Mahak Jiwani on her work making the short film Congratulations

Originally from Pakistan, Mahak Jiwani has produced films in Chile, USA, Japan and Pakistan. In 2017, she produced Premonition in Chile, which won the Cacho Pallero Award at Huesca International Film Festival and screened at Aspen ShortFest, Seattle International Film Festival and Palm Springs International ShortFest.

Her films, Horizon (2018) won the GiGadgets Technology Award and Darling (2019) was awarded the Katharina Otto-Bernstein Production Grant at Columbia University Film Festival. Darling world premiered at Venice International Film Festival.

Jiwani is a graduate of the MFA program at Columbia University and working for Alex Gibney’s Jigsaw Productions. She is also developing features; Gulaab (Locarno Open Doors 2018) in Pakistan and Shadow in Chile.

Watch the trailer for Congratulations produced by Mahak Jiwani

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indieactivity: What’s your experience working on the story, writing, production and marketing?
Mahak Jiwani (MJ): Congratulations started as an idea that Leticia Akel, the writer and director, had about a toxic paternal relationship between a brilliant neuroscientist father and his equally brilliant son. Both Leticia and I were interested in this story of a dysfunctional male relationship set in the clean and rational world of science. 

In order to be true to the world, we did a lot of research and met with scientists in the US, including graduate students. We were especially interested in international scientists and what their work and their lives were like in the US. The more we talked to the people in this noble profession, the more we realized that a lot of them are under constant pressure.

Not only to produce viable research, but also to compete for grants and funding, publishing papers etc. With the film, we explored the idea of what happens when this unhealthy competition turns into a full-fledged rivalry between a father and son. 

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We didn’t have a big budget for this film, and this was a script that had to be filmed in laboratories and high-tech looking buildings, locations that are generally expensive. The two big production challenges were basically locations and casting – we were looking to cast Chilean actors for the two lead characters.

After a lot of scouting and pulling favours, we were able to find locations that we liked and of course we had to find creative ways to use the camera to take advantage of what we already had. Our DP Erlendur was great at that. And then it was on to the usual production challenges.

Did you start with a cast in mind?
Mahak Jiwani (MJ): We were casting Chilean actors in New York and at a low-budget level. That doesn’t really give you a lot of options. The casting process was a hard one and we had to use our online and offline networks more than the traditional casting channels.

However, we did end up with two really great leads. In fact, Pedro Fontaine, who played the role of Bruno, is now starring in a couple of feature films that also premiered at Santiago International Film Festival with Congratulations.

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During production, what scene (that made the cut) was the hardest to shoot?
Mahak Jiwani (MJ): The scene that was hardest to shoot was a party scene – classic right? We didn’t have a lot of time in the location and this was an important scene in terms of the emotional arcs of the character.

Any time you have a lot of extras and complex shots and limited time and money, things become tense, but we managed to get all the beats needed and it looks pretty great.

Is there anything about the independent filmmaking business you still struggle with?
Mahak Jiwani (MJ): I think the biggest thing is surviving while making independent films. Doing your own thing gives you a lot of freedom in terms of the kind of art you want to create but it is always a hustle and a constant struggle. Having a day job helps though.

What do you hope audiences get from your film?
Mahak Jiwani (MJ): We started with the idea of telling a story about twisted relationships between men, especially in extremely patriarchal cultures or male-dominated workplaces. What we have now is a film that reflects that idea, but it also portrays a very universal story about the darkest emotions.

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That one can have about their immediate family or loved ones. I hope that when audiences see this film, they can gain some understanding of the characters and the larger society that brought them to this place.

What else have you got in the works?
MJ: I am now working on a feature length film called Shadow with Leticia. This film is set in the same world as Congratulations and follows the characters of Guillermo and Bruno. In addition to that, I am also working on another feature called Gulaab.

Which was selected for the Open Doors Hub at Locarno Film Festival last year. We shot a proof of concept short for that film – Darling – which is now set to world premiere at Venice Film Festival.

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