Today we’d like to introduce you to Mamta Singh.

Hi Mamta, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?

I’m a documentary film maker based in New Delhi. I have a media , communications and filmmaking background with about a decade plus of experience of working in the media industry in India in various capacities.

How I got to where I am today is both a journey of choice and chance.

I studied Biology, Chemistry and Zoology in my graduation and earned a Bachelor of Science Degree. The gap year that followed was where I took time to really think about what I felt drawn towards and wanted to pursue going forward.

I shifted to the field of communications.

After a short course in TV journalism I landed a job with a leading news channel in Delhi. It was great to see from close quarters what goes into creating and telecasting of a daily news bulletin.

Wanting to equip myself with further knowledge and know how about the field I quit my job after a few months to join a Masters degree in Communications Studies program at Pune University. Here I specialized in Video Production and got to learn about the various aspects of storytelling be it research , writing, production , camera , editing etc.

After graduating I started working with the Educational Media Research Centre in Pune where I would scout for stories, write scripts , go for shoots and sit on the edits.

From here on I felt myself getting drawn more to storytelling that gave one more time to go deeper , do research and tell more layered , personal stories.

That passion for telling stories that matter still continues two decades later.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?

The documentary film making landscape in India is a struggle to work in to say the least. With little or no funding available for such storytelling most of us storytellers are working against a lot of odds to try and do what we do. Shine light on stories that matter. Tell our stories the way we want to. Get an audience for them.
In recent years a lot of Indian documentaries are gaining attention at prestigious documentary festivals abroad and its only then that people back home wake up to them and those film makers. When one sees closely one realises that these projects are backed by foreign funding and are co-productions.

It’s often a lonely , long , uncertain journey but along the way one gets to meet new people who inspire us and we visit places one never would have otherwise and so it’s all a very fulfilling and worthwhile journey in the end as well.

What is heartening to see is that there is still a growing tribe of documentary film makers who are willing to travel the road less travelled, keep at it and are doing a great job in bringing fantastic stories to life.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?

My interests lie in researching , writing , directing and telling human interest stories through film. I believe that media can be used as a means for social change.

For the past several years have been involved in communications and film making projects for several UN agencies, The World Bank, corporates , national and international NGOs and others in the development sector.

My work keeps reminding me that there is something bigger than one’s self and one must try and be part of the larger picture, looking to make a difference with what one does in any little way possible.

I’ve made impact videos, feature documentaries on a wide range of issues and themes like education, sanitation, health and hygiene, HIV AIDs , women and children, wildlife, environment and conservation to name a few.

I’m proud that I approach all stories with compassion, a respect and mindfulness towards the protagonists and the cause. Most of the times the people we feature open up to us at their most vulnerable self so the least one can do is always keep their comfort at the forefront. I’m proud of the impact my stories have made to the lives of the people featured. I’m most proud of the connections and community I have built along the way and those personal stories and friendships are the ones that stay on for ever.

Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?

Do you have any advice for those who are just starting out? Anything you wish you knew when you were starting out?
One has to remember that the journey won’t be easy but it will definitely be rewarding.
Be true to your craft , true to what you believe in , love what you do and keep putting one foot ahead of the other.
Looking back you’ll mostly remember the wonderful backstories to the stories you told, the experiences you had, the lovely people you encountered which will all add up to a wonderfully layered , enriching journey of storytelling.
What I wish I would have known in the beginning is that it will all work out in the end.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://mamtasingh.co.in
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mamta-singh-a7a39039/