We live in a hectic and chaotic world that relentlessly stresses our planet, humans, and animals alike. joyful is a unique audio-visual exploration of finding joy in all the turmoil that surrounds us. This film uses videos, time lapses, hyperlapses, drone shots, slow motion, astrophotography and satellite images from around the world with dramatic sound design and music overlay to depict life as we know it and simple moments of joy and calm that provide us respite in all the chaos...
Simantini is a documentary filmmaker who focuses on the use of visual imagery, technology and sound design to tell compelling global stories about people, places, issues and events that truly matter. Simantini has a unique background in filmmaking, photography, technology and world travel across 53 countries, which motivates her to explore universal aspects of human condition through filmmaking.
Simantini has undertaken filmmaking courses in the prestigious University of California's School of Cinematic Arts in Los Angeles. She has also worked in various creative aspects of technology in product design, branding and launch in tech startups in Silicon Valley, California. Simantini also has an MBA from a top university in the US.
Simantini is an avid photographer and drone pilot, a passionate adventurer and an eternal optimist.
Director's Statement:
The world has changed inexorably in the past 18 months due to the devastating effects of the pandemic. People have become more anxious, more isolated. It seems that the world now is so full of hate, anger and chaos fueled by divisive political rhetoric, socio-economic disparity, rampant misinformation, wide-spread racism, politicization of the pandemic itself, lack of compassion towards fellow humans and abject apathy towards the planet.
In such a tumultuous time, I wanted to use my voice as a filmmaker, photographer and world traveler to share the message of hope, love and humanity with the world as films are a powerful, expressive, universal, and oftentimes magical medium of expression. My film “joyful” is a unique audio-visual exploration of finding joy in all the turmoil that surrounds us. I have strived to create mind-blowing experiences by manipulating “time” in various ways along with dramatic sound design and music overlay to depict our contemporary life and simple moments of joy and calm that provides us respite in all the chaos. I have compressed time through timelapses and hyperlapses to heighten the sense of relentless chaos, stress and tension. And I have stretched time through drone shots, slow motion videos and astrophotography to remind us what really matters at the end.
I truly believe that the universal language of my film about contemporary life and introspection will inspire and emotionally move people irrespective of their nationality, skin color or socio-economic status.
I dedicate my first film to our collective humanity. I want to change the world through films.