‘Anuja’ falls just short of an Oscar win

At first sight, “Anuja” seems an unlikely Oscars prospect.

It was shot on a tiny budget. It’s a foreign-language production. The director is a full-time college professor. Its focus, exploitation of child labourers, could hardly be less glamorous.

And yet the film — directed by Metropolitan State University of Denver Philosophy professor, Adam J. Graves, with his wife and producing partner, Suchitra Mattai — really took off last year. Nominated in the highly competitive Best Live Action Short Film category of the Oscars, it glided its way to the final shortlist of five entrants.

Finally, on Oscar night, this endearing small film had its big moment before a TV audience of millions  and only narrowly missed winning the big prize, which went to “I’m Not a Robot,” at a star-studded Los Angeles ceremony.

Modest production

For Graves, the large-scale impact and global success of “Anuja” over the past year has been a revelation. His 22-minute film, which follows the travails of a gifted 9-year-old girl working with her sister in a New Delhi garment factory, was a very modest production, shot over four hectic days on a smaller-than-shoestring budget.

So, what was going through his mind as he stood on the famous Academy red carpet — a bona-fide Oscar contender, surrounded by Hollywood royalty?

“Well, you don’t get these opportunities too often,” he said, “so my wife and I focussed on taking everything in and enjoying the moment. Really, just being there was reward enough for us.”

Although it was an “incredible” experience to hob-nob with so many stars and great filmmakers, Graves’ real highlight was taking the two young stars of his film (Ananya Shanbhag and Sajda Pathan) along to the ceremony.

“We had to work pretty hard — with passports, visas and miles of red tape — to get them over to L.A., but it was worth the effort,” he said. “It was fantastic to see them walking the red carpet and then have them sit with us on the main floor during the ceremony.”

Star supporters

While Graves is surprised by just how far his film has come, he knew from the outset that it was good.

The reviews were immediately enthusiastic, throwing out enough superlatives (fabulous, a must-watch, unexpected and wondrous) to make any filmmaker blush. And throughout last year, “Anuja” picked up major awards at numerous film festivals.

Another high point: Several major film industry figures — including Mindy Kaling, Prianka Chopra-Jonas and Guneet Monga Kapoor — clamored to join the film as producers. The final cherry on top came earlier this year when the film debuted on Netflix, providing a huge potential audience boost.

RELATED: MSU Denver professor’s film ‘Anuja’ earns Oscar nomination

Useful lessons

Now that all the hullabaloo and celebrations are over, what aspect of Graves’ long Oscar journey stands out as the most important?

“I learned a great deal about filmmaking during this process, and I don’t just mean by making the actual film,” he said. “I’ve also picked up so much about the business side of things, such as distribution and promotion, which is really useful.”

It’s also worth noting that Graves will no longer be called a “director.” From now on, he will always be “Oscar-nominated director, Adam Graves.”

That really matters because having a golden Oscar glow behind him should increase the young director’s odds of making another film.

“There are zero guarantees in this business,” he said. “Even for accomplished directors, it can take a series of small miracles to get another film made. The stars have to align exactly.”

But when it comes to the hard business of getting the next project green-lit, his recent success will count. “Nothing is ever easy in this industry,” he said. “But next time round, my Oscar nomination should make aligning those stars just a little easier!”