Award-winning film producer returning to Poppy Jasper film festival

Krushan Naik fell in love with festival’s hospitality, “small-town vibes”

Krushan Naik is looking forward to returning to assist during next year’s Poppy Jasper International Film Festival, which runs from April 10 to 17. His documentary “Resurgence” won a best documentary at the 2023 festival. Photo courtesy Krushan Naik

By Calvin Nuttall

Up-and-coming Indian filmmaker Krushan Naik’s “Resurgence” won a best documentary award at the April 2023 Poppy Jasper International Film Festival. He enjoyed the experience so much, the 33-year-old is assisting next year’s festival as a film screener.

Photo courtesy Krushan Naik

His 19-minute documentary tells the true story of a canyoneer who suffered a terrible accident in the badlands of Utah, and follows his difficult road to recovery. It has received 12 nominations or awards from other film festivals across America.

“It highlights the disparity between the physical, mental, and emotional recovery of a person who goes through trauma,” Naik said. “Through the lens of canyoneering, it has a universal element of what someone who goes through any sort of trauma experiences.”

Naik made his first foray into filmmaking studying animation in Mumbai, India, but found the slow pace of animation production tested his patience. After moving back to his home city of Surat, he pivoted to working in advertising, where he stayed for about eight years.

“I started asking myself, ‘If I am going to be working so hard for the rest of my life, am I going to be happy doing this?’” he said. “And the answer was no. I knew this is what I wanted to do, and immediately decided it was time to make the switch.”

Naik then applied to film schools in Southern California and was accepted to Loyola Marymount University.

“People keep asking me, ‘There is a big film industry in India as well, so why move to L.A.?’” he said. “I was inspired by the films coming from Hollywood. I really wanted to do more than what my culture offered to me. I wanted to see myself learn, in terms of the technical aspects of filmmaking.”

When he is not producing and editing films or screening festival submissions, Naik also works as a film festival specialist at Loyola Marymount.

“I help students not be intimidated by the word ‘festival,’ show them how to maneuver through them and do the prep work,” he said. “At the same time I’ve been producing other films which are in the pipeline. I am hoping to send all of them to Poppy Jasper.”

Photo courtesy Krushan Naik

Coming to South Valley and attending this year’s festival left a lasting impression on him, he said. He returns to participate as a film screener and evaluator, in addition to submitting films of his own. The 2024 festival has received about 1,000 submissions. Organizers rely on screeners to narrow them down.

“One of the most beautiful things about Poppy Jasper was the filmmakers were given the opportunity for free accommodation (at local residents’ homes),” he said. “What that does for me, as an independent filmmaker, is provide an incentive to drive to Gilroy so I can be as involved as I want to be.”

The quality of films shown at Poppy Jasper was inspiring, and a testament to the festival’s success and growing status among filmmakers, Naik said.

“When you give opportunity to independent filmmakers beyond the film festival, it can change their lives and give them opportunities they would have never had,” he said.

Mattie Scariot, the festival’s director, has done great work to make the festival welcoming for filmmakers of all stripes, Naik said. As a first-timer and now as a returning alum, he found her enthusiasm and hospitality “amazing.”

“Mattie is very down-to-earth, considerate, and accessible,” he said. “She is energetic and enthusiastic, and doesn’t differentiate between a first-time filmmaker and an established name.”

The festival runs April 10-17, 2024

Calvin Nuttall is a Morgan Hill-based freelance reporter and columnist.