdin ; 1992) :

The spirited princess of Agrabah, Jasmine was determined to marry someone she loves for who he is as opposed to what he owns. Conceived as a spoiled, materialistic princess originally, Jasmine was eventually drafted as a stronger personality.

Deep in the Arabian Desert, Princess Jasmine lived with her father, the Sultan of Agrabah, and her tiger, Rajah. Aladdin, a guy who lived in a nearby village was poor but had big dreams.

Flying over deserts, mountains, and seas on the magic carpet, Jasmine and Aladdin discovered a whole new world and found their soulmates in each other. Keeping the financial status aside, their love kept blooming in the vicinity of Agrabah.

Tarzan and Jane (Tarzan ; 1999) :

Tarzan, an orphan raised by mountain gorillas, is attached to the jungle and the animals there. He happens to rescue a woman explorer, Jane who was lost in the jungle while researching with her father and fellow researcher. Being with Jane, Tarzan finds out the similarities between the two and realises that he’s a human and the two fall in love despite of all odds.

After Jane and her father ask him to shift to the city with them to adapt to the civilization, Tarzan must choose between Jane and the jungle life. But love sees no reasoning and Jane accepts the life ahead and chooses to stay back in the jungle with her partner.

Tiana and Naveen (The Princess and the Frog ; 2009) :

Loosely based on the novel The Frog Princess by E. D. Baker, the film revolves around a hardworking waitress named Tiana who dreams of owning her own restaurant. She is a strong independent woman who doesn’t really believe in fairy tales.

After kissing the prince of Maldonia, Naveen who mistakenly thinks her to be a princess at a ball and has been turned into a frog by an evil voodoo sorcerer, Tiana becomes a frog herself and must find a way to turn back into a human before it is too late.

The title is metaphorical as one doesn’t only becomes a princess by birth but by her temperament, kindness, honesty, hard work and big heart.

Anna and Kristoff (Frozen ; 2013) :

Kristoff is a Sami iceman living with his reindeer companion Sven. His first encounter with princess Anna at Wandering Oaken’s Trading Post and Sauna was not very impressive. But as their destined journey continued to intersect, Kristoff’s perceptions about Anna changes over time and he starts to admire her optimism and fearlessness.

Their acquaintance turned into friendship with Kristoff’s growing concern for Anna’s safety. His brave move to navigate the storm blindly just by hearing Anna’s voice, gave his feeling of love a green signal, and yet another love story bloomed between a princess and a commoner.

Mila and Ruslan ( The Stolen Princess ; 2018)

Based on the fairy tale Ruslan and Lyudmila (1820) by Russian poet Aleksander Pushkin, The Stolen Princess is a Ukrainian fantasy film that tells a simple story in a delightful manner.

The film finds Mila, a princess and a rebel by nature escaping from her castle when her father tries to marry her off forcibly. She then bumps into a wandering troubadour, Ruslan who dreams of becoming a knight some day. Together, they try living an adventurous life and love starts to bloom between the two.

All’s lovely until hell breaks loose when Chornomor, the wicked, evil sorcerer from the fairy tale Ruslan thinks doesn’t exist, kidnaps Mila. Chornomor has a weakness wherein he needs to replenish his magical power in ways that aren’t easy to obtain. He kidnaps maidens to take their power of true love and vital energies by turning them into stones. After Mila is taken by him to his enchanted land, Ruslan embarks on the difficult quest to rescue her, accompanied by his comrades.

His bravery and firmness to rescue Mila and the latter’s strong belief that he’ll come for her, strengthened their love and relationship.

Let love prevail above all!

(This article has been jointly written by Sharmindrila Paul and Yugandhara Shete)

The post Love knows no boundaries : couples from animated films who shattered the barriers of class appeared first on AnimationXpress.