Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Vibha Kulkarni . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Vibha , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

A project is meaningful when I grow with it internally. Storytelling media like painting and clay modeling, for instance, afford a sense of intuitive flow, which is very different in a collaborative medium like film. As a storyteller, to me, a story reveals itself across these mediums and this process helps me grow.

My AFI thesis short film – ‘Aro’s World’, is one of the most meaningful projects I’ve worked on recently. Thematically, the story of Aro’s World is about how one combats one’s inner demons by facing them. My journey through making this film made me confront my inner demons and rise above them. It was like therapy! We are all busy fighting our inner demons, and the mere understanding of that helped me develop a more profound sense of empathy. As a director, I learned that empathy and sensitivity are strengths and not weaknesses like they are often perceived to be.

I also learned a lot about my craft working with our child lead, Kaya Johnson. Here’s a short rehearsal story: Firstly, we had very little rehearsal time, so I made my notes, planned activities, and came over-prepared, but this little genius got all his ‘toy’ friends to rehearse with and wanted to keep us from disturbing them!
He had us all step out of the rehearsal room, one by one – first the studio teacher, then his mom, then me, the director! I had to change my plan in the limited time we had and was worried he wouldn’t be ready. But I was taken by total surprise! After a few minutes of play with his ‘toy’ friends, he transformed from a shy, introverted kid into the lead character effortlessly. There is so much an actor can contribute when you create a safe space for them to be in their element.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am an Indian Director/Writer based in Los Angeles. I would also call myself a transmedia storyteller as I’ve explored storytelling across different media over the last decade ranging from fine art, design, new media, and interactive art to poetry, performance art, dance, and theater. I found filmmaking a conglomeration of all art forms and the most powerful device to experience stories. To me, storytelling is a tool of self-discovery. I tell stories about women, teenagers, and children learning to embrace their authentic selves outside of what is expected of them by society.

I love romcoms, family drama, and horror fantasy and I often work with combining them in my stories. I am currently working on a feature-length romantic comedy project and developing a feature-length horror-comedy project.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

All my stories, non-film artwork included, are an expression of overcoming a phase, accepting a flaw, or embracing difficult emotions. As I find my work bringing about that internal shift within me, I believe it can help bring that shift in those who see themselves in my work. My goal or mission is to help my audience, particularly women and children, get a step closer to embracing themselves for who they are outside of what they’re expected to be.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

The biggest and most problematic lesson I’ve learned all my life, which a lot of women surely can relate to, is to learn to be ‘nice’ in other words conforming to the norms set up by the patriarchal society. Almost like you have to face a repercussion if you aren’t. A major reinforcement of that has been how stronger women were time and again portrayed as antagonists in mainstream media, especially in India. While the perfect ‘nice’ girl, brimming with innocence got the happy ending. Even in Hollywood for that matter, the hyper-feminine, stronger woman was always antagonistic. This kind of portrayal has also set us women against each other, making everything we do appear flawed regardless of what it is.

I write my own stories as a way to cope with that internal conflict which helped me discover my voice as a storyteller and I found my purpose – To unlearn that and embrace the sides of myself that are ‘real’ and not so nice, one story at a time! There’s a lot of character work that goes into building those stories from screenplay to screen, which I truly find spiritual and therapeutic. It is like cognitive behavioral therapy, like you’re journaling characters but what you truly see are your own patterns! So, I would say that I am still unlearning that, and it’s years of generational conditioning, so there are still years of unlearning ahead of me and years and years of stories to come!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.iveeba.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iveeba/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iveeba/

Image Credits
Sai Conjeevaram, RGBTV Photography, Getty Images, Dr. Prem Muthu, Eshank Modi, Film Still ARO’s WORLD: Maryn McGaw