Not only is he the co-founder and chief operations officer of Ascendance, an international youth movement of over 35,000 students in 28 countries, he is also a scriptwriter, digital content creator, and award-winning documentary filmmaker.

In November, his documentary film “Wanted: Shades of Life”, bagged the silver award in the Best Feature Documentary category at the Tokyo Film Awards.

Earlier, this same work was selected as a semi-finalist in the Stockholm City Film Festival.

“Honestly, I still cannot believe it,” Sanadtkumar told FMT of the award he won.

“The film is heartwarming, yes, but it’s not outright amazing and that is because we didn’t have the experience to shoot it well and we are still learning a lot.”

Using a creative storytelling method, the film tells the story of Agnesmary Selvaraj, a Bharata Natyam dancer who rediscovered her passion for classical Indian dance after a long hiatus. More importantly, the film is about following one’s heart and living one’s passion.

Simple, everyday stories

He told FMT that “Wanted” was an idea that hatched after a conversation he had with his mentor, Elango Thiyagu.

“He told me that it would be nice to see the stories of those who took the road less travelled as these people had the best stories, and they should be on our ‘wanted’ list.

“These are also normal people who go through life, and they have their struggles. They mess up in between and they learn, but they grow in that sense,” he explained.

To date, there are two episodes in the “Wanted” series.

The first, which premiered in 2019, told the story of Mathura Kannan and her initiatives to uplift the lives of young people like herself. The second episode is about Agnesmary.

“I first met Agnesmary at an event. When I heard her life story, I almost cried. I knew that day that I needed to tell her story,” he said, adding that he even planned on travelling to India to meet her dance teacher in person.

However, the Covid-19 pandemic put an end to those plans and he had to work with whatever material he had on hand.

Shooting eventually began in April this year with a three-man crew which included himself.

“With a minimal crew and proper SOPs followed throughout the shooting process, we managed to record everything in a very short period. We also spent a lot of time editing and restructuring the film, which for me was the most fun part,” he said.

The film premiered virtually on July 18 to over 400 people.

Sanadtkumar said he was grateful to the Cultural Economy Development Agency (Cendana), which partially-funded the project.

A love for stories

A movie-buff since young, Sanadtkumar said he learned how to speak English by watching movies.

He described himself as a “huge nerd” who loved anime, superheroes, and other such stories that helped him appreciate the positive side of people.

“This got me excited about making films. Of course, I was all talk and no action until I met some wonderful people from ET Ideas. They took this loud-mouthed boy in and helped me to slowly explore my interests,” he said.

So, what’s next for him? “Wanted 3 is in the works right now. I met a very amazing Malaysian with a beautiful story, and this story will be covered in the next instalment.”

He maintained that there is much for him to learn and improve on, which is why he enrolled in the Toronto Film School, a part of Yorkville University in Canada.

“I believe that this will help me to see things better, learn from other filmmakers, and improve my storytelling skills.”

Fully intending to pay for his own education, he said that in the meantime, he would continue working with clients who wanted to make documentaries about themselves, their family heads, or founders of corporations.

‘Just a kid from Kampung Kayu Ara’

He said that he believed the country had some of the best talents in the world and that there were many young filmmakers who were far better storytellers than he was. “They just need the right opportunities and resources,” he said, in order to shine and get their stories out there.

“I am just a kid from Kampung Kayu Ara, Petaling Jaya, and I am happy to learn that people from different parts of the world are watching my film. I hope it can help them and that they enjoy it.”

To learn more about “Wanted: Shades of Life”, check out the website, or Facebook, and Instagram.