Nila Madhab Panda on Spying Stars getting selected at Busan Film Festival: 'If you get an award, it paves the way'

The role of a producer is fraught with challenges, but National Award–winning filmmaker Nila Madhab Panda sees it as an opportunity to back storytellers looking for support. For his maiden production, he chose to put his weight behind Sri Lankan filmmaker Vimukthi Jayasundara’s Spying Stars. The gamble paid off, with the film officially selected in the inaugural competition section at the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF).

Spying Stars follows Anandi (Indira Tiwari), a biotechnician who travels to Hanuman Island to perform her father’s last rites, only to be quarantined at a remote hotel amid a pandemic in a dystopian, machine-dominated world. During her isolation, a mysterious star begins to follow her, prompting a desperate escape. She finds refuge with a mother and her transgender daughter, which becomes a turning point in this spiritually symbolic journey toward reconnection, human warmth, and liberation. Director Jayasundara frames the film as a “liberation film” on how the carefully controlled, tech-dependent world collapses into an alien, uncomfortable reality, and asks, “In an age of pervasive voyeurism and technological control, how do we retain our humanity?” 

Talking to Midday, Panda said, "I think Vimukthi is a very different kind of filmmaker who believes in invisible storytelling. Most of his films come out of very internal, complicated emotions, and more than dialogues, he uses visual motifs. That’s why a lot of his films have gone to Cannes. One of my favourite films of his is Forsaken Land, and when we were talking about this project, it was very interesting. We actually talked about this film much before AI had reached where it is today. And we were just imagining what the world would be like, and then the pandemic happened. Suddenly there were all these changes, and AI started advancing almost on a day-to-day basis. From villages to metropolitan cities, everyone was talking about using AI. So when we were discussing the character, he dropped an idea that was very interesting. It may not be a complete sci-fi film, but emotionally and metaphorically we can talk about AI. It’s more like a spiritual exploration of an AI world. It’s not anti-nature or anything, but this is where we are heading, because humans are slowly becoming agents of metal in their own form."

We ask him, how is faring as a first time producer and he says, "I think producing is… unfortunately in India we never properly define producing. Producing is not just about money, you know. Producing is a much more soulful job than just putting money in and running production. I became a producer of my own films because people couldn’t produce them — they couldn’t understand what I stood for as a storyteller. So it was a double burden for me. And when I became a little more established as a filmmaker, I realized that a lot of storytellers need me, a lot of artists need my support. And this is how I could support them. Producing is not just production — if you stand with the artist and his story, and collaborate with him, then you are there as a partner. Because otherwise filmmaking, storytelling, is a very lonely process. You are alone. The success, the failure — everything is alone. It’s a very, very difficult journey. So then I thought, why not make it a spiritual journey rather than just production? And Vimukthi went on doing it, and I was just holding his hand to make the film."

Talking about BIFF, he says, "I’m really excited. Because it’s not just about competition. It is also about how you place the film. Because eventually, the film has to cast its mark. When you get into a competition and, by God’s grace, if you get an award, that’s how you also talk to the media, to the public, to sales agents. That’s how people get to know about the film and get more excited to watch it. So this is the whole process I need for my film. You literally hold the film on your shoulder and go sell it. There’s no other way, because there’s no real support system that brings an independent film to people. I think it has really given a push for all of us when we look at how Payal Kapadia made her films, and she has now become a star. You know, the more you support such films, the more it grows. And the film is not just about the actor, the director, the producer — it’s about the whole community who makes the film. Filmmaking is a community. And then when you do a film like this, then you reach a certain level of confidence. Because generally, whatever we do as independent filmmakers, it’s very difficult to have the confidence that you can sell the film."