BISFF Correspondence 通信计划
This program involves conducting brief email interviews with the directors of the international films featured in the festival, in lieu of the traditional Q&A session that follows the screenings. Through this program, we hope to provide a platform for filmmakers to discuss their work and share their insights with our audience in China.
为了跨越种种障碍，开辟更多交流空间，我们设置了“BISFF Correspondence 通信计划”，对部分国际单元的参展作者进行系列访谈，这些访谈将在作品放映后发布在联展各个媒体平台。
Skyward｜Gagan Gaman｜行于空中
Suruchi Sharma
2024｜0:30:00｜India, US, France｜Hindi｜International Premiere
Director: Suruchi Sharma
Interviewer & Translator: Anqi Liu
Coordinator & Editor: Suliko
导演：苏鲁奇·夏尔马
采访、翻译：刘安琦
统筹、编辑：苏丽珂
Q1: The visual space in this film is very diverse, including mythical mountain landscapes, quiet architectural clusters and surrealist streets at night... they all leave a strong impression. Is there any decisive space? Or which specific scenes were determined firstly in the initial stage?
这部影片的视觉空间非常多样，包括带有神话色彩的山原、寂静的建筑群落以及夜幕下更具超现实感的街道......它们都令人印象深刻。对这部短片而言，有没有哪个空间是决定性的？或者说在您构思初期，哪些具体场景最早被确定下来？
A1: The film captures two worlds - one the real city the protagonist is living in and the other the mythical world of the goddess. There were decisive visuals for each of these worlds that came to me- first was the idea of shooting dark lanes of my city, exposing the eerie-ness of this setup. These visuals were very specific to my hometown Jaipur, often called the pink city. Second was a hillock on which I saw the goddess and her troupe at work. The rest of the story followed from there and was an exercise in merging the two worlds.
这部电影拍摄了两个世界——主人公所居住的真实的城市，以及另一个归属于女神的神秘世界。在我构想这两个世界时，它们都各有一个决定性的视觉形态。就前者而言，我的想法是拍摄我所在城市的黑暗街巷，去发掘这个场地所蕴藏的诡异感。这种视觉构思非常符合我家乡斋浦尔（Jaipur，常被称为“粉红之城”）的特点。对第二个世界来说，最关键的就是山丘场景，我在那里见到了女神以及她的工作班底。这个场景开启了后续故事，而且也是两个世界相交相融之处。
Q2: We also noticed that the sound design in the entire film is meticulous, and it is the artificial and beautiful sounds in some very coherent sections (i.e., those without abrupt time jumps or unexpected spatial designs) that create the supernatural and mysterious atmosphere. Could you share some thoughts of sound design with us?
我们同样注意到整部影片的声音设计都很精细，在一些非常连贯的段落中（也就是那些没有时间跳转、也没有出人意料空间设计的段落），正是这些经过处理的、美妙的“环境音”打造出了超现实的神秘氛围。能和我们分享一下您在声音设计上的思路吗？
A2: I designed the sound with senior designer Ajit Singh Rathore. First and foremost - Ajit set the tone of the film by choosing an atmospheric sound for the surreal world of the goddess. Once that was set, we both were on the same page on understanding the world and the tone of the story. We often referred to our existing bank of voices, songs and music to bring in the right mood. The chorus of women singer in the wallpaper scene is an old recording from 2009 by ethnographer Madan Meena who offered the recording to me for my previous documentary film Meen Raag. I find this recording of 'Rasiya' form of singing by Kesanti Devi and group as very powerful. For the wallpaper scene - instead of the music we chose to use the women’s chorus. It gives an effect of a distant calling, a voice of the collective that guides the protagonist in mysterious ways.
While the musical elements - like the sound of the Been were premeditated, the design elements were brought in on the edit table by trying out different things.
我是和资深设计师 Ajit Singh Rathore 一起完成声音设计的。首先，通过为隶属于女神的超现实世界选择一种氛围声音，Ajit 设定好电影的基调。以此为基础，我们两人就在理解这个世界和故事的方法上达成了共识。为引入合适的气氛，我们经常会参考现有素材库中的人声、歌曲和音乐。比如，壁纸场景中的女声合唱来自一份录制于 2009 年的旧拷贝，由民族志学者 Madan Meena 提供，当时是为了制作我早先的一部纪录片 Meen Raag。我发觉这段由 Kesanti Devi 和合唱团演绎的“拉西亚”（Rasiya）形式的歌曲非常有力量感，所以最终为壁纸场景选择了女声合唱而不是器乐。这段合唱提供了一种遥远的召唤感，一种来自集体的声音，因此它能够以神秘的方式来引导主人公。
虽然有一些音乐元素——比如 Been 的声音——经过事先考虑，但几乎所有被引入的设计，都是在剪辑台上反复尝试和对比后的结果。
Skyward, Suruchi Sharma, 2024
Q3: In the film, a young female seeks a lost thing and hopes to understand her fate by solving the goddess's riddles. Behind all those charming symbol, what is it that is troubling her? Have you designed more specific directions for her predicament? Is this direction reflected in your selection of various symbols?
