IAFT Student

“I graduated IAFT a confident person"

IAFT alumnus Chetan Raghuram has a lot to be excited about these days.
Since graduating last Spring from IAFT’s Diploma in Filmmaking Program with the Best Student Thesis Film Award, he is now traveling to festivals all over the globe to show his talent.

His new film, Rebello, has been selected for three international film festivals to date. Entered in the Narrative Short Film category, Rebello had its world premiere in the 5th Hollyshorts Festival in Hollywood in August, and has also been chosen by the 7th Asiana International Short Film Festival, South Korea (November 5-10, 2009) and the 9th International Film Festival Pisek, Czech Republic (October 8-10,2009).

Chetan's film is the story of Rebello, an eight-year-old living in the slums of Cebu with his younger sister and mother. While his sister is oblivious to the poverty surrounding them, Rebello’s mother sells food at night to earn money. Rebello, who suffers regular beatings at the hand of his mother, decides to run away to the big city. Initially, he is amazed by the noise, confusion and pollution of city life, but soon the struggle to survive drives him to begin stealing. Then, just as the city begins to corrupt him, we see the lonely figure of Rebello holding onto his only possession: Hope.

Originally from Bangalore, India, Chetan chose to pursue creative studies in addition to academics after high school. He had already begun working in multimedia while in school, and went on to study photography under the famous German photography teacher Hellmuth Conz in Bangalore while learning French at Alliance Francaise de Bangalore. In March 2008, Chetan had his first photography exhibition in Bangalore, which garnered attention and positive reviews. Following the exhibition, he decided to attend IAFT to pursue filmmaking. While at IAFT, he directed several films, including a four-minute short called Peace, which he shot during his first term in school.

After graduation, Chetan took some time to fine-tune Rebello, and traveled for a month through North India and Bhutan. Today, he is preparing to attend the film festivals in Czech Republic and South Korea.

“IAFT exposed me to modern technology, best techniques and extremely qualified teachers from around the world,” said Chetan, speaking of his IAFT experience.
“I graduated IAFT a confident person, ready to build a career in filmmaking. For me, IAFT was not just a place to study, but an opportunity to learn and interact with all kinds of people from all parts of the world.”

Links:
IMDB page for Rebello
IMDB Page for Chetan
Facebook page for Rebello
Chetan’s Photography Portfolio