Everyone at Imagine Fantastic Film Festival is mad about genre (right?). For our new interview series Faces of Imagine, our special guests, crew members and volunteers tell us all about the fantastic fiction they love.
Added to the list: director Rahul Sadasivan, whose black-and-white folk horror Bramayugam was in Imagine’s 2024 programme.
Hi Rahul! Are you a genre nut?
‘I’m a huge fan of genre films. Horror has always been a way to bring an artistic, unique style to filmmaking and visual language. I’ve been hugely inspired by these works, both from the West and regionally. And I’m looking forward to seeing so much more.’
What kind of genre films inspired your films Bramayugam?
‘Classics like The Exorcist. And Robert Eggers, he’s one of my favourite directors.’
Why did you become a filmmaker?
‘It was always my dream to get into the film industry. I used to sketch and draw a lot, trying to figure out how to get into it. So I learned animation, thinking that would be my way into creating high-concept films. But then slowly, as the years went by and I researched a lot, I realised I needed to tell stories. Bramayugam is a good example because it’s very rooted and has my own culture in it. I still have a lot of stories to tell.’
What’s your favourite genre?
‘My favourite genre is weird sci-fi, but I also enjoy realistic drama.’
What’s your favourite scary movie?
‘My all-time favourite is The Exorcist. There are many, actually. I also like Jaws, and Sinister. Hereditary.’
What’s your favourite movie character?
‘My favourite movie character…oh, there’s so many. But it’s probably Jack Nicholson’s character in The Shining. It’s also one of my favourite films.’
What is your favourite genre film scene?
‘The one that still haunts me a lot is the chestbuster scene from Ridley Scott’s Alien. It’s crazy how they achieved that with practical effects. It inspired me to always do that in my films to, to have more control over effects. I’ve tried to do it in Bramayugam, towards the end I’ve used a lot of practical effects.’
What is your favourite genre film quote?
‘REDRUM. Murder written backwards. Again from The Shining.’
In which fantasy world would you like to live?
‘Oh! I’m curious to know what it was like in the 16th, 17th Century, when nature itself was very deadly, and there was a lot of space to explore. So I would personally like to time travel to that time and find what the people have to say, to see if I can come up with an idea that can be made into a film.’
Would you rather be a super hero or a master villain?
‘I think I can be a super hero, haha. But if I would have to be a villain, I’d want to be Joaquin Phoenix as Joker. That’s such a well-written character, you really get into the head of this man, and the way he expresses that character…it’s an amazing master villain.’
Foto: Jamie Korbee
