About

Sonia Filinto is a filmmaker and writer.  In addition to working on several feature films, she has independently directed Shifting Sands and Bread & Belonging. Follow her on Instagram Chat with her on Twitter Listen to her journey from growing up in the beachside neighborhood of Calangute in Goa, and moving to different cities for work. Having recently returned to Goa, she now shares stories of people closer to home. As a writer, she has contributed to various publications over the years. You can also read up more features and browse stories on her website. Her latest film Bread & Belonging (2020) showcases the different facets of Goa's relationship with pao. Between natives who have been baking this bread as a family business, to migrants who have taken on this trade by filling in the void, the film explores the complexities involved in making this staple food every day. Know more about Bread & Belonging You can get a sense of the insider/outsider dynamics in Goa, through the lens of the ubiquitous local breads. Keep an eye out for screenings of Bread & Belonging at film festivals and other intimate events near you. Shifting Sands (2013) is a documentary that showcases lives of a native fishing community of Goa in the popular beachside village of Calangute, where Sonia was born. It captures the tides of change that has overwhelmed this coastal stretch, thanks to tourism, while the state keeps up with the growing demand of seafood. Watch the documentary here, hosted by PARI Also mentioned in this episode:Alami mushrooms - Anika Proença - Armenia - Bangalore Iyengar Bakery - Bate Papo - Bollywood - Cabo de Rama Fort - Champagne Wine Trails - Floyd Cardoz - Fundação Oriente - Ganjam - Great Ocean Road - Jila Bakery - Kankon Pao - Katro Pao - Ladi Pav - Mamta Murthy - Mancurad mangoes - Moira banana - Nahoum and Sons - Neil Dsouza - O G Variar Bakery - Paowalla - Paris Pao - Pao - Poderachem Fest - Poi - Responsible Tourism Collective - Roads & Kingdoms - Saumyanda Sahi - Save Mollem - Sid - Smith Field Bakery - Stellenbosch - Sunaparanta - The Bombay Canteen - The One School Goa - The Paradise School Goa - Undo - Urak - Vada Pav - Wendell Rodricks - Wenger's Timestamps for reference 02:05 Happy New Year 2021 03:56 Using the lockdown for developing future projects? 08:05 Poe, the equalizer 12:54 Sonia's relationship with Goan bread 18:02 Goa's local associations for bread 20:42 Certain professions, migration, and food 25:59 Vada Pav in Bombay 27:44 Pao vs artisnal breads 40:22 Getting to know the different Goan breads 48:04 Neo-bakers and traditional baking methods of pao 51:45 Sonia's biggest takeaway from the film 54:35 Migrants vs Expats 01:05:05 Reactions to Bread and Belonging 01:05:58 Shifting Sands 01:13:04 Travels and meeting people 01:17:30 Kind of stories that Sonia writes about 01:19:01 Travel influences, and stories closer to home 01:26:50 Travel experiences around local products 01:30:31 Sonia's introduction to filmmaking 01:33:35 Sonia's upcoming projects 01:37:17 Future of filmmaking 01:40:31 Finding a niche in filmmaking 01:43:17 Goa 2.0? 01:58:45 Sonia's favourite part of Goa ******* Show cover jingle courtesy of Icons8 Music by Nordgroove from Fugue Episode background tunes courtesy of YouTube Audio LibraryA New Orleans Crawfish Bowl by Unicorn Heads Zodiac Structures by NomBe All photographs by Sonia FIlinto, Bread & Belonging, Shifting Sands, and Nikhil Shankar, unless otherwise stated.