Ashwin Shirbate, the APOGEE co-ordinator of the Film Making Club can attest to the adage : “heavy is the head that bears the crown” since he can barely do more than sigh brokenly and talk about the list of projects that the club has undertaken this semester, including the first ever APOGEE aftermovie.

As we sit down to talk, he looks into the distance and remembers the good old days when the club was just beginning to find a solid footing.  “FMaC is very nascent compared to some of the veteran clubs but still, we have carved a niche for ourselves among the best college film-making clubs in the country with the spectacular Oasis 2015 after-movie.”  But with a bigger club comes more responsibility. “Every member of the club is recruited based on their interest in film-making and the first years are our primary source of ideas and stories. We are more of a hobby centric club, therefore, there is no division of tasks and everyone is given a chance to express their creative interest. However, working in our present conditions without any abundance of funds or time can be very difficult and as a result, the number of short films we’ve produced is depressingly small” he says.

For APOGEE this year, FMaC has shot a video for the CARE campaign and will be covering the fest for an after-movie which will be released later in the year. “The theme was quite challenging and thought-provoking”, says Shirbate “as it made us think of both a possible future and a likely past.” The club will possibly release a short film loosely related to the theme ‘Retrofuture’ on Mithali Night.  The production of an aftermovie is a daunting task and when asked about the decision to venture into uncharted territory, he calmly replied: “We wanted to offer more than just an event or a talk. To capture the essence of a fest on film requires intelligent planning and careful execution and is most definitely exciting, exhausting and educational in equal measure but APOGEE has been underrepresented for a long time and if our attempt can increase participation for the fest in the coming years, the effort is well worth it.”

Although ‘Metamorphosis’ organised by FMaC is a kernel event during Oasis, the club will not be organizing any events during APOGEE as the predicted audience for such an event is much more in a cultural fest than a technical one. “Filmmaking is more of an art than application of technical knowledge. You may know how a camera works, but that does not guarantee that you will use it properly and create a good short film,” Ashwin says and admits abashedly that it is indeed difficult to beat the convention that an engineer cannot be an equally talented artist.

This semester has been a stepping stone for the club, as the club has started independent production of short films. Earlier, all short films were in association with other clubs, like the mime club but in this semester, two short films have already been produced and one is underway. Although the primary focus of the club is short film production, they also make videos in association with other clubs like Dance Club, Hindi Drama Club and ADP.