Journalism of Courage
Jigmet Wangchuk,a third year cinematography student from the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) has won the Kodak Film School Competition. The competition,aimed at finding the best cinematographers from the country,saw a total of 22 entries.
Well-known cinematographer Amitabha Singh,who was among the judges,said,I felt Jigmet had approached the central creative thought of the film with a lot of maturity,imagination,consistency and care. Wangchuk won the award for the FTII diploma film Urnanaabh directed by Zalina Gamat that he had cinematographed. He shot the film entirely on the Kodak Color Vision3 5219 (500T).
While Wangchuk was not available for comment,Singh added,The visual language of the film added suitable dimensions to Urnanaabh so that the film could grow on its audiences subtly through evocative images and imagination.
Singh wrote,Jigmet also showed remarkable ease in handling challenging lighting situations,indoor/ outdoor/ mixed lights/ silhouettes/ reflections and so on. Not only did he do ample justice to the basics of image control,but also he applied his skills to enhance the aesthetic communication of the Film.
Urnanaabh which translates as the one who weaves a web from his own navel,tells the story of a tattooist,who feels alienated from the mainstream,and is frustrated as he is unable to express himself creatively. Incidentally,he begins to get attracted to the woman who cleans his studio as he begins to see glimpses of himself in her.