这位青年女性在找寻失落之物的过程中，希望通过解开女神的谜语来理解自己的命运。在丰饶的意象背后，主人公究竟在被什么困扰呢？针对她的困境，您是否设计了更具体的指向？这种指向又是否体现在您对诸多意象的选取中？
A3: I have deliberately chosen to not clearly define the predicament of the protagonist. I feel it’s the predicament of a modern woman who finds herself in a traditional setup which is both beautiful and loving and yet binding. I find the protagonist on a quest for her own self, she is wanting to do away with her fears, guilt and despair one moment after another - it’s story of a woman’s quest for freedom.
我有意不去明确定义主人公身处的困境。在我看来，这应该是属于一位现代女性的困境，她发现自己所处的传统环境虽然美丽又充满着爱意，但她还是感到受缚。我觉得主人公身处于追寻自我的过程中，她一次又一次地想要摆脱自己的恐惧、内疚和绝望——这是一个女人追求自由的故事。
Q4: In lots of scenes, the trembling of the metal ornaments highlighted the women's steps and movements. But when she tore the wallpaper of the chamber and jumped into another world, these ornaments fell off. Why was this arranged like that? The wallpaper in the dim yellow light also reminds us of Gilman's famous feminist literary work "The Yellow Wallpaper." Did you mean to connect with other texts?
在许多场景中，金属饰物的颤动都强调了主人公的步伐与动作，但当她撕开日常空间的墙纸跃入另一个世界时，这些饰品脱落下来。为什么会做出这样的安排？昏黄光线下的墙纸，也令我们想起吉尔曼著名的女性主义文学作品《黄色墙纸》，您是否有意关联一些不同的文本？
A4: I have been told about various earlier texts referring to the idea of the wallpaper but I was not consciously referencing those texts. Wallpaper is a common article, I cross it everyday in my own house. To me it relates to the idea of the beauty and status. It subconsciously made it to the story I think.
The ornaments are a sign of The protagonist’s marital life and her leaving them behind indicates freedom from the customary roles and responsibilities of a married life. She exits her present materialistic world to enter her inner world, and so leaves the traditional motifs behind.
The only text that directly influenced the creation of the story is the ceremonial folk tale of a festival called ‘Bhai Dooj’. The festival is celebrated in some parts of India, more so in my region. The story is about a woman who finds about the fate of his dying brother in a chance encounter with goddess Bemata and on knowing of the impending doom does everything in her power to safeguard her brother. I find it to be an encouraging story, inspiring women to be courageous and bold. Such stories are diffic to find amongst the overarching prevalent patriarchal narratives in my culture. I wish the same for my story, I wanted to create my own folktale that spoke about courage and freedom of the feminine.
我听说过许多早期文本提到“墙纸”这个意象，但在创作过程中并没有有意识地参考它们。墙纸是一种常见的物品，我每天都能在自己家里看见它。对我来说，它可能联系着关于品位、地位的概念。我认为它是以潜意识的状态自然而然融入故事中的。
你提到的饰物是主人公身处物质世界的标识，抛下它们，就意味着摆脱婚姻生活中的传统角色与职责。她从当下的物质世界步入了自我的内心世界，因此也放弃了传统的图样。
唯一直接影响这个故事创作的文本，是印度“兄妹节”（Bhai Dooj）庆祝仪式背后的传说。印度部分区域会庆祝这个节日，尤其是我所在的地区。传说讲述一个女人偶遇女神 Bemata 时得知了兄弟将死的命运，在获悉这一厄运后，她尽其所能保护她的兄弟。我认为这是一个鼓舞人心的故事，激励女性变得勇敢而无畏。在我们由父权制叙事主导的文化中，类似的故事非常难得。希望我的故事也能有这种力量——我想要创造出属于我这个版本的民间传说，去讲述关于女性的勇气和自由。
more information: https://www.bisff.co/selection/skyward