The blockbuster Inception, inspired by the concept of lucid dreaming whereby one can access one’s dreams in a conscious state, was incidentally born out of writer-director Christopher Nolan’s own lucid dream.
In Storytelling for the 21st Century, a seminar to be conducted this weekend at Digital Academy – The Film School, filmmaker and producer Krishna Shah will teach participants to use this technique to channel their creativity and come up with multiple story ideas which they will be subsequently taught to pitch.
As a writer/director of eight Hollywood/Bollywood movies, three off Broadway/Broadway plays, a jury member for the Oscars, and an internationally prominent seminar leader on storytelling, Shah has developed a keen sense of what today’s writer requires. And it doesn’t just begin and end at talent. “Today’s writer is no longer an isolated entity. Yes, he’s a storyteller but he’s also a networker, a schemer, a dreamer. He’s what I call an influence peddler. He’s like a samurai carrying a sword of words,” says Shah passionately.
His attention to detail informs every aspect of the two-day seminar, which is open to screenwriters, playwrights, journalists, TV writers, game developers and students. Pointing to the incredible culture of writing which thrived in ancient India, Shah shifts focus to the state of things today, comparing it with the writing scene in Hollywood. “In India, the teaching of writing is on a very cursory level. When you go to Hollywood, there are writing seminars happening every weekend. For the film Up in The Air, I participated in three different writing seminars focused specifically on that film.”
For a guy who once sold one a Hollywood script for half a million dollars, the 72-year-old Shah certainly knows what he’s talking about. The seminar, which emphasises the power of the pitch, will involve participants in an intensive pitch and networking session to give writers a taste of the real world. But most importantly, Shah would like to revive the culture of storytelling in mainstream Hindi cinema.
“The biggest problem in Bollywood, in spite of the budding talent, remains the script. It’s like the weather — everybody talks about it, nobody does anything about it. Well, it’s time we start somewhere.”
The seminar will be conducted from 9am to 9pm on Saturday and Sunday at Digital Academy- The Film School, Andheri (East). Contact: 99878 11220, 90040 24975
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