What makes two women who live 8,462 miles (approximately) apart, connect? It’s not money or business, instead it’s their shared passion for cinema. Nicole Donadio, a TV producer based in New Jersey had done a gender reversed parody trailer of the famous film, Wolf of Wall Street, titled Women of Wall Street, earlier. This parody caught the attention of Uma Kumarapuram, a 29-year-old associate cinematographer from Kerala.
“I was pretty interested to watch it and looked her up. Even though I am usually not the one who talks first, somehow I ended up sending Nicole a message telling her how much I liked her video. And she replied. I think she was also a bit surprised to get a message all the way from India,” says Uma, who was part of the cinematography team behind Malayalam hits like Mili, Traffic and You Too Brutus.
A creative conversation ensued, and it went on for months. Uma then proposed making a short film collaborating with Nicole, but it didn’t take flight. But the thing with creative ideas is that you can’t shelve them forever. “She had pitched the idea of creating something together, and I thought it was a fantastic idea. We started shooting emails back and forth to one another, figuring out a story that could bridge the two countries together. We finally conjured up the idea that we have today, between the two characters Nila and Holly. Even now, I don’t think that there has been any movie like it before, which makes this project even more exciting,” says Nicole.
The sixty-minute film titled Across the Ocean by Nicole and Uma will not be a sleeping pill, instead it’s a tale of two dreamers, Nila and Holly, and their chase to reach their dream. “Well, we’re trying to make the film realistic, but at the same time entertaining. That’s one reason we are both opting for a humorous touch to tell the stories. Looking around, I can see a lot of ladies who could aptly be titled ‘mothers of sarcasm and wit’ but in the movies, women are just eye-candy,” says Uma. She also explains that the film would quench the curiosity of these two different cultures by showing how the two different parts of the world are living in their own way.
This film is crowdfunded through a platform called Wishberry. The duo is still raising money to make the project take flight. “I think crowdfunding is a great opportunity for struggling artists and people with new ideas to be noticed. It allows someone who doesn’t have the financial means and opportunities to make something potentially new, exciting, and great,” says Nicole adding, “Currently, I am raising money on Kickstarter for my half of the film.
With only eight days left, we have raised around 70% of the goal. It’s a stressful situation, but I am hoping that in the next week we will be able to raise the $5000 we are striving for. Uma will also be raising money for her half of the film on the site, Wishberry.”
Reach Out: facebook.com/UmaKumarapuram