Wendy Bednarz launched her career in the fashion industry of NYC under Stephen Sprouse at Andy Warhol's Factory, fostering a passion for unconventional and visual storytelling. She traverses diverse narratives through film, photography, and video installations, with works showcased globally, earning accolades from venues like NY MoMA, Montreal World Film Festival, and Venice Film Festival. This is the first of its kind, Indo-Jordanian production, co-produced by Guneet Monga Kapoor.
Wendy's inaugural fiction feature, 'Yellow Bus,' marks her debut in the genre. Starring Tannishtha Chatterjee and Amit Sial, ‘Yellow Bus' is inspired by a real event of the tragic, avoidable death of a little girl, forgotten in a school bus only to succumb to the heat.
Here’s her exclusive Q&A with Asian Voice:
1. Over the years, you may have seen multiple issues that the Indian diaspora and migrants in general face abroad, despite working harder than the locals. Why do you think that is the case? How did that translate into the plot of Yellow Bus?
I think it's really hard to make a home away from families in a foreign country to feel valued for your contributions. There should be a lot of gratitude for the people who come and do that because it's giving up a lot more than probably the remuneration they receive in return perhaps. In Yellow Bus there are all kinds of Indian diaspora living in the Gulf, some of them own banks, and a lot of them are workers in the oil industry. I chose a very specific one - a family with a home and not living in a camp. So there is a certain amount of success. The main protagonist Ananda (Tannishtha Chatterjee) is very educated and has given up her career to raise the children.
2. The film humanises the protagonists, perhaps a first in cinema like this, which may be very cathartic for a lot of parents who aren’t perfect. Where did this idea germinate from?
It germinated from my being in me being an imperfect parent. I'm interested in the fact that all of us as humans are flawed. We make mistakes, and this was a very interesting entry point to the story for me as I was thinking about all the characters, As a parent, I couldn't imagine putting my child on a school bus and then not returning home to me and my first thought was - I would be angry at the school at the system but I probably would be most upset with myself.
3. You’re being applauded for getting the minute details of Indian culture perfectly right in the film. How did you manage to do that, considering you don’t speak the Hindi language?
The right producers, the right crew, the crew, the background, the crew backgrounds, mirror those of the story, the casting was extremely important. I had a priest, a Hindu priest on speed dial who I would speak to. I was just constantly asking a lot of questions and listening to the translation of the screenplay was very challenging. It was written in English, I naively assumed that it would easily translate into Hindi Arabic and Urdu and it was not an easy process. This kind of caveat was a benefit that the discovery of directing in a language that was not my own also was very freeing because it allowed me to look at the performances.
4. We’re amid a migrant, cost-of-living and a larger human crisis, where Yellow Bus is a very relevant film. What can the diaspora take away from it and what can the people from other cultures, non-Black Asian Minority Ethnic learn about being a little less harsh on themselves?
Yes, I agree with this. I can tell you that I believe that the diaspora coming to countries must allow themselves to have a voice even when they may feel that they don't have one. I think it's very important that people speak up. It's challenging to be away from families challenging to be subjected to cultural norms that may not make sense at first, to a person. I think that surrendering to these challenges is just super important as to knowing that no one is alone in this. This is the shift. This is a worldwide shift as as people move from one place to the other and it does come with discomfort but it doesn't mean at the end of the day that their contributions are any less valuable.