The APOGEE English Press sat down with the Fest Coordinator of The Eastern Outlook (TEO), Ansh Mahapatra, to understand the work they would be doing for this APOGEE. 

Ansh said that TEO would be organising three events as part of this edition of APOGEE. The first of these is a pre-fest movie screening of the South Korean thriller Parasite. This was held on March 25, 2023. In addition to this, they are also organising an Anime Quiz and the Pokemon Showdown during the fest. The Pokemon Showdown is an online 1v1 gaming event of the famed game of the same name. Ansh reflected that the COVID-19 pandemic had a positive impact on the club, due to the lockdown encouraging people to explore different forms of entertainment. This improved the visibility of the club among BITSians.

He opined that the movie screening had been his first time managing an event of that magnitude, which confused him. He highlighted that the club’s work during the fest ran smoothly owing to the cooperation of the different departments. He added that the recent recognition of TEO as a club authorised by the Students’ Union helped greatly in their operations.

According to Ansh, the success of the movie screening has now given them the courage to start experimenting and engaging with their audience more in terms of content.

He stated that most of the newest batch was interested in anime. He later added that the club has been trying to give them the opportunity to explore other avenues of Eastern media. 

Signing off, Ansh concluded the interview by urging the readers to explore the different genres of Eastern media, and not just restrict themselves to anime if they do so.