Films » Planet Divoc-91

We wanted to respond to the pandemic by making some films – they are a mix of documentary, drama and animation. In India we worked with filmmaker Meghna Ghupta who mentored us through the process. The South African team captured their journey with a series of films. Finally we have two films which give a bit more detail on one of our story workshops called ‘The End’ and the ‘Comic Creatives Artistic Process’.

Young & Curious

A film by EleganzaVI exploring the silver linings which kept the Young & Curious’ team members spirits up throughout the pandemic and showcasing behind-the-scenes creative processes while contributing to Planet Divoc-91.

Stranded

Ram was meant to attend a virtual job interview he desperately needs but finds himself stranded with three strangers in a digital space instead. They realize their plight and discuss and debate how they can escape this space. This short film is an allegorical treatment of the pandemic in the Indian context as four strangers are stranded together in a digital space.

_{Directors: Raghav Pandey, Meghashyam Veluvali. Actors: Chandra Deep, Maya Manivannan, Vivaswan Chandrashekhar, Chantal d’Costa. Camera Person to Chandra Deep: Vishnu Vardhan. Editing: Raghav Pandey, Kauthar Dramat. Music: Raghav Pandey. Special Thanks to Meghna Gupta.}

Hum Hai Change: The Power of Youth in
Changemaking

Why is it important to talk about young people in change-making? Jafrin founded ‘Spread Love And Peace’ when she was 22. Chethan founded ‘Khoon’ when he was 16. This story takes us through their journey as young community workers, the hurdles they faced, their experiences with COVID-19 and their message to the world. It’s a story about youth, hope, courage and the will to make a difference. It’s time for the people in power to listen! Hum Hai Change is a micro-documentary that explores the Power of Youth in Change-making via the impactful stories of two young changemakers from India.

_{Director & Creator: Eman Khan Mentor & Guide: Meghna Gupta Editors: Kauthar Dramat &
Eman Khan Special Thanks to: Sarah Iqbal and the Planet Divoc-91 Team, Wellcome Trust
India Alliance, Wowbagger Productions, Jafrin Akhtar, Spread Love and Peace, Chetan M.
Gowda, Khoon. Videographer: Sekhar Sonar Music: AShamaluevMusic, Mid-Air Machine,
Soularflair.}

Covid-19

Star Coronavirus is invited to give a TED Talk to inspire junior viruses by sharing her story of triumph. When an envious senior virus, Ebola, exposes the real reason behind Coronavirus’ success, leaving the attendees shocked. Furious, Coronavirus holds her ground and teaches everyone an important lesson, stealing the show again.

_{Writer & Animation Director: Isha Tanwar
Editors: Kauthar Dramat, Isha Tanwar
After Effects Editor: Kauthar Dramat
Voice of Ms Coronavirus: Isha Tanwar
Voice of Ebola: Abhay Dembla
Mentor: Meghna Gupta With Thanks to Planet Divoc-91.}

The Pivot Collective Camp, Young and Curious

Planet Divoc-91’s team based in South Africa lets us glimpse behind the curtain as they work together in their creative camp.

Conversations: The Family Square

Conversations is a sneak peek into a zoomer’s phone amidst the pandemic and is a reflection of all the emotions she goes through due to the mayhem in her family WhatsApp group.

_{Written and Directed by: Sevitha
Edited by: Devesh Gupta, Kauthar Dramat, Sevitha
Mentored by: Meghna Gupta
Cast: Anulekha as Isha Cousin and Shalini Aunty. Devesh as Sima Aunty and Kavitha Aunty.
Sahasra as Vijay Uncle. Sevitha as Narrator. Taranjeet as Manoj Uncle.}

Part 1: Challenges in Communication Amidst a Pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic brought in a spate of novel information and everyone had to find ways to adapt to a new normal. This video focuses on the most pressing barriers people have had to face in making sense of the pandemic through the lens of communication. Meet seven people from various walks of life highlighting their own barriers and obstacles amidst a pandemic and calling for action.

