15: Landscape of animation in India with Nina Sabnani.
Nina Sabnani is an artist and storyteller who uses film, illustration and writing to tell her stories. She graduated in painting from the Faculty of Fine Arts, Vadodara and received a master's degree in film from Syracuse University, NY, which she pursued as a Fulbright Fellow in 1997\. Her doctoral research at the IDC focused on Rajasthan's Kaavad storytelling tradition. After teaching for two decades at the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, Nina has made Mumbai her home. Currently she is Professor at the Industrial Design Centre, IIT Bombay. Nina's research interests include exploring the dynamics between words and images in storytelling. Her work in film and illustrated books, seeks to bring together animation and ethnography. 1\. Can you tell us brief history of Indian animation? What were the key milestones in it’s evolution till date? 2\. How many types of animations styles are there? One end of the spectrum could be animated films like Finding Nemo and other could be Kavad films which you worked on. Can you tell us how wide the canvas is? 3\. In India, what do you think students should more concentrate on, the medium or the message? This question is due to our over all Indian philosophy of telling stories and also the value which we look for while telling stories. 4\. Where do you think India stands when it comes to art of story telling, both with respect to medium and the story itself. This question is mainly to understand that we are so rich with stories but not as much as with craft of showcasing it, w.r.t contemporary animation. What, where and why it’s lacking? 5\. What are possible research areas in Animation and story telling in India?