MSU Denver professor’s film ‘Anuja’ earns Oscar nomination

Editor’s note: Anuja earned an Oscar nomination for best Live Action Short Film, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced on Jan. 23.

You may have heard some recent buzz about a new short film called “Anuja.”

You might even have heard that Mindy Kaling boarded the film as producer or that it made this year’s Oscars shortlist or that it will be coming to Netflix in February. However, you almost certainly didn’t know it was written and directed by a faculty member at Metropolitan State University of Denver.

Adam J. Graves, professor of Philosophy, made the multiple-award-winning film with his wife, producing partner and multidisciplinary artist, Suchitra Mattai. It follows the moving story of a gifted 9-year-old girl who works in a New Delhi garment factory with her sister, for whom a life-changing opportunity comes with a heart-wrenching decision.

Following numerous film-festival wins for “Anuja,” RED caught up with the director.

Very few coming-of-age films have featured the lives of working children. Do you think the positive reaction to “Anuja” might help change that?

I certainly hope so. The project was sparked by a shocking statistic that my wife encountered: One in 10 kids, globally, is engaged in child labor. That equates to 160 million children, and yet we were struck by how few coming-of-age films feature working children.

That said, “Anuja” is by no means the definitive story on child labor. There are countless stories out there, and I hope other filmmakers explore those narrative possibilities. But at its heart, “Anuja” is a story about the love between two sisters who, like so many kids around the world, find themselves having to work in order to survive.

How did a college philosophy professor end up hobnobbing with movie stars and attracting serious Oscar buzz?

Fair question! I’m a professor of Philosophy at MSU Denver, where I often teach courses on the philosophy of film, and I also direct Dphi, a center that explores the intersection of philosophy, film, literature and the arts. My passion for film has been informed by my passion for philosophy, which is why you’ll often find me digging into both subjects in my classes and courses.

RELATED: “D-phi”-ing conventional education

Many tough films about tough subjects are also, frankly, a tough watch — but you’ve made sure to also capture the children’s capacity for lightness and joy and their resourcefulness.

It wasn’t initially obvious to me that the film should have such a tone. But once we started researching the film and actually meeting kids from these communities, I found there was something so magical about their joyful spirit and spunk, and I wanted to pay tribute to those qualities.

Besides, in the best coming-of-age films, the children are always smarter and more resourceful than the adults! I really wanted my characters to be the agents of their own fortune, rather than merely passive victims.

Can you briefly describe the moment you found out you had made the Oscars shortlist?

Suchitra and I had a few sleepless nights in the run-up to the announcement, and we knew we wouldn’t get much work done on the morning itself.  So we just sat around, anxiously refreshing our phones. The truth is, we were already thrilled to be among the 180 short films out of tens of thousands that qualified for the Oscars. But the shortlist cuts that figure down to just 15 films. Those are tough odds, so we tried not to get our hopes too high.

At last, one of our producers texted us a screenshot with the results on the Academy’s official page.  After taking it in, and making a few calls, we were finally able to catch a long nap that afternoon.

Every press mention of “Anuja” has also amplified the issues of child labor and girls’ education rights. Did you and your wife ever dream that your project would have such an outsize impact?

Every indie filmmaker hopes that their short film will find an audience, and that’s not easy to do given that tens of thousands of shorts are shot each year. We have been completely blown away by the film’s reception. And while “Anuja” got plenty of positive attention in the U.S., in India it has become a genuine cultural phenomenon.

As one of the only Indian films shortlisted for an Oscar, our little project has been under an incredible spotlight and our two young stars have become mini-celebrities. My main hope now is that the film will not only have an emotional impact on its audience but also a social impact.

Mindy Kaling, Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Guneet Monga Kapoor have joined the film as producers. That probably hasn’t hurt your prospects…

Obviously, it’s a huge honor to have such enthusiastic support from three of the most influential women in global entertainment. And what’s amazing is just how passionate they are about the film.  They’re not just “attached” as celebrities; they’ve really been going to work on behalf of “Anuja” and are determined to help amplify the story however they can. So there’s no question that having them on board has really helped our film to find an even larger audience.

Graves and Mattai created the film in collaboration with the Salaam Baalak Trust, a nonprofit that provides support to working and street children in India, and will host social-impact screenings to raise awareness for the cause.