<B>Film-maker</B>

<B>Following the official launching of your movie Bisanvil, how successful has it been ? </B>

The initiative of screening the film came from Otayo society and Paul Olsen as they realised the difficulties of screening Mauritian movies in Mauritius. There were around 50 viewers every night. This was beyond my expectations. This means there are Mauritian spectators who like Mauritian movies. It is very encouraging. I just hope other Mauritian movies experience the same success.

<B> What difficulties did you encounter during the production of Bisanvil? </B>

The first major difficulty was to translate the screenplay into images in a bus where there is lack of space. Then, there were difficulties regarding the technical issues. For example, feeding the bus with electrical energy while it was moving was a real problem. Furthermore, it was hard to trap good sounds, especially because we had to find ways of getting rid of interfering sounds. The heat was also a problem. However, the atmosphere was great. And both comedians and technicians gave of their best. That was very helpful.

<B> What was the aim of this movie ? What did you try to show in it?</B>

The scenario was written by Gopalen Chellapermal. We wanted to talk about our society, the relations we have when we do not belong to the same ethnic groups, the same background, or when we do not share the same interests. We also needed a metaphor to show that we all move together in the same direction in a limited space and that we do not have any other choice than to do the journey together. From there, the idea of making the movie on the bus quickly came to our minds.

<B> Why did you use Creole as the language for Bisanvil? </B>

Basically, I do not see why a movie taking place in Mauritius cannot be produced in its own language: Creole. It is a language we use every day and I firmly believe there would be a credibility problem if we did not use it. If we have to talk about Mauritian society, we can hardly do it without one of its key elements: its language, especially when the movie presents social realities.

<B>What can a country gain by having movies produced locally? </B>

The main idea is to propose an opinion on ourselves and what we want to make of our society. It is also a picture of our society today that will remain. In ten or fifteen years we will watch the movie again. This will enable us to see if our society has improved.

<B>What are your projects for the future? </B>

I am working on a documentary but I do not like talking about the projects before they take shape. A movie exists only when it is screened. To talk about it before does not make sense. Furthermore, things change so quickly nowadays. A project that seems excellent might well never be completed.