_{Concept and Production: Aishwarya Rohatgi, Sonal Katyal.
Acknowledgments: Ishita Mehra, Kevin Lee, Kollegala Sharma, Padma Priya, Raghav
Pandey, Rina Dey, Sambit Dash.
Special Thanks: Meghna Gupta, Sarah Iqbal.}

Part 2: Solutions – Keeping up with Communication in a Pandemic

Health communication is a skilled task and in a pandemic, it needs more attention. This video takes the conversation around challenges to the next step by offering solutions and putting forward ideas of effective communication. Meet nine people, a mix of young changemakers and experts in the field of communication and public health, who give us valuable insights to strengthen communication and gradually build back better!

_{Concept and Production: Aishwarya Rohatgi, Sonal Katyal.
Acknowledgements: Ishita Mehra, Kevin Lee, Padma Priya, Raghav Pandey, Rina Dey, Sambit
Dash, Raj Shankar Ghosh, Deepa Kiran, Siddharth Kankaria.
Special Thanks: Meghna Gupta, Sarah Iqbal.}

What kept young adults going through the pandemic?

Research shows that the pandemic was tougher on youth than adults, so we asked them what kept them going and how did they hold onto hope in such difficult times. Hear the youth as their voices, experiences and opinions matter.

_{Concept and Production: Sreshtha Mondal, Arushi Batra
Post Producer: Arushi Batra
Editor: Sreshtha Mondal
Music: Banibrato Sinha (Sarod), Sreshtha Mondal
Mentor: Meghna Gupta
Subtitles: Meghna Gupta
Acknowledgements: the volunteers for contributing their masked selfies and videos, Sarah Iqbal and the Planet Divoc-91 team.}

Lockdown Diaries

One question – what changes have you seen in your mental health this past year? Lockdown Diaries is a vox pop video featuring 21 diverse young adults from India. It’s a sneak peek into how the mental health of these individuals changed due to the pandemic.
This is a reminder that the lockdown wasn’t the same for everyone. India is in crisis again with the second wave hitting and lockdowns taking place in different parts of the country. Let’s not neglect our mental health and reflect back on our experiences of the past year.

The Pandemic and Visual Impairment: What We Missed | Accessibility, Inclusion, Action! Episode 1:

How well have we thought through accessibility when it comes to communication, education, and social distancing practices during this pandemic? Meet Nisha D’Souza who shares from her personal experience what the ‘new normal’ has been for a person with a visual impairment. ‘Accessibility, Inclusion, Action!’ is a 3-part audio interview series where we explore how the pandemic affected the day-to-day lives of people with visual impairments. Through immersive discussions, we understand how accessible the information being communicated on various media has been for people with visual impairments and what practices we can adopt towards a more inclusive future in communication.

The image playing throughout this video consists of the Planet Divoc-91 logo at the top centre which consists of four lines of text. The first line has the word ‘Planet’, the second has ‘DIV’, the third has ‘OC’ and the fourth has ’91’. Below the logo is written ‘presents’. On the left, there is a picture of Miss Sonal Katyal, the interviewer, and her name written below it. On the right, there is a picture of Miss Nisha D’Souza, the interviewee, and her name written below it. In the middle is the title of the interview series, ‘Accessibility, Inclusion, Action!’, and a graphic element of a microphone. In the background, there are also some graphic elements shaped like dialogue boxes, typically found in a comic book. #Accessibility #Blind #Pandemic

_{Concept and Production: Sonal Katyal.
Acknowledgements: Nisha D’Souza.
Special Thanks: Dr Sarah Hyder Iqbal, Dr Sam Taraporevala (Xavier’s Resource Centre for the Visually Challenged).}

Innovating Communication for Inclusion – Accessibility, Inclusion, Action! Episode 2:

How accessible has the information about the pandemic been for people with visual impairments? Tune in to hear some noteworthy thoughts and solutions from Bhavya Shah, a young student from Mumbai, who became blind at a very young age. ‘Accessibility, Inclusion, Action!’ is a 3-part audio interview series where we explore how the pandemic affected the day-to-day lives of people with visual impairments.

