FILMS
FILMOGRAPHY
The Silent Serenade | A Student Short Film (2023)
A silent film about about James, a senior at college, who grapples with his abusive past, relationship anxiety, and detachment patterns
Writer/Director/Cinematographer/Editor: Parinay Gupta
1st AC: Ellen Liu, Yaoyun Qi, Isaiah Hu
Gaffer: Jacob Whatley
Grip: Kenny Gong, Hadi Chaudhri
Cast: Matthew Alexander, Shu Wu, Nicole Lee, Skylar Knight, Ace Asim
Party People (2023) | Short Film
A short film about a lonely birthday party and a girl who doesn't want to grow up.
Writor & Director: Skylar Knight
Starring: Jaye Bullock
Production Team: Stephen Kim, Jacob Whatley, Parinay Gupta, Miranda Zhong, Ezra Melaku, Yurina Shirai, Isaiah Hu
The Disagreement | Short Scene
Prompt: Shoot a scene, fully lit, in which two people are having a disagreement on any subject.
Director: Skylar Knight
Cinematographer: Parinay Gupta
Producer: William Herff
Gaffer: Xinyan Lin
Cast: Ian McPherson, William Herff
Broken Axels (2023)
Axel, a senior at college, contemplates if he wants to report his female assaulter, which may or may not upend his life. Although his friends mean well, they reinforce hookup culture, male validation, and are more complacent about the situation than he thought.
Writer/Director: Kira Upin
Cinematographer: Christian Olsen
Cast: Arya, Parinay, Abby
Recreation of a scene from Fight Club
The narrator encounters Tyler Durden outside a bar and the duo challenge society's materialistic status quo through words and action.
Director: Parinay Gupta
Writer: Chuck Palahniuk
Cast: Parinay Gupta, Nick Kim
Recreation of a scene from Breaking Bad
Jesse, a drug dealer in Albuquerque, meets his high-school chemistry teacher, Mr White, who knows about Jesse's drug business. Mr White offers Jesse a proposal.
Director: Parinay Gupta
Writer: Vince Gilligan
Cast: Nick Kim, Parinay Gupta
ANALYSIS
The Ever-Lasting Appeal of Mythic Storytelling: Drawing Parallels between Indian Blockbuster Hits and Hindu Epics
Owing to their gargantuan length, the Hindu epics of Mahabharat and Ramayana have been hospitable to a vast array of theories and practices. This paper discusses the similarities between these Hindu epics in two popular Indian films - Hum Saath Saath Hain (1999) and the Baahubali duology (2015-17). The paper draws parallels between their storylines and highlights the films’ reception by global audiences, and takeaways for filmmakers to leverage this interest.
Paper published at UReCA: the National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC) Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity
Tightening Loose Ends in Narcos
There is so much good in the Netflix Original Narcos, it is hard to not love it. From Wagner Moura’s nuanced portrayal of the Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, to the intense game of one-upmanship being played between the Medellín drug cartel and both the U.S. and Colombian governments, Narcos’ two seasons are an addicting watch. However, there is the one aspect of the series that engages me the most: its treatment of female characters, and its shift to their nuanced character development in the subsequent season. This paper discusses this shift and argues if it is a mere coincidence.