Blooming in the unlikely: Sanna Sandhu’s film on feminism and ambition
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“I want to be able to use my work to make bitter concepts seem more understandable, providing a new perspective on them,” says Sanna Sandhu, following the release of her As The Flower Blooms.
“I want to be able to use my work to make bitter concepts seem more understandable, by providing a new perspective on them.”
That’s the legacy 20-year-old Sanna Sandhu wants to leave with As The Flower Blooms – a documentary film that explores the materialisation of feminism through the lens of ambition, featuring the stories and ideas of women in northern India.
Currently completing her bachelor’s degree in environmental science, Sanna is deeply passionate about advocating for others. Inspired by her brother’s love for film and her grandmothers rich-cultural influence, she hopes to use these driving forces to provide an outlet for the underrepresented.
Sanna’s goal for As The Flower Blooms was not to give a voice to these women, but instead be a vessel for their own thoughts, behaviours and ambitions.
As quoted within Sanna’s film – which draws inspiration from Greta Gerwig’s 2019 rendition of Little Women – “Women, they have minds, and they have souls as well as just hearts. And they’ve got ambition”.
Despite societal constraints, the women in Sanna’s documentary demonstrate a clear, fundamental desire for equality beyond domestic roles.
When asked whether self-worth is deeply ingrained in human nature, Sanna notes that even when an individual struggles to express it, local networks play a vital role. “Women’s support networks are highly important in expanding the idea of ambition and respect, allowing these women to progress together and build each other up,” she explains.
For a lot of women in northern India and other countries around the world, the concept of ambition is ignored. Through her film, Sanna is aiming to prove that regardless of being surrounded by ignorance, ambition is found within all women no matter their circumstances.
For many women featured, simply being asked about their aspirations was a novel experience. Parwan—the inspiration behind the film’s title—had never been asked to share her views on gender equality yet confidently stated that “girls are no less than boys.” As Sanna puts it, Parwan is the flower that managed to bloom without the soil of equality or the water of respect. Another subject, Sneha, highlighted the foundation of progress: “Respect yourself, have respect for your work, and only then will other people respect us.”
“Self-respect is the first step that enables these women to grow and expand and chase their ambitions,” says Sanna.
As The Flower Blooms has currently been nominated at five film festivals around the world, including the Sydney World Film Festival , The Womens Film Fesitival, The Woman’s Voices Now Film Festival, Women Make Movies Film Festival, and the Vancouver Women Film Festival.
As for Sanna, this film is simply the beginning of her journey. Attending the upcoming Young Australian Film Festival in Melbourne as a volunteer, Sanna is excited to meet the festival team and other aspiring Australian Film creators and enthusiasts. Despite her passion for advocacy through film, Sanna, alongside friend Naasir Shaikh, is in the process of creating a horror short film – aiming to dive deeper into traditional filmmaking.
Whilst it’s a shift from her current documentary style, Sanna is excited to learn different lighting techniques, scriptwriting, costume selection and design as well as understanding all aspects of the horror genre.
Sanna additionally aims to continue her freelance graphic design work, as well as potentially expanding the concept of ambition within women to other countries beyond India.
Sanna’s film, As The Flower Blooms highlights the similarities of women across the world regardless of circumstances. It is women like Parwan and Sneha who highlight ambition, whether it be the central driving force of people’s lives, or a distant thought not yet explored.
Ambition, while different for all women, is prevalent in all. It is important in this life that we act on ambition and drive for the things in life that bring us purpose.
Because as Sanna says, “What is this life without ambition?”
