'My First Flight, Passport & Visa, All For Cannes': Indian Student Filmmaker Sahil Ingle On Walking Iconic Red Carpet

Sahil Ingle waits with bated breath, outside the screening hall… his short film, “Dollmaker — doll made up of clay,” is screening today at the La Cinef (formerly Ciné fondation). It is the only film by an Indian student from Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI), Kolkata in competition at La Cinef, Cannes this year. It is one of the 16 films that were selected from 2700 entries worldwide. The USP of the film, is not only the unique story line but also it is a ‘zero budget’ film. This year’s La Cinef lineup features films from some of the world’s top film schools, including La Fémis (France), Lodz Film School (Poland), and NYU Tisch (USA). For Sahil, the pressure is real and high.

For Akola born, Pune educated, and Kolkata-based second-year student, Sahil Ingle hopes to make India proud by winning the competition. “I’m anxious,” he admits. “We are representing India. Only one film from the country. Last year, Film and Television Institute of India (FTII)’s Chidananda Naik won. I want to win too, for all of us,” Sahil says.

It’s been a lot of firsts for this young boy when it comes to Cannes. “This is my first flight, my first passport, and my first visa, all for Cannes,” shares Sahil, visibly overwhelmed and yet smiling. “To come from a small town like Akola to Cannes is something I never imagined. But I always said, I must go to Cannes. And here I am.”

The Cannes selection came as both shock and confirmation for Sahil. “I always told my classmates, Cannes, Cannes, Cannes. I said it so many times, they probably thought I was joking. But deep down, I really wanted it.”

The film is a 24-minute-long drama, that tells the story of Ibrahim, a migrant football player from Africa in Kolkata, battling economic struggle, unrequited love, and identity crisis. It is a drama grounded in real experience, drawn from the life of a non-professional actor whom the crew encountered on the streets of the city. “The character is real,” Sahil explains. “He came to India to play football from Nigeria. Our line producer, Avinash Durve met him during a shoot and realized there was a story to be told.”

The Dollmaker, though set in Kolkata, transcends location and identity. “It’s about clay, about being moulded, reshaped, made and unmade,” Sahil says. “Our character is literally applying clay to himself. He becomes the idol, the doll. It’s metaphorical, but also very real.”

By choosing a Nigerian character in an Indian setting, the team challenges conventional notions of “Indian cinema.” And yet, through the shared languages of craft, football, and faith, the story becomes universally resonant.

The director of the film, Kokob Gebrehaweria Tefsay from Ethiopia, is my senior at SRFTII, while the other crew members hail from various corners of India, including Haryana, Maharashtra, and West Bengal, besides Bangladesh, making this truly a glocal (global and local) crew. “We intentionally created a cultural blend,” says Sahil. “We used Bengali as the film’s language, even though our lead actor is from Nigeria. That blend makes the story stand out.”

The film was made as part of SRFTI’s unique “zero-budget” production exercise, where producers are challenged to create a film with no external funding, relying solely on institute resources and creative collaboration.

“There was no money,” Sahil says honestly. “We had to manage everything; locations, crew, equipment, all on our own. Everyone became everything. I was the producer, but I also carried umbrellas during rain, held mics, and arranged food. We worked like gorilla filmmakers.”

The team shot on the affordable Sony A7S III, manoeuvring around campus protests, and snuck into unused studios to shoot critical scenes. “It was chaos, but the good kind,” Sahil laughs. The experience, he believes, taught him far more than any budgeted shoot could. “We understood what it means to believe in a story and execute it no matter what. Money is great, but cinema is greater.”

“It’s not about glamour,” Sahil says. “It’s about opportunity. Cannes has a dedicated student section. Without that, people like me would never be seen on an international stage. And making a 24-minute short outside SRFTI would have cost too much. This is where dreams are possible.”

If the film wins, he hopes it will open doors for more ambitious projects. “We need good producers, good stories, and platforms to tell them. Winning Cannes would mean we can tell our stories—what India is, what youth are facing, what outsiders feel.”

As the credits roll inside the theatre, Sahil adds, “Whatever happens, we have made something together. With no money but with a full heart. That’s enough.” But then he pauses and adds, with a glint of ambition: “Still, I want to win.”

Published on: Sunday, May 25, 2025, 09:00 AM IST