Through immersive discussions, we understand how accessible the information being communicated on various media has been for people with visual impairments and what practices we can adopt towards a more inclusive future in communication. In this episode, we meet Bhavya Shah, an incredibly talented youngster from Mumbai, who became blind at a very young age. Bhavya not only identifies some important accessibility-related gaps in communication but shares how he built an innovative solution, using sound-based technology, to one of the challenges. He believes that focus on healthcare is crucial and should be actively talked about! Tune in to hear what he has to say! In this episode, Bhavya Shah discusses the concept of flattening the curve. Find out more on Bhavya’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAc7L…

The image playing throughout this video consists of the title of the interview series ‘Accessibility, Inclusion, Action’ at the top centre. On its left is the Planet Divoc-91 logo which consists of four lines of text. The first line has the word ‘Planet’, the second has ‘DIV’ the third has ‘OC’, and the fourth has ’91’. Below the logo is written ‘presents’. On the right of the title is a graphic element shaped like a dialogue box, typically found in a comic book. In the centre of the image is a graphic element that shows a woman interviewing a man. They are sitting on stools, next to a table and talking on microphones. Next to the man, the name ‘Bhavya Shah’ is written, and next to the woman, the name ‘Sonal Katyal’ is written.

_{Concept and Production: Sonal Katyal.
Acknowledgements: Bhavya Shah.
Special Thanks: Dr Sarah Hyder Iqbal, Dr Sam Taraporevala (Xavier’s Resource Centre for the Visually Challenged).}

Tools and Tips That Matter – Accessibility, Inclusion, Action! Episode 3:

Crucial information about the pandemic is all over social media and other platforms. However, is it meaningfully accessible to people with visual impairments? Tune in to learn about some useful tools from Ms Calveena D’Sylva on how to make your content more inclusive for people with visual impairments and reach a wider audience! ‘Accessibility, Inclusion, Action!’ is a 3-part audio interview series where we explore how the pandemic affected the day-to-day lives of people with visual impairments.

The image playing throughout this video consists of the Planet Divoc-91 logoat the top centre which consists of four lines of text. The first line has the word ‘Planet’, the second has ‘DIV’ the third has ‘OC’ and the fourth has ’91’. Below the logo, it is written ‘presents’. On the left, there is a picture of Miss Sonal Katyal, the interviewer and her name written below it on the right, there is a picture of Ms Calveena D’Sylva, the interviewee, and her name written below it. In the middle is the title of the interview series, ‘Accessibility, Inclusion, Action!’, and a graphic element of a microphone. In the background, there are also some graphic elements shaped like dialogue boxes, typically found in a comic book.

_{Concept and Production: Sonal Katyal.
Acknowledgements: Calveena D’Sylva.
Special Thanks: Dr Sarah Hyder Iqbal, Dr Sam Taraporevala (Xavier’s Resource Centre for the Visually Challenged).}

Keeping Up With Communication in a Pandemic:

Health communication is a skilled task, and in a situation like a pandemic, it needs more attention. This video takes the conversation around challenges to the next step by offering solutions and putting forward ideas of effective communication. Meet nine people, a mix of young changemakers and experts in the field of communication and public health, who give us valuable insights to strengthen communication and gradually build back better!

_{Conception and Production: Aishwarya Rohatgi, Sonal Katyal.
Acknowledgements: Ishita Mehra, Kevin Lee, Kollegala Sharma, Padma Priya, Raghav Pandey, Rina Dey, Sambit Dash, Raj Shankar Ghosh, Deepa Kiran, Siddharth Kankaria.
Special Thanks: Meghna Gupta, Sarah Iqbal.}

How to End a Comic

In this film we take a peek behind the scenes at one of the international workshops where we start to co-curate the end of the webcomic. Featuring an expert panel of the inimitable comics writer Kieron Gillen; Turner Prize winning artist Jeremy Deller and award-winning filmmaker Meghna Gupta, we explore what makes a good ending to a comic book story.

Art Process

In this film we get to see some of the art process from Charlie Adlard; Nick Brokenshire; Matt Kindt, Karrie Fransman, Anand RK and VV Glass. Finally the writer for chapter 2 Charlotte Bailey has created a micro-film bringing the protagonist Sanda Oung alive, on the streets of Birmingham! A film to relax to whilst watching some lovely art process.