What an incredible project this has been, celebrating 40 years of South Asian Arts and Culture in our hometown of Southampton for Art Asia. Mela is a live festival that usually takes place each year in Hoglands Park, but had been cancelled during the pandemic. The organisers decided to do something a bit different in 2021 and recreate the event online. They asked Bullet to help them produce a 3-hour film, which gave all the colour and flavour of the actual event, that supporters could enjoy from the comfort of their homes. Alongside the main film, the project involved creating a variety of teasers, stories and trailers for Art Asia to use in the year ahead, to retain interest in the festival and keep momentum going for 2022, when it is planned to be live again.
We spent two days with Art Asia and a team of five camera crew, filming various pop up shows in key areas of the city. We filmed Asian dancers at the Southampton Docks, performances at St Mary’s and in Southampton’s Cultural Quarter, inside the MAST Mayflower Studios, as well as celebrations in the Rope Walk Garden. We interviewed the Mayor and key figures of culture in the City and took a full suite of professional photographs to be used in promotional material.
The event organisers were delighted with the Hybrid Mela Festival final edit and described it as “absolutely brilliant” and gave us some lovely feedback:
“The quality of the filming images and performances including the editing was superb! I am aware that you and your team have gone above and beyond your brief to make the film look colourful and vibrant and from all the feedback I have had it has succeeded. A very well deserved congratulation on the high quality of the film production.”
The full film can be seen at Art Asia’s website and the 2 minute trailer can be seen here:
Art Asia 2 minute trailer for the Mela Festival 2021
Pooja Rajguru dancing in Mayflower Park with the cruise liner in the background. One of the photographs taken by Bullet for the campaign, which reflects an iconic image of Southampton