“Watching children’s films is as important for adults as it is for children” – Clinton director Prithviraj Das Gupta
“Earlier I used to resent my parents for sending me to boarding school, but now I am grateful to them because it helped me make my film,” said director Prithviraj Das Gupta while speaking at the ‘Iffy Table Talks’ session of the 53rd International Film Festival of India.
His film Clinton was inspired by his own experiences at a boarding school in Kalimpong, West Bengal.

The film is about the kindness and courage 10-year-old Clinton shows when dealing with a bully at school, a lesson in how children see and respond to the world. Clinton is an English language non-feature film that is part of the Indian Panorama section of IFFI53.
Director Prithviraj Das Gupta added, “Only I could have told the story, because I lived it and I could have given that authenticity to the story.” This is the director’s second film in IFFI, his first film was also released in IFFI earlier.
Speaking about the film not only being screened in schools but also in places where he hoped adult audiences would watch it, he said it was important for adults to watch the film, as well as other children’s films, so that they would understand how children behave. He added, “Adults often dismiss children’s problems, not understanding how small things matter to children and how they affect them.” Clinton hopes the film captures the innocence of children on screen and also reminisces about childhood at a boarding school in Kalimpong.