Prutha Goa

Initial diffidence is overpowered by the desire for expression. As found in most shy persons, thought processes function at an accelerated pace and the urgency to communicate the same soon brings in confidence. Had he not become a filmmaker, Joywin Fernandes would have surely taken up journalism as a profession. Such is his need to put forth his ideas. His love of films grew with him since he saw his first film as a young boy. The movies were rented by his father as a reward for doing well in school. He remembers fondly, ‘I remember my dad used to take me to a video cassette library every Sunday to hire a movie only if I would get ‘very good’ remark on my maths book.’ The passion for watching films soon transformed into a passion for making films which was an ideal outlet for his creativity. His intention is not just the making of films, but the making of good films. This is something that requires time and he says it takes at least a year to create good cinema. Joywin Fernandes Joywin

Stacy Rodrigues has come a long way in her life and has truly been through a trial by fire. She suffers from a congenital disease called heredomacular degeneration that leads to gradual bilateral decrease in vision starting in early childhood or the teenage years. Stacy realised that something was different about herself much before her parents did. But her attempts to convey this awareness to the people around her were met with scepticism. Teachers would berate her for not putting in an optimal performance. She was considered lazy and received physical punishment on occasion. Reading became arduous as it would take up to ten minutes to recognise each letter and often there would be confusion with letters that were similar like ‘a’ and ‘o’. Stacy’s other senses were strengthened while she focused on her auditory sense to deal with her educational hurdles. This became her best shot at learning and she managed to just barely pass her examinations in school. Her parents became convinced o