Filmed in Catania, Sicily on 35mm, “Free” by Aashish Gadhvi is a delightful watch, telling the story of a young refugee girl and her unexpectedly inspiring choice. With stunning visuals on film, comments on the migrant crises and animal cruelty, and a story to live on in the audience’s hearts, “Free” has received much deserved praise. We are so delighted to share our 5 Questions With series featuring Aashish Gadhvi!
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What inspired you to start making films?
I’ve been obsessed with film for as long as I can remember. My earliest memories are of watching films with my family and as I grew up and realised people did this for a living, it was all I ever wanted to do. There was no Plan B!
Were there any challenges in making this project?
‘Free’ was nothing but challenging! We shot it in Catania, Sicily in intense heat as Europe was going through a heat wave. We also shot the film on 35mm film and had to shoot it all in twelve hours because of the time we had the equipment for. We shot in two locations, the fish market, which was a real fish market so we had to be careful not to infringe on anyone’s business and on the beach which again was open to the public. It was true guerilla filmmaking.
Is there any type of message or emotion that you hope the viewer takes away from watching this film?
There are many threads that are explored in ‘Free’. We explore themes of misogyny and animal cruelty but ultimately the main theme running through the film is the migrant crisis which is still a very polarising and politically charged issue. Discussions about the crisis have become so politically motivated that the experiences of the human beings at the heart of it were completely ignored. So it was my job as a filmmaker to add some humanity to the story.
How does it feel to be able to screen the film at HollyShorts?
Screening at HollyShorts is truly mind blowing! Firstly, it’s always very exciting to screen at an Oscar qualifying festival as its a true validation that your film is being appreciated as a very high calibre. But screening at the Chinese Theatre in the heart of Hollywood really is the stuff of dreams. As a kid, I most associate the Chinese Theatre with archive footage of queues around the block for Star Wars in 1977. I never imagined that a short film of mine would screen at this prestigious venue.
What’s on the horizon for you?
I’ve written six feature film screenplays which I’m developing and trying to get off the ground. I’m also going to be directing for television for the first time this summer and am very much looking forward to it!
Thank you Aashish for taking the time to answer our questions! We are so excited for you. Be sure to check out “Free” at the upcoming HollyShorts 2023 Film Festival on August 11th at 7:30pm for the category “Shot on Film Presented by Kodak.” Click here to get tickets for the 19th Annual HollyShorts Film Festival, running from August 10th – August 19th at the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres.
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