Follow your passion, says filmmaker Deepa Mehta

Writer Jennifer Lanthier caught up with filmmaker Deepa Mehta, who is receiving an honorary degree from U of T this fall, and talked with her about higher education and filmmaking.

Q. You’ve received a great many awards recognizing your accomplishments as a director and a leader in the arts community both nationally and internationally. What does this honorary degree mean to you?

A. There is something entirely satisfying about getting an honorary degree from one of the most intriguing and prestigious universities in Canada. The fact that I live in the Annex (we are neighbours ! ) is icing on the cake -- recognition from home turf, if you will!

Q. In the current economic climate many question the value of higher education unless it leads directly to a professional degree or specific job. What do you see as the role or value of higher education today? Do we need to be able to draw a straight line from your studies in philosophy for example to your career?

A. Higher education and its main merit, I think, is that it broadens your horizon, helps you explore different areas of your potential interests, and buys you time to get to know yourself.  Unless, of course, you know what you feel really passionately about from an early age. The thought of pursuing higher education in order to get a job that doesn't excite one is so counterproductive. I studied philosophy because of my interest in Hinduism, which itself originated as a philosophy rather than a religion. I had no idea how it could be useful to me in supporting myself in the future. All I remember is being really eager about going to class (and that says something ! ).  In retrospect did studying philosophy help me in my chosen career as a film maker? Probably not. But what it DID do was give me enormous confidence in my ability to make choices based on what I love. Not practical, but so much fun!

Q. You have taught master classes in screenwriting, been a lecturer, visiting artist, mentor and advisor at institutions such as The Canadian Film Centre – can you share some impressions of today’s students?

A. Film- students are perhaps a tad different I feel. Being enrolled in film school is already a first step in learning to take risks and risk taking is what creative endeavours are all about. I love the sense of anticipation and adventure. I also find the multi-cultural nature of Canadian universities and schools extremely exciting. Students from different cultural back grounds bring variety to the table.

Q. Your films are acclaimed around the world - and of course Water was nominated for an Oscar for best foreign film. How easy/difficult is it now to find funding and distribution?

A. It is certainly a little bit easier now but one still has to pass through the creative filters.

Q. Is it getting any easier for women to find opportunities to direct? To win acceptance as directors? To find interesting roles?

A. Making movies is tough across the board. In the past it was tougher for women, but then that could be said about every other field. It’s getting better for women, but not as fast as I would like!

Q. Reviewers of your films tend to reach for words such as “powerful” and “disturbing,” and you tell stories with universal themes – love, friendship, power, violence, fear, courage – that are rendered with great nuance and depth. You are not afraid to explore worlds where brutality mingles with compassion and despair with hope but, perhaps because your stories explore humanity in all its messiness , your projects – and you personally - have faced intolerance, threats and violence. What is that like? Do you think you’ll ever wake up one day and decide to make a movie about alien robots who transform into giant shiny trucks?

A. What's it like to have your effigy burned one day and walk down a red carpet the next? It is distinctly schizophrenic. Now I try and not let it get to me. It seems to be the nature of the game. No, I don't see myself making clones of The Transformers, BUT I would like to make a horror film (A huge fan of the genre ! ).

Q. Salman Rushdie has been a supporter/admirer of your work for a long time. What drew you to Midnight’s Children? Did the two of you work together on the screenplay? Had you seen the stage adaptation?

A. Midnight's Children is one of the most fascinating post-colonial novels written EVER!  In many ways its Salman Rushdie's love letter to India, I can relate to that in a very personal way. And it’s HUGELY cinematic. Salman wrote the screenplay.  My contribution to it was as a director. And no, I have not seen the stage play, though I did read the published script for it.

Q. One could say that filmmaking, at its heart, is about telling stories. Today’s students are graduating into a world of fast-paced technological and economic change with increasing emphasis on global fluency. How important is storytelling in this world? Can film help develop critical thinking and understanding?

A. Steve Jobs was a pretty good story teller, don't you think?
Studying film can help develop critical thinking. Seeing films can help develop one's imagination.