Moustachioed movie wins top award at UK’s biggest student film festival
The Changing Face of India
A film charting the decline of the moustache in India directed by a University of Salford postgraduate has won the top prize at the UK’s leading student film festival.
The Changing Face of India from William Hartley on Vimeo.
Former Documentary Production MA student Will Hartley scooped the Directors UK Best Director award for his documentary The Changing Face of India at the exposures film and moving image festival, held at Manchester’s Cornerhouse.
Shot on location in northern India, the film includes interviews with palace guards, barbers, doormen and even a man with a 14 foot moustache. While light-hearted in tone, it aims to give an important message about changing culture in India with reference to the historical importance of the moustache and its decline due to Western influence.
Will (25), who lives in Manchester’s Northern Quarter and works as a freelance cameraman, said: “I wanted to show a different side to life in India. I chose to focus on moustaches in Indian culture as, while I thought the subject could make a serious point about the tension between traditional and contemporary society in the country, it’s also really interesting visually and would hopefully raise a smile or two.”
Will spent three weeks filming in Rajasthan and Punjab with producer and fellow University of Salford postgraduate Pardeep Singh and the project was supported by a student funding award from One World Media, a non-profit organisation encouraging media talent which covers the developing world.
At a special exposures festival ceremony at Manchester’s Museum of Science & Industry Will picked up the Best Director award from Stuart Wealands of Directors UK, the national professional association of directors working with the moving image.
Beth Hewitt, Senior Lecturer at the University of Salford’s School of Media, Music & Performance, and the film’s executive producer, said: "Will worked extremely hard on The Changing Face of India and learnt a huge amount on his journey to completing his documentary.
“He was always looking for rich content and story and he’s a great example of what students can achieve at the University working in collaboration and pushing the boundaries. Studying at the University and successfully applying for One World Media's student funding award enabled Will and Pardeep to travel to India to produce this film and it was a privilege to be their executive producer."
To watch The Changing Face of India visit http://vimeo.com/27064176.
