Kapadia (Welles) vs Ahmad (Kubrick) - Battle of the Asian Welles & Kubrick of UK Cinema Both magnificent film directors Kapadia older in age has 3 feature films beneath his belt. The Warrior, The Return and recently Far North.
As their careers grew, the two directors could hardly be more different in film-making style, yet encompass dissimilar personalities. Both of these young prodigies turned to film-making in their early 20s. Kapadia studied graphic design before his interest in film-making led him to Newport Film School, the University of Westminster and then the Royal College of Art, where his graduate short The Sheep Thief won awards around the world, including at Cannes. He began at the very top of the pyramid with his first feature, The Warrior, won two Baftas with its huge technical crews and was offered great support.
Whereas Ahmad the otherwise little-known self taught film-maker, who was brought up on a poor and often violent estate in Manchester directed his first short film on a tiny budget of 2,500 pounds Waiting For Sunrise (won Unicef award 2005, nominated for a Grierson 2006).
Ahmad's power draws from his understanding that if the film-maker is not in charge of every module of his creation -- from the original screenplay down to the promotional campaign years work may go for nothing. While Kapdia as a feature filmmaker has gone strength to strength being hailed as one of the best young film directors in the UK.
Ahmad become visible on the film scene 7 years after Kapadia, and in that decade beginning in the late 1990's considerable transformations took place, which he, unlike Kapadia, was able to turn to his advantage. The changes in technology and Internet marked the shift of the hierarchical, all-powerful influences by major UK studios.
The increasing popularity of the Internet, coupled with the movement of younger talents bursting with new ideas. Unlike Kapadia, Ahmed took advantage creating a huge independent worldwide database of media professionals and the public to gain entry to his work. He now has a huge worldwide fan base. After 10 years of struggling to even create an indentation within the business Ahmad made 3 diverse short films A Man's World, Waiting For Sunrise & Boot Polish and is an independent who learned the whole thing on the spot, originally with whatever means that were available.
While Kapadia the more professional of the two, premiered his new film Far North at the Venice Film Festival. It stars Michelle Yeoh, Sean Bean and Michelle Krusiec and was shot on the archipelago of Svalbard, one of the most northern settlements in the world, two hours south of the North Pole. Ahmed the more outspoken and naturally gifted of the two yet still has to prove himself on feature film level, while Kapadia is now an experienced veteran with international acclaim.
Quotes Kapadia "I love being on the set, shooting. It's very nerve-wracking and very tense and very tiring, but for me it's the best part.
There's one other moment that I think is really special: when you're finishing a film off and you put the first bit of music to it. It's a really beautiful moment because you know what the film is"
Ahmad "The great thing about being a filmmaker is in that it's visual as compared to say a novelist who tries to get the readers imagination to comprehend the story, whereas the visual in the cinema is more easier to digest and as a director you can use that power to do amazing things."
As their careers grew, the two directors could hardly be more different in film-making style, yet encompass dissimilar personalities. Both of these young prodigies turned to film-making in their early 20s. Kapadia studied graphic design before his interest in film-making led him to Newport Film School, the University of Westminster and then the Royal College of Art, where his graduate short The Sheep Thief won awards around the world, including at Cannes. He began at the very top of the pyramid with his first feature, The Warrior, won two Baftas with its huge technical crews and was offered great support.
Whereas Ahmad the otherwise little-known self taught film-maker, who was brought up on a poor and often violent estate in Manchester directed his first short film on a tiny budget of 2,500 pounds Waiting For Sunrise (won Unicef award 2005, nominated for a Grierson 2006).
Ahmad's power draws from his understanding that if the film-maker is not in charge of every module of his creation -- from the original screenplay down to the promotional campaign years work may go for nothing. While Kapdia as a feature filmmaker has gone strength to strength being hailed as one of the best young film directors in the UK.
Ahmad become visible on the film scene 7 years after Kapadia, and in that decade beginning in the late 1990's considerable transformations took place, which he, unlike Kapadia, was able to turn to his advantage. The changes in technology and Internet marked the shift of the hierarchical, all-powerful influences by major UK studios.
The increasing popularity of the Internet, coupled with the movement of younger talents bursting with new ideas. Unlike Kapadia, Ahmed took advantage creating a huge independent worldwide database of media professionals and the public to gain entry to his work. He now has a huge worldwide fan base. After 10 years of struggling to even create an indentation within the business Ahmad made 3 diverse short films A Man's World, Waiting For Sunrise & Boot Polish and is an independent who learned the whole thing on the spot, originally with whatever means that were available.
While Kapadia the more professional of the two, premiered his new film Far North at the Venice Film Festival. It stars Michelle Yeoh, Sean Bean and Michelle Krusiec and was shot on the archipelago of Svalbard, one of the most northern settlements in the world, two hours south of the North Pole. Ahmed the more outspoken and naturally gifted of the two yet still has to prove himself on feature film level, while Kapadia is now an experienced veteran with international acclaim.
Quotes Kapadia "I love being on the set, shooting. It's very nerve-wracking and very tense and very tiring, but for me it's the best part.
There's one other moment that I think is really special: when you're finishing a film off and you put the first bit of music to it. It's a really beautiful moment because you know what the film is"
Ahmad "The great thing about being a filmmaker is in that it's visual as compared to say a novelist who tries to get the readers imagination to comprehend the story, whereas the visual in the cinema is more easier to digest and as a director you can use that power to do amazing things."