Each month, Nikki Wilson interviews an Ignite Member, asking five simple questions, to find out what creativity means to them, and how they see culture and creativity, and its potential, in Chelmsford.

This month Nikki talks to Vignesh Vyas.

How would you describe what you do? 

I would say I’ve got multiple sides to what I do. So I’m a filmmaker. One part of what I do tends to be directing short films, music videos, feature length films, documentaries, all of those sides of things. I tend to usually write, direct, edit and do the cinematography for my films. Most of these films are produced through AV2 – a company where the co-directors are my brother Mahesh and myself. So that’s one part of what I do.

Then there is what I call the brand films – so I create and tell brand stories. And that could be individual stories, but also companies, brands, etcetera, so it’s not an advertisement, but it’s more about trying to tell why they’re different. So you might have, I don’t know, 10 entrepreneurs, but each entrepreneur’s vision and journey would be different. They might be having the same business or same kind of business, but what makes each of them unique? So I try to tap into that and tell their story in a very cinematic way. 

And then I’m also an occupational therapist, and I specialise in mental health, and as part of that, and as part of my research, I’ve also worked towards what’s called therapeutic filmmaking, which is very much looking into using filmmaking to help individuals, to enable independence, so helping them with goal setting. Now, if I’m to speak about therapeutic filmmaking, it’s very much trauma informed, but it’s not trauma focused. So usually, most art therapy, or any kind of psychotherapy related work tends to be trauma focused, whereas mine is very much trauma informed, and it’s more goal focused. It’s very much looking at, okay, this is where you are, now where would you want to go or want to be – say in 2 years, 5 years etc…? Can we make a film on that? So I teach some skills about making a film on that particular individual’s journey and we then make the film. That’s in a way, also bringing in the whole aspect of visualisation and helping individuals, you can say, manifest, which is sometimes considered as quite cheesy or cliche, but that’s in essence, what I try to do. I also work as the operational lead for the Mid Essex Recovery College, where I have a fantastic team that we work with, and we co-produce and co-deliver free mental health courses. 

And who, or what gives you creative inspiration?

It’s very hard to pinpoint to just one, but I was really fascinated by filmmakers like Terrence Malick, and I really liked his method and work.  At the moment, I’m very much fascinated by an Iranian filmmaker who sadly passed away. His name is Abbas Kiarostami, and I love the way he makes films, and have been really inspired by his way of filmmaking. I’m also into the other filmmakers such as Scorsese, Nolan or Spielberg.  Also there are Indian filmmakers like Satyajit Ray and Mani Ratnam. Over the last couple of years, I can’t necessarily say inspiration, but I’ve been drawn towards Jungian theories and Jungian studies, and very much kind of going into that aspect as well, which has opened up a really large avenue, for example, exploring the works of Ingmar Bergman, the filmmaker, and also Andrei Tarkovsky. Their films predominantly look at one’s psyche and truly exploring that. So that’s something that I’ve really gone into as part of my creative process. 

Whenever I write stories or anything, I’m very much, I would say, musically led. So I’m not a trained musician, I don’t play any instruments, I don’t sing, none of that. But I really listen to a wide range of music. So, for example, scores by Thomas Newman, or there is a band called Hammock or Indian composers like A.R. Rahman, and both Western and Indian classical music really inspire me. And if I’m to go into books again, there’s a wide range that inspire me. I’m a huge fan of Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger, The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, and The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho,so, yeah, these books inspire me to tell my stories. 

I’ve often noticed that what inspires me, or draws me the most in telling and listening to stories – that help us understand how someone becomes who they are. So it’s kind of that ongoing journey and what their life lessons are, and how they get to where they are. So it’s very much drawn by that. So I kind of delve into listening to as many stories as possible. I’m always willing to listen to stories, and I’m also a keen storyteller.

If you could try any new creative or cultural experience or practice, what would it be?

