DENVER — It’s a big weekend for a MSU Denver professor who is waiting to find out if his movie will win an Oscar.
"Anuja" has been nominated for best live action short.
It was written and directed by Adam Graves, a MSU Denver Philosophy professor. He produced it along with his wife Suchitra Mattai.
It’s about two sisters working in a New Delhi garment factory when the younger sister has a chance to go to an elite boarding school. It’s shedding light on a startling statistic that one in 10 kids globally are engaged in child labor, according to UNICEF.
The 22-minute movie on Netflix delves into an issue so many families face — go to school or make money so the family can survive.
Graves has lived in India, has a background in South Asian studies and shared some of the inspiration behind the movie.
“If you have the privilege to make a film, why not use that as a way, as a kind of vehicle for shedding light on stories that don't get often told,” Graves said.
The film is not only raising awareness, but is striking a chord with the South Asian community and in India, since there isn’t always a lot of South Asian representation at the Oscars.
“We've been seeing a lot of stories coming out in major press in India,” Graves said. “Basically declaring, you know, the weight of the subcontinent rests on the shoulders of Anuja, which is a lot of pressure, to be honest, and a lot of pressure on our the stars of our show.”
The film went on to have big names backing it like Mindy Kaling and Priyanka Chopra Jonas.
The main young star Sajda Pathan is still living in an orphanage even with the paparazzi chasing her and her growing fame.
Graves said they have set up a trust in her name.
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