Following Films Podcast: SHANTARAM Cinematographer Stefan Duscio

Today I’m joined by cinematographer Stefan Duscio to discuss his latest work, the Apple TV+ series, Shantaram.

Based on the internationally best-selling novel by Gregory David Roberts, the 1980s set drama follows a fugitive who escapes prison and reinvents himself as a doctor in the slums of Bombay.

Shantaram is the first Apple TV series that uses anamorphic lenses and frame in a 2.40 aspect ratio. When shooting the series Duscio pursued smooth camera movement and widescreen anamorphic because in his own words, “I wanted you to fall in love with Bombay, and unashamedly present it in a romantic way."

Duscio teamed up with production designer Chris Kennedy (Lion) for visual research into 1980s India. In addition to the novel, inspiration for the visual language and aesthetic came from a plethora of art that included street and fashion photography, National Geographic content, and per Duscio, "feelings of travel, wanderlust and philosophy."

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POPULATION PURGE Trailer and Release Info

In a dystopian world where a radical government has unleashed a deadly poison to control population, only those with blood type AB positive remain unscathed. But instead of outright death, the rest of the population is left to suffer in a state of chronic illness, causing widespread chaos and panic. As the majority slowly succumbs to the effects of the poison, their only hope lies in receiving transfusions of AB positive blood from the few immune survivors, like Charlie and his granddaughter Maya. Living in the decrepit remains of an abandoned amusement park, Charlie is a renegade supplier of blood to the underground market. But their sanctuary is threatened by the iron-fisted rule of District 22's ruthless warden, Onslow, who will stop at nothing to save his own dying son. As Charlie and Maya fight to defend their haven and their own sanity, the eccentric duo must navigate through a world of danger and betrayal. POPULATION PURGE was written by Brian Johnson and Toby Osborne and di...

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