Anuja Producer Kopp, MFA ’22 on Representation and Community in Filmmaking

Aaron Kopp, MFA ’22 is an award-winning filmmaker whose most recent film, Anuja, was nominated for an Oscar in the Live Action Short category.

Kopp, who teaches filmmaking at Boston University, produced Anuja, the story of a 9-year-old orphan and garment worker in Delhi who is offered a life-changing opportunity to attend an elite boarding school, alongside actors Mindy Kaling and Priyanka Chopra. Netflix bought the film and released it earlier this month, although Emerson community members got the chance to see it on Feb. 13 in a program of Oscar nominated short films screened as part of the VMA Presents! series, with Kopp in attendance to answer questions.

Earlier, Emerson Today asked him a few questions about Anuja

How did you come to this project?

I have known the director and producer team, Adam Graves and Suchitra Mattai, for many years. During that time, I made a film called Liyana, which focused on a collaborative creative relationship with kids in marginalized communities.

We’ve had many conversations about how, why, and with whom films can be made to have the most consequence in the world, and from those conversations, the concept of Anuja grew. Adam and Suchitra have deep ties in India, and this specific concept developed through Suchitra’s work as an artist working with textiles from the region and their research into child labor in the garment industry.

What it is that you love about Anuja?

I love that Anuja is not a film made about a community; it’s a film made with a community. Everything about the film is designed to depend on collaboration from within this community in Delhi. Early on, we talked about the need to ensure that when folks from the community see the film, they see their strength, humor, and resourcefulness reflected in the way they’re represented in the film.

Yes, the characters work in a back-alley garment factory, and while we don’t gloss over the challenges of that environment, the film acknowledges the joy and dignity of so many kids in similar circumstances. These young women are so much more than the sum of their suffering — they are brilliant, irreverent, and mischievous.

In what ways has your Emerson education carried over into your career?

I was already a working filmmaker when I came to Emerson, but being here allowed me time and space to think more deeply about how I make films. So many great professors poured their wisdom and resources into my life. It clarified my vision and accelerated me into exactly this kind of work that Anuja represents — collaborative creative work with communities to tell artful, nuanced, socially engaged stories. Given recent political developments, this type of storytelling is more crucial now than ever.