Interview with filmmaker Shekhar Bassi (NO LOVE LOST)

NO LOVE LOST was a multiple winner at the August 2015 WILDsound FEEDBACK Film Festival. It is perhaps the most unique film that has ever played at our festival. This is a film that stays with you for days as you keep going back to it and thinking about it. It’s a 15 minute film with no dialogue, a strong social impact, and overall, it’s an extremely entertaining short film.

Watch the Audience FEEDBACK of NO LOVE LOST:

Interview with director Shekhar Bassi :

Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?

Shekhar: Initially, it was just the desire to make a film following a long unplanned hiatus after my father passed away and also health reasons. For me it had to be a strong piece of cinematic story telling that would grab people’s attention. I was keen to tell a simple, multi-dimensional and engrossing love story of the isolation of hatred in a world where love overcomes differences hence chose the world of our story to be an urban setting rather than going across geographical borders. The underlying subtext when my brother and writing partner, Shalinder, were developing the screenplay was ‘we alienate our self by hating while believing we are alienating the person or thing we hate’.

Matthew: From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?

Shekhar: The film took us eight months to complete. The short was self-funded hence it was a stop and start journey but a worthwhile journey.

Matthew: How would you describe your short film in two words!?

Shekhar: Real world.

Matthew: What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?

Shekhar: For a couple of months it seemed that I would not be able to make the film having been subtly and overtly threatened by certain groups against making No Love Lost when trying to raise funding. In my case when I am told I can’t do something creatively, I am doubly motivated and make it a point to prove people wrong. So the journey to making No Love Lost became more creative, self-financed and required the making of the one shot short film ‘Faux Départ’ in order to secure free post-production for No Love Lost. As we moved forward, editor Nathan Cubitt and I strived for the best cinematic story and made hard choices like cutting certain parts. Getting the right music took time and fortunately my path crossed with a brilliant Brazilian composer, Renan Franzen.

Matthew: How is the film scene in your city and country?

Shekhar: London as a city and the UK as a country are a busy hub of filmmaking. Several shorts are being made even as I answer this question. The UK is famous for lending itself to international feature film productions. As a local filmmaker, I know making a feature film is much tougher since finding funding is difficult. Luckily we have satellite organisations like Film London supporting filmmakers to take the next step into making features.

Matthew: What were your initial reactions when watching the Toronto audience talking about your film in the feedback video?

Shekhar: I found it very refreshing and I was glued to the screen. It was good to hear the audiences reactions to the film and what they took away from it. It really is exciting when you find an engaged audience.

Matthew: What film have you seen the most in your life?

Shekhar: That is a long list. Of the top of my head – Billy Wilder’s ‘The Apartment’.

Matthew: What is next for you? A new film?

Shekhar: At the moment, my brother and I are finishing a draft to a feature length screenplay for a UK Producer but I am not attached to direct. I am also in deep research for quite some months prior to writing a low budget feature, for me to direct that has been optioned by Vertigo Productions in Australia and on which Rolf de Heer will be script editor. At the same time, I am busy writing a Malta based film which has garnered a lot of support after No Love Lost was seen at various festivals on mainland Europe and followed up on my other work online. The next step for me is to make my first feature.

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