Dhivya Kate Chetty, film production
Dhivya graduated in 2004, having specialised in audiovisual translation. She then worked in international film distribution before embarking on a career in film production.
I completed an undergraduate honours degree in French and Film and TV in 2000. Having spent a year as an English language assistant in Marseille a few years before, I was keen to move back to France to polish up on my French. Fortunately, I was offered the job of Lectrice (English language teacher) in the arts faculty of the University of Montpellier III and then latterly in the Faculty of Medicine. When I wasn't teaching English, I did some freelance translation work for a couple of documentary film forums and conferences. I also spent a great deal of time in the arthouse cinema chain Le Diagonal. At some point during my fairly idyllic three-year French sejour, I decided to pursue the idea of combining my love of film and aptitude for languages and translation.. The MA in Translations Studies seemed to fit the bill!
I always knew that Audiovisual Translation was going to be my focus. Having come from a film and tv background, it seemed the natural choice. I enjoyed putting theory into practice and subtitling excerpts from films. The problem-solving aspect of subtitling means that it is never dull.
The mix of foreign students made it a wonderfully multilingual, multicultural experience. Aside from long-lasting international friendships, it was always a great bonus to be able to discuss the nature of a specific foreign language or have informal language tuition at the pub/café/union!
Perhaps the benefit of hindsight is slightly clouding my memory, but my memory tells me that I thoroughly enjoyed researching my dissertation. Of course, it is still the biggest piece of work I have ever carried out, it was an enormous slog and it consumed my life at the time. Nevertheless, now and again I come across an article, or a text that hints to, or bears some vague resemblance to my arguments and it gives me no end of joy!
On completing my MA I got a job in London with a renowned film sales and distribution company. I was working in the division that sells films internationally at film markets and festivals such as Cannes. My three years at this company allowed me to develop a real sense of the film industry and how it actually works. As it happens, I had written about film distribution for my dissertation, so it was actually quite apt that I should end up there. Also, on the occasion when we were handling a French language film, I would be the one to check the subtitles. Similarly, if we had a film to be screened in Cannes, naturally, I would check the French subtitles.
I am currently pursuing a film production traineeship. I had wanted to make the move from film sales into a more hands-on role in production when I became aware of a Scottish funded traineeship. I have just completed my first drama, working in the production office, and am looking forward to gaining more experience in both drama and documentary.