I’m really picking up street photography again.   I’ve very much been into photography, and really want to do it. As part of being a cinematographer, working with images has always been there, but I had stopped taking photos for quite a while.  I’ve now restarted that, so that’s something I’m exploring at the moment and really getting into that.  

I mentioned the director Abbas Kiarostami and his works, and he very much has a docufiction model. My films have usually been either based on true stories, or inspired by true stories, and sometimes it’s plain, straightforward documentary. However, I’m really going into this whole Docufiction side, getting real life individuals, let’s say, for example, if someone’s a carpenter, actually making them act and creating a story around their real-life scenario. They might not be an actor, but really directing them to act, and then making a film around that, whereby there is this real thin line, which kind of makes you wonder, okay, is this a documentary, or is this a fiction? And really kind of questioning that, but seeing it in a very, again entertaining or cinematic way. So, yeah, that’s, that’s something I’m trying to explore at the moment.

What excites you about creativity and culture in Chelmsford?

The more I kind of start exploring Chelmsford, what’s fascinating is what’s out there and untapped.  I currently live in mid Essex but the creative side flourished for me personally after I started my role as the Operational Lead at Mid Essex Recovery college, which led me to get in touch with the Art Place and the Ideas Hub, and that just opened up these whole avenues of the creativity that’s out there. From the street art to the amount of creative individuals that you walk past, for me, it’s a very fascinating place. 

This may be deviating a bit from the question, but if you were to ask me, what are a couple of places that really inspire me, in Chelmsford I would certainly say the Art Place but another is the Oxfam bookshop next to Caffe Nero, and that, to me, is like a gold mine, and where I tend to get a lot of inspiration.  Also places like Chelmsford Museum,, I just love exploring there.There are also loads of amazing little cafes, which are again underrated, that are brimming with creativity and inspiration, and that’s just great. One example being Fête Grays Yard in Chelmsford. 

And again, I’m not trying to promote it, but in my full time role working with the students who attend the Recovery College, we often very much say at the start of the course that “as much as we are here to teach, we are also here to learn from each other. We want to break that barrier about us being experts”, and that genuinely has been happening, whereby I’ve learned so much from the students – which has helped in my personal, professional and creative life. Now that has been truly inspiring. Learning from the students has helped me develop my thought processes and introduced me to things that I’m unaware of. 

What would you like to see in Chelmsford that isn’t here yet?

What Ignite’s doing at the moment, I think it’s very much needed. I did not know about Ignite, so when I came across the website, I was like, “why aren’t more people aware of this?”  I think this is very much needed, a one stop shop where everyone can come together, know about each other, which is great. I’ve been really going through all your blog posts and stuff, and it’s just great to see the amount of talent that’s there.

I’ve been told, and I don’t know, I need to do more work on this, but I’ve been told that there is no Film Club in Chelmsford, so I think that’s a very interesting idea. We don’t have the licence to show any mainstream films as part of the Recovery College, we do do film screenings, but then it’s mostly films available on YouTube – so it’s mainly short films. 

Other than that, personally I think it’s an untapped territory at the moment, and I think with initiatives like Ignite and Culture Chelmsford and what the Ideas Hub is doing, and I also have to mention the CVS as they’re doing a lot of great work in the area. I think if everyone comes together, I do believe that would really help. The thing is not everyone knows each other, there are all these different things that are happening and slowly building up but I only came to know about the Sounds Good Festival maybe a week before that was going to happen. So I feel there is a need for more collaborative opportunities, more avenues to help pass on the messages and also for people to know and support each other. There’s a line in the song ‘Hero’ by the band Family of the Year – which is “everyone deserves a chance to walk with everyone else” – that’s it – that’s what I would like to see in Chelmsford.

Have a look at some for Vignesh’s work:

• Trailer for ‘The Long Walk’, currently playing at festivals and features a number of actors from Chelmsford
• Vignesh Vyas brand video
• Music video showreel

Cover photo: Simon Annand, article photo: Rakhil Kalarithottathil