Life! Camera Action...

Life! Camera Action...
Movie poster
Directed by	Rohit Gupta
Produced by	Rohit Gupta
Written by	Amanda Sodhi Rohit Gupta
Starring	Dipti Mehta Shaheed Woods John Crann Swati Kapila Suneet Kochar
Music by	Manoj Singh
Cinematography	Ravi Kumar R. Rohit Gupta
Editing by	Rohit Gupta
Studio	RNG Films
Release dates	20 July 2012 (2012-07-20) United States
Running time	90 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English Hindi Punjabi

Life! Camera Action... is a 2012 family-drama film starring Dipti Mehta as Reina, Shaheed Woods^[1] as Mike, Swati Kapila^[2] as Simi, and John Crann^[3] as Professor Ed, directed, co-written, edited, produced by Rohit Gupta.^[4][5] This ninety minutes quasi-autobiographical film follows a young girl in pursuit of her dreams of becoming a filmmaker against all odds. The film received high critical acclaim earning numerous awards and nominations in various categories from around the world. Silicon India listed it as "One of the 10 Outstanding Movies by Indian American Filmmakers".^[6] The film made its way to the Limca Book of Records, India's equivalent of the Guinness World Records for two national records.^[7][8]

Plot

Life! Camera Action... is a story of Reina, who sets off to pursue a career in filmmaking without the consent of her parents. She is threatened to be disowned if she insists on her choice instead of doing what usually is the norm — become a doctor, engineer or an architect. At the center of this family drama, Reina is faced with a hard decision: She must give up her dreams in order to keep her parents happy or go against their wishes and follow her own path.

Cast

• Dipti Mehta as Reina
• Shaheed Woods as Mike
• John Crann as Professor Ed
• Swati Kapila as Simi
• Suneet Kochar^[9] as Actress
• Chelsi Stahr as producer Teri^[10]
• Subodh Batra as Reina's father
• Noor Naghmi^[11]
• Prabha Batra as Reina's mother
• Nina Mehta^[12] as Actress
• Bhavesh Patel as Patel DVD store owner

Production

The film started as Gupta's ten-minute short film assignment at the New York Film Academy that was later converted into a full length feature film. It was shot on a budget of around $4000 in guerilla style on Panasonic AG-DVX100 ^[13] and roughly edited on Gupta's Mac Book Pro. Amanda Sodhi,^[14] the co-writer of the film, in response to an advertisement had originally submitted a fifteen-page short film script loosely based on her own life. The project was tentatively titled "The Last Shot". Upon editing this content, Gupta felt that the film had feature length potential so he expanded upon the content, calling the extended version Life! Camera Action... with The Last Shot becoming a part of it.^[15]

Filming locations

Various locations in New York City and Jersey City including Patel DVD Store, Village Indian restaurant and Newport Waterfront. Bhavesh Patel, owner of the Patel DVD store and Village Indian restaurant instantly agreed to Gupta's request for letting him film at both his locations situated at Newark Ave., Jersey City. Upon the film's release, Patel DVD store sold numerous copies of the film.

Music

The background score and songs were composed by Manoj Singh.^[16] The music was produced in Mumbai, India. The following songs are featured in the film and used as a part of the background score.

• "Hain Yeh Kaisa Safar" by Amanda Sodhi^[17]
• "Chalte Jaana Hain" by Rohit Gupta,^[18] performed by KK

Chalte Jaana Hain won the Grand Goldie Award for the Best Song at the 28th Goldie Film Awards 2012, Florida, USA.^[19] It was written and composed within 2 hours.

Sound design

Grammy winner, recording and mixing engineer, Carlos "Storm" Martinez^[20] was roped in as the post production supervisor for the film. The entire film was re–dubbed in four days at a studio in Brooklyn.^[21] The final film was mixed at the Post Works studio in New York.

Release

Actress Dipti Mehta at the World Premiere in New York

The film had its world premiere at the New York Indian Film Festival. Thereafter the film went on to receive numerous accolades around the world before it received a DVD distribution deal on October 29, 2012 by New Jersey based ViVa Entertainment for the Asian Indian market spanning the North American continent.^[22] It was initially released via facebook on July 20, 2012 by Boston based idistribute Inc., a new media distribution company, making it the first feature film by an Indian filmmaker to be released via this medium.^[23] On November 29, 2012, the film received another retail DVD distribution platform via Florida-based Dynasty Records through Trans World Entertainment Corporation's national mall-based stores under the brand name F.Y.E (For Your Entertainment), Suncoast and Wherehouse.com. On International Women's Day, March 8, 2013, the film was released worldwide through Distrify, a UK based movie distribution company for online streaming and movie download in any global currency.^[24][25]

Impact

The making of the film is widely considered as an important touchtone of the digital-age film movement. It became the only feature film to date by an Indian filmmaker that is shot by a two member crew with worldwide acclaim.^[26]The film made its way to the Limca Book of Records, India's equivalent of the Guinness World Records for setting two national records being the first full-length motion picture "shot by just a two-person crew comprising of director/producer Rohit Gupta & Ravi Kumar R" and "the film to be released on facebook". It has been noted and highly appreciated for its production value. Silicon India listed it as "One of the 10 Outstanding Movies by Indian American Filmmakers".^[27] The movie also popularized its actors and crew.

