Opening IFFI one of proudest moments of my life: Stuart Gatt

Panaji: British filmmaker Stuart Gatt, whose movie "Catching Dust" opened the 54th International Film Festival of India (IFFI), says sharing his film with the Indian audience was an "important moment" for him.

Starring Erin Moriarty, Jai Courtney, Dina Shihabi, Ryan Corr, Jose Altit, Gary Fannin and Olwen Fouere, the desert drama set in the isolation of Texas' Big Bend was screened on Monday night at the INOX multiplex in Panaji here.

Gatt said the experience of participating at IFFI was "incredible".

"It is an important moment for me to share my film with the Indian audience. It has been an amazing movement. You work very hard on the film and to see this kind of response is incredible," the director told PTI on the sidelines of the ongoing annual film gala here.

"Catching Dust", set in the isolation of Texas' Big Bend, follows a lone trailer on an abandoned commune, which has become the reluctant hideout for Geena and her criminal husband, Clyde.

"Exhausted by his controlling ways, Geena decides to leave, when a trailer suddenly arrives carrying a couple from New York. Ignoring the risks their presence will bring, Geena convinces Clyde to let them stay, a decision that will have dangerous consequences for them all. The film captivates the audience at a profound level of finding solace in the face of evident hopelessness and despair," read the plotline of the film.

Gatt, who is half Indian with his mother hailing from South India, said the audience's response to his film was amazing.

"Remove the fact that I am half Indian, but as a filmmaker, it is a huge accolade to open the IFFI with my film. IFFI is a festival which is very much respected. If you add in the personal thing, being of Indian heritage for me, it is one of the proudest moments of my life. Maybe the proudest moment," he said.

The director said he is currently concentrating on taking "Catching Dust" to festivals.

"Right now, this is the festival we are focusing on. Once we have a general release of the film, we will be going across India," he added.

IFFI will come to a close on November 28 with the premiere of the American film "The Featherweight.