Aaron Kopp, a Boston University College of Communication associate professor of the practice of film and television, attended the 97th Academy Awards ceremony Sunday for his nominated short film “Anuja.”
“Anuja” follows two young girls in India who are forced to work in a sweatshop. When Anuja gets the opportunity to go to boarding school, she must make a decision that will determine her and her sister’s fate.
Kopp isn’t new to the Academy — shooting and co-producing award-winning documentary “Saving Face” and serving as cinematographer for the Academy-nominated Sundance film “The Hunting Ground.”
“It’s pretty surreal,” Kopp said. “It is also just a tremendous affirmation of this thing that we love so much, and is just hugely meaningful.”
Kopp said being recognized at the awards was an incredible honor, but it was also humbling.
“All of this opulence and wealth and self-congratulatory stuff just isn’t really quite as important as I think sometimes we make it out to be,” Kopp said. “What it’s about is telling stories that we love that make a difference in the world, and working with people who matter.”
While “Anuja” lost its category, Kopp said the nomination highlights the College of Communication’s Film and Television Department as a “serious” community creating “high-quality work” for global audiences.
“I hope it raises the profile of the department,” Kopp said. “I hope that it sends a very clear message that collaborating within a diverse community and making stories that have social impact but doing it artfully is a really powerful way to make powerful work and to get it recognized.”
FTV Chair and Professor of Practice Craig Shepherd said the FTV department believes filmmaking is a “powerful tool for representation,” and these conversations are at the “forefront” of every production level at BU.
“Anytime a student or a faculty member’s film gain national or international attention, it has a ripple effect on the university and the FTV department in a very positive way,” Shepherd said.
Tunji Akinsehinwa, an FTV associate professor of practice, said publicity around “Anuja” may help the film program by showing prospective students what BU can offer.
“What makes a good film school is not just the faculty and the equipment and the amenities, but also the students you attract,” Akinsehinwa said. “So if you can attract the best students, then it helps make you a better school.”
Kopp said featuring underrepresenting voices in film, like the issue of global child labor, is foundational to all of his films, but there is more work to be done in the industry. “I think it’s really important to establish that it’s not like we are just tolerating these voices,” Kopp said. “We are elevating and centering these voices and making it very clear that these narratives and these artists are essential to the conversation, not just being ‘allowed in the room.’”
Akinsehinwa said ensuring students have a “globalized outlook” before they leave BU is a responsibility of the faculty to ensure all students experience inclusivity.
“We do encourage them to think about when they go out in the world, have something to say,” Akinsehinwa said. “Say that in your work and be expressive and tell stories. Tell strong stories.”
