Decibel Exclusive : Aiya (the short movie)

Tuk Tuk Films is a name we think Lanka should get to know, their debut offering ‘Aiya’ the short movie, gained some viral attention and even went to having a few nominations & wins at this year’s SATO48. On this interview, they spill about the movie & more.

DecibelLk: About your short movie ‘Aiya’

Tuk Tuk Films: ‘Aiya’ is a coming of age story on two loving brothers and their struggle with everything life’s throws at them: Death of their parents so sudden decent into poverty, a means to surviving, and finally mental illness – but through it all, understanding that life is so much more than the short comings and bumps.

DecibelLk: Tell us about the cast & crew

Tuk Tuk Films: The cast comprises of Dhanuk Fernando, Rajeev Colton (writer), Sarah Jaufer (art director), Lihan Mendis, Vihanga Mendis, Nathan Jansen and Shevon Desoyza, and the crew comprised of Kavindu Sivaraj (director, cinematographer, editing, sound design) and Sarith Ranasinghe (director, cinematographer,colorist) – the team was called Tuk Tuk Films

DecibelLk: How long did the production take & what was some of the equipment used?

Tuk Tuk Films: Aiya was a film made as part of a 48 hour film challenge called SATO48 that took place in Springfield, Missouri. The equipment used were your basic Canon 70D’s, tripods, and lapel mics

DecibelLk: Your film recently received a few nominations and a win @ this year’s SATO48 ..How do you & the cast feel about this and what would you say would be next for you?

Tuk Tuk Films: We weren’t really expecting to be honest (hoping yes, as anyone would in a completion, but not really expecting) – so when they read through our categories and we were nominated (top 10 for best film, nominated for best directors) and then won (best male performance – Dhanuk Fernando) we were overjoyed and grateful! I think we did a good job and were super proud of the end product.

DecibelLk: You’ve mentioned that this movie meant a few things to you, how personal is this film?

Tuk Tuk Films: When we sat down and decided to do it, we all pitched a bunch of ideas, but our writer/producer, Rajeev Colton, felt strongly about this one and we all then fell in love with it as well. He talked about how not getting to bring up an issue that is present at large here and everywhere was one of the goals and  presenting the fact that people are people no matter how they are born and what happens to them and the more we learn how to love and work together with each other, the sooner the world will be a better place to live in.

DecibelLk: What’s next for the team?

Tuk Tul Films: Tuk tuk films was only brought together for this one project (coz we needed a team name to register haha) – we are a group of good friends who love movies and working together and hope to do more soon when the right story, time, and opportunity to put it together well presents it – right now all of us (on crew) work at YAMU (how we met) – Kavindu and Sarith are talented in film and photography, Sarah is an amazing writer and artist, and Rajeev is hoping to pursue acting and his masters in producing- Lihan Mendis from the cast is pursuing acting for stage (and film) and is one of Colombo’s up and coming and the rest of the cast who work and come from different walks, were able to grace us with their talent and time.

Check out the short movie here already 

B-03-056_2017_Tuk_Tuk_Films_Aiya from Charles Clinkenbeard on Vimeo.