Reception

Wins Best Feature Film at the Official World Peace Film Festival in Jakarta, Indonesia

The film received positive reviews. It was showcased at various international film festivals including the New York Indian Film Festival; Williamsburg International Film Festival (WILLiFest) in New York;^[28] Mississippi International Film Festival, USA;^[29] Cabo Verde International Film Festival (CVIFF) in Western Africa;^[30] International Film Festival Antigua & Barbuda;^[31]Official World Peace Film Festival in Indonesia;^[32] Golden Door Film Festival in USA;^[33] Ionian International Digital Film Festival in Greece;^[34] Indian International Film Festival of Tampa Bay; Carmarthen Bay International Film Festival in United Kingdom;^[35] Treasure Coast International Film Festival, USA;^[36] The Social Uprising Resistance and Grass Root Encouragement International Film Festival,in the United States;^[37]NFDC Film Bazaar in Goa; Beloit International Film Festival;^[38] Filums (LUMS International Film Festival), Pakistan;^[39] Boston's Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) South Asian Film Series, USA;^[40] Heart of England International Film Festival; Dhaka International Film Festival (Cinema of the World section), Bangladesh;^[41] Legacy Media Institute International Film Festival, Virginia;^[42] Delhi International Film Festival, India;^[43] International Youth Film Festival in the UK; Silent River Film Festival, USA;^[44] and others.

Easton Stuart of Yosemite International Film Festival commended Life! Camera Action...was the very best from among hundreds of submissions from around the globe. The film demonstrated originality, imaginativeness, and professionalism.^[45] The film was awarded The Grand Jury Choice award for the Best Film as the highest honors of the festival. The Times of India called it's not just good filmmaking, it's real intelligent filmmaking.^[46] Thomas Baker of the Accolade Film Awards in California praised, Life! Camera Action... is an exceptional film and as a result we granted our Award of Excellence award. Bollywood Trade called it as an inspiring, artful family drama that’s both powerfully moving and rigorously intelligent^[47] June Daguiso of the World Music and Independent Film Festival in Washington D.C., said The film will keep you watching it till the end.^[48] The film received 7 nominations 2 wins at the event.

At its South-Asian premiere at the Dhaka International Film Festival, a review said: Life Camera and Action corresponds more or less to the classical Exposition, Rising Action and Climax of a dramatic structure. Only the last few minutes of the film are reserved for Falling Action and Resolution which keeps the audience guessing on the next scene. LCA is not a film meant to be viewed with a cynical approach. The movie is definitely worth watching!^[49]

It is a sensitive film about a filmmaker, perhaps reflecting the lives of many other participants of our festival, as well as showing the audience life behind the camera as they view it from the front, said Aroon Shivadasani, Executive Director, New York Indian Film Festival in a press statement. In the manner this film was made, it is highly commendable the way director Rohit Gupta used English, Punjabi and Hindi in a very integrated and realistic manner. Lead Actress Dipti Mehta's performance is excellent and powerful applauded the director of screening at Swansea Bay Film Festival in Britain.^[50]

Life! Camera Action... is a story of courage and the way new generation are starting to think out of the box. But, mainly it is a story of between two worlds that not only Indians but other groups can identify with said Mona Kumar, founder and executive director of the Boston South Asian Film Festival.^[51][52] The film opened the Boston's Museum of Fine Arts South Asian film festival series. The filmmaking setting of the characters is fascinating and memorable! Really nice story, complimented Steve P., Executive Director, Goldie Film Awards. The film was honored with the top nine most popular and festival's special Board of Directors awards at the event.^[53]

Awards and nominations

The film has received various accolades including some of the highest honors at its festival run, with the nominations categories mainly ranging from recognition of the film itself (Best Film) to its direction, editing, music, screenwriting to the cast's acting performance, mainly Dipti Mehta (Best Actress), Swati Kapila (Best Supporting Actress),^[54] Noor Naghmi (Best Supporting Actor) and Shaheed Woods (Best Actor).

Actor Noor Naghmi wins Best Supporting Actor in Washington D.C.

Actor Shaheed Woods and Actress Dipti Mehta at the New Jersey Premeire

Limca Book of Records

References

External links

• Official Website
• Life! Camera Action... at the Internet Movie Database
• Watch Life! Camera Action... on Amazon Instant Watch
• Watch Life! Camera Action... on Distrify