Recalling that he would be angry with his parents for sending him to boarding school, but now he is grateful as it helped him make his film, director Prithviraj Das Gupta said that his film Clinton is inspired from his own experiences at a boarding school in West Bengal.
At an IFFI Table-talks session, the director narrated the story of the film. The 10-year child Clinton displays kindness and courage as he stands up to the school bully, and is a lesson for the adults to know how children view the world and respond to it. The film captures the innocence of the child.
This non-feature English-language film is a part of the Indian Panorama section at IFFI. “Only I could have told this story, as it is my reality, and I could bring an authenticity to this story,” stated the director who came to IFFI for the second time. His first film was also screened at a previous edition of IFFI.
Hoping that the film will be screened not only at schools but also at venues where adult audiences can watch it, the director stressed that it is important for adults to see this film, and other children’s films to understand how children behave the way they do. Often adults dismiss children’s problems, they do not understand how important small things are for children, and the impact they leave on them.”
