Sangeeta Marwah, Media Production

Q & A

(Click on the icon to view a video version of this interview with Sangeeta)

 

How did you end up in film and television production?

I came to be in this field as a change of career. At one point in time I decided I wanted to do something more creative with myself. Film and television industry was always of a huge interest to me.”

Is it any easier to enter this field as a woman today than it might have been before?

I think in today’s terms it is definitely far different. There are so many women who have entered the field already and therefore it becomes so much easier for someone like me to make this my professional career. It was obviously a bit different a few years back.

Although 20 years ago, there were women making it as filmmakers, back then they were the exception. Now, no one is raising eyebrows about it.

But more than it just being an absolute question, it also depends upon where you are, which country you are from, whether you have any professional experience at all, whether you have the support of a key group of people, whether you have financial support. All of those factors together determine whether or not you are going to be a success. And of course pure drive and ambition counts for a lot too.

Did anyone in particular encourage you to pursue a career in media production?

I don’t think anyone specifically encouraged me to choose media arts as a profession. I think it was mostly just me always having this drive to something which I felt was more reflective of the creativity I possess as an individual. But my immediate family did a lot in terms of offering encouragement and support although it’s really a non-traditional career.

What are some disadvantages of being a woman in your field?

At a very basic level, there’s a whole lot of moving equipment and stuff. But as far as creativity is concerned, nobody ever says men are more creative than women or vice versa.

As far as advantages of being a man in this field -- you can back slap a lot of people when you are working as a male, you have that kind of camaraderie. As a woman you often end up standing around feeling uncomfortable. It’s not that people are saying anything, or being sexist. It’s that you feel “Oh, I really don’t belong here.”

And some advantages?

Well everyone has to be careful around you because, well you are a woman, you are special!

Do you think Boston is an easier place for a woman to break into the media production field than other places?

“I would say in general first of all Boston would be an easier place – it’s not a huge media production market and I think it’s still a far more academic setting. That, and the fact that it’s a relatively smaller city makes things a little bit easier.”