Acclaimed filmmaker Ashmita Guha Neogi, winner of Cannes’ La Cinef Award for CatDog, shared insights on storytelling and emotional depth at NDFF’s Talk Cinema On The Floor in Delhi. The event also featured sessions on costume design, writing, and creative collaboration.
TheInterviewTimes.com | New Delhi | October 26, 2025 — “A filmmaker or storyteller must learn to read the silence and the unspoken emotions hidden deep within the subconscious — that’s where a character’s true emotional world comes alive.”
This is how acclaimed filmmaker Ashmita Guha Neogi described her creative approach while speaking at the October Chapter of Talk Cinema On The Floor (TCOTF) — a monthly initiative of New Delhi Film Foundation (NDFF).
Ashmita, whose FTII diploma film CatDog won the Top Award in La Cinef at the Cannes Film Festival 2020, was in Delhi for the event. The screening of CatDog — which had also won Best Student Short Film Award at the San Sebastián International Film Festival (2020) — was followed by an engaging and insightful conversation with the audience.
Organised in collaboration with Sri Aurobindo Centre for Arts & Communication (SACAC), Indian Institute of Creative Skills (IICS) and Media & Entertainment Skills Council (MESC), the October Chapter took place on Saturday, 25 October at Harmony House, SACAC, New Delhi. The participation of young creators, cinema lovers, film students and writers from across Delhi-NCR gave the event a vibrant and dynamic energy.
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Understanding Cinema Beyond Script: Colours, Costumes & Character
The session opened with the segment Colour, Costume & Character, featuring Shubham Saurabh — Designer, Cinema-Decoder & Associate Professor at Pearl Academy. Through a compelling audio-visual presentation, he demonstrated how costume design functions as a narrative tool in storytelling, shaping the psychological and social identities of characters.
Using examples from films like 3 Idiots, Don, Kabhie Khushi Kabhie Gham, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, and works of Christopher Nolan, Saurabh highlighted how every thoughtfully designed frame and shades on screen communicate layers of meaning beyond dialogue.
Launch of a New Segment: Writer’s Word – Author’s Angle
NDFF also introduced a new interactive segment — Writer’s Word – Author’s Angle — providing a platform for literary voices to engage directly with the city’s creative community.
The first invitee to this segment was Gopal Shukla, journalist and debut novelist, whose book Metcalf House has received widespread appreciation. In a spirited interaction, he shared how real incidents, early crime reporting experiences, and extensive research around the first recorded murder in Delhi eventually shaped the deeply engaging narrative of his novel.
Spotlight on Cannes Winner — Ashmita Guha Neogi & CatDog
The Spotlight session — the flagship segment of TCOTF — featured Ashmita Guha Neogi, writer-director of CatDog and an alumna of FTII Pune.
Every year, over 2000 films from international film schools compete in the La Cinef selection at Cannes — making her achievement a remarkable milestone for young Indian filmmakers.
This screening marked the Delhi premiere of CatDog, drawing immense excitement from the audience.
In conversation with NDFF Founder Ashish K Singh, Ashmita spoke about her creative journey, filmmaking process, and her upcoming first feature film.
Speaking about CatDog, she said the story emerged from subtle childhood observations — the way children perceive conflicts and love differently from adults. She emphasised how FTII helped shape her visual language and reinforced the idea of cinema as a collaborative craft.
The global recognition at Cannes, she said, strengthened her belief that stories rooted in cultural truth and emotional authenticities find a universal audience.
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Building Creative Connections
The event concluded with “Chit-Chat Over Tea”, where filmmakers, writers, actors and students interacted freely — strengthening TCOTF’s mission of fostering collaborations and creating a supportive film community in the capital.
On behalf of SACAC, Daljeet Wadhwa and Shankhnjit Dey, and on behalf of NDFF, Harinder Kumar & Vaibhav Maitreya, expressed gratitude to the guests and participants.
An invitation was also extended for a special screening and discussion scheduled on 31 October, marking the birth centenary of legendary filmmaker Ritwik Ghatak.
NDFF will soon announce the November Chapter, including fresh updates on the Make Cinema campaign.