Shilpa Munikempanna’s work revolves around creating images in an ethical sensitive environment where how we create is as important as what and why we create. She believes that film has a very important space in the cultural, social and economic make up of a country, of a country’s consciousness. Especially in a country like India where Bollywood is used as another word to describe Indian cinema it is extremely important that stories which are real, people who are real make themselves visible on screen. Her aims and aspirations look back to the cinema of the 70’s and 80’s where films were not just about fantasy but addressed issues that faced an India struggling with complex identities and beliefs. Those issues are now even more important in a globally changing world. Her beliefs are reflective of her own personal journeys whether it be about language, of gender, of capitalism and of those who fall by the wayside of such structures.
Her debut short film ‘Kaveri’ has been screened at the Clermont Ferrand, IAWRT, Kyiv International film festival, Dhaka International film festival, Kerala, Vibgyor and various national and international film festivals. She is based in Bengaluru, India.
She is also a founder-member of Deadend,Left a research project that investigates dissent, social movements and methodologies. As part of this Shilpa uses film as a mode/medium of research and the footage is edited into short films to be used by the subjects/others within a pedagogic realm.
Director. Editor
Do Nothing (2017) HD 17.30 minutes Short Film Non-fiction (Kannada)
JM Veerasangaiah (2016) HD 8 minutes Short Film Non-fiction (Kannada)
Writer. Director. Editor
Sealskin(2014) HD. Narrative Fiction Short Film. (Cantonese/Icelandic)
Notes on Istanbul (2013) 30 minutes. HDV. Documentary/Essay Film. (English)
Sleep (2012) 10 minutes. HD. Narrative Short Film. (Kannada)
Kaveri (2011) 19 minutes. HD. Narrative Short Film. (Kannada)
Residencies
December 2013 – February 2014. The Weight of Mountains Residency, Skagastrond, Iceland, supported by the Nes Artists Residency.
April 2013. ‘Istanbul- Exploring the Other’ a Film Lab collaboration programme between the Valand Academy, Sweden and Suchitra School of Cinema and Dramatic Arts, Bangalore. Two of the five weeks was conducted in Istanbul, Turkey.
Shilpa Munikempanna 