Manikandan Mathivanan is an experienced cinematographer. He has worked on numerous YouTube productions and commercial campaigns. He produced and directed the highly acclaimed short film Fated, which is a winner at LA Shorts Awards (2017), a semi-finalist at the Los Angeles Cine Festival and recognized at the London Independent Film Awards. He was also the Director of Photography for the film Sepia, which won Best Cinematography at Austin Indie Fest 2018. We had the pleasure of speaking to Manikandan about his career and aspirations.
Thank you for granting the interview. Congratulations on the success of your short film Fated. Can you tell our readers more about the film and you got involved in the project?
Fated is about a twenty-year-old girl, Trisha, whose childhood was traumatized by an incident involving her father. The event and her life choices have gotten her to where she is today.
The whole idea for Fated came from Larry Clark’s photo book Tulsa. The images were very raw, compassionate and extremely honest. It left me haunted for a couple of days and that’s when I wrote the story for Fated. You can check out the trailer of Fated below and see how much his photographs influenced my vision.
Directing Fated was an amazing experience. We had ambitious goals and limited resources, but everyone stretched themselves to make something much grander than any one of us could have imagined. I learned about the magic of collaboration, being confident about what I need and most importantly to forget everything else and just try to feel the performance on each take.
Getting recognized for your work is an amazing feeling and that’s what keeps me moving as an artist. So I’m very happy that the film did good in the film festival circuit.
You’ve also worked on another amazing project called Sepia. Again, how did this evolve and how did this film making experience compare with other projects you’ve worked on?
Sepia is a short film that deals with current immigration problems produced by fanatic nationalism. Many of the people affected have lived their entire lives in the countries where they are being rejected, considering themselves more of an immigrant in their countries of origin. This film shows how far can someone go to get their lives back when such life is being denied only because of a person’s origins.
When Vicente Almuna Morales, director of Sepia narrated me the story, I was very intrigued and wanted to be a part of it. This movie is all about love, isolation, and loss. As a cinematographer, I need to convey those emotions in my frames and make sure that the audience feels it too. I used a lot of wide shots to show emptiness and how the character feels small. Things like that add a lot to a movie. During the pre-production, I watched Andrei Tarkovsky movies and also saw some Russian photographs to get some inspiration. The reason was that Andrei Tarkovsky is a master of long shots and his frames are like a painting. I am fascinated by his visuals and choice of shot sizes.
80% of the movie happens outdoors in the desert. I think that was the challenging part because you don’t have much control of the environment and light. Plus, the heat was unbearable and we had to put extra effort into the shooting. But by the end of the day, it was all worth it. The movie won Best Cinematography award in “Austin Indie Film Fest 2018”, Best actor award in “Independent shorts award 2018” and got selected in “El Paso film festival 2018”. I’m very grateful for Sepia’s producer and director for trusting me and allowing me to be part of this amazing short.
You’ve been a director of photography for several live events. This includes collaborations with noted designer and visual artist Domingo Zapata on his Freedom with 2018 fashion event in Los Angeles. How do these projects compare with working on a film set?
I was very proud to be part of the Freedom 2018 Fashion event. Two designers Dominga Zapata and Ruiz De Laprad came together not only to make incredible pieces of wearable art but also to make a statement for stricter gun control laws and stand in solidarity with the people crying out against the epidemic of gun violence. Working with Mr. Zapata was an amazing experience. He is a very humble person and I learned a lot from him. Especially about remembering where you started and being grateful for what you have.
Working on live events or with influencers to create content is very different from working on a film set. While working on live events or with influencers you should always be aware of what’s happening, quick, adaptable according to the situation and always on the move. Whereas on film sets everything is planned, you have a shot list, assistants to help you and most importantly you get another take if you screw something up.
You’re very busy at present. Do you have anything else in the pipeline we can look forward to?
I am producing a commercial for an FMCG brand in India and also working with Kahi Lee, an interior designer, television personality and author who has appeared as a host and designer on numerous television programs including Trading Spaces (TLC).
Who are your inspirations and people you’d love to work within the industry?
Mani Ratnam, a filmmaker/screenwriter from India who predominantly works in Tamil cinema is one of my major inspirations. I grew up watching his movies and it was also one of the reasons for me to get into filmmaking. One of the things I love most about his work is his idea of combining art and commercial elements. That’s what made his movies critically acclaimed and commercially successful too. And I would love to work with Casey Neistat or Peter McKinnon. I love their vlogs.
So where can we keep up to date with your activities?
Website : https://ifilm.onfabrik.com
Instagram : mani_dayone
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