Learning skills and winning the Digifest: Living the best of both worlds in Apeejay

On November 8, 2023, the Digifest 2023 award ceremony took place, organised by the School of Journalism, Film, and Creative Arts at Lovely Professional University. The event featured various categories and witnessed participation from colleges across the country. The ceremony was graced by Saurabh Dwivedi, a Senior Journalist from Lallantop, as well as other notable guests, including Nirendra Nagar, Former Editor of Times Internet Limited; Amit Bhatia, Journalist at ABP News; Roopa Jha, Journalist at BBC Digital; Ujjwal Mahajan, Founder of Chaupal Multi-Regional OTT platforms, and Nitin Gupta, Chief Content Officer of Chaupal OTT platforms.

Teams from AIMC (Apeejay Institute of Mass Communication) secured prizes in various categories, including Creative Start-Up, Film Making, and Insta Reel. Abhinav Bajpai and I, Swagatam Roy, pursuing Television and Radio Journalism/Production, won the Film-making competition. Gargee Sarkar and I, Swagatam Roy, secured victory in the Creative Start-Up category. Additionally, Shreya Ghosh, pursuing Advertising and Marketing Communication, was the First runner-up in the Insta Reel making competition.

As we embarked on the journey of stitching together shots to create a story, it felt as if we had lived an entire story behind the camera lens. Now, as we reflect on everything that happened during the process, we feel a strong sense of nostalgia, along with a deeper sense of wisdom that the journey has instilled in us.

As they say, “Failure is the pillar of success.” We initially encountered two failures during the production stage of this project until Mirza Ghalib’s work saved us. The idea was suggested to us by Prof. Mudita Raj and supported by Prof. Naveen Gautam. We instantly resonated with the idea, after all, it was about Ghalib. As we traveled to Ghalib Ki Haveli, his shayaris started resonating in our minds.

The Haveli features red-bricked walls and a soothing, calm ambiance. Ghalib wrote most of his great literary pieces amid this exact ambiance. We felt an unusual sensation run down our spines throughout the entire shoot, which undoubtedly made the shots more vibrant.

The post-production stage saw us going through the rush multiple times, brainstorming and refining video ideas, staying up until midnight and beyond to bring our ideas to life. What kept us awake was the trust that our professors placed in us.

The satisfaction of creating content lies in witnessing it take shape, rather than in winning awards, at least, that’s what I believe. This made us forget about the results. Our happiness knew no bounds when we learned that we had won.

Abhinav, sharing his experience, said, “Winning the competition, where we had super-talented competitors, felt a bit unbelievable to me. My top priority is always learning something new in every project. We simply gave our 100%, and yes, ‘Ye dil mange more.'”

Gargee, sharing her experience, said, “I usually prefer staying out of the spotlight, but Apeejay and its faculty recognised the potential in me. The institute nurtured it, and today I was standing right beside a veteran journalist, Saurabh Dwivedi, receiving awards for the best short film and the best startup idea.”

In conclusion, winning the competition felt like a silver lining to my dark cloud. Life away from home here in Delhi is not as easy and glamorous as it may seem; it’s rather adventurous and, at times, highly challenging. However, with such a supportive and knowledge-imparting faculty, you feel at ease and you learn. Winning awards for the best film and the best startup idea would never have been possible without the support of the entire AIMC family.