When COVID-19 happened, the world was left clueless. The pandemic changed the lives of a number of people including Prachi Shirodkar. The girl had enrolled in an architecture course, before the pandemic. But the 2020 lockdown gave the then-aspiring architect time to reconsider her choices and pick up the camera and become a story-teller instead. Six years later, the 28-year-old Goan girl is a filmmaker who has received recognition for her documentary on the traditional goldsmith community of Goa.Meet Prachi ShirodkarPrachi Shirodkar was a year into her Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch) in 2020 but then a pandemic hit the world and changed her plans. Colleges, schools, offices and nearly everything in the world got shut down. And this was the time when Shirodkar started working on her Konkani film, Bhaangar Kalakusar Karigiri. A movie she made with almost no budget and without prior experience operating a camera. Today the same film has won awards and travelled to international film festivals.As per her Instagram account, the Konkani documentary has won the Special Jury Award in the Under 15 Minutes category at the 14th International Documentary Film Festival Noida (IDFFN). The award ceremony was held on November 3, 2026, at the Marwah Studio Complex in Film City, Noida.Always a storytellerStorytelling had always interested her. Having grown up around theatre and acting, she was drawn towards creative expression. However, with no one in her family working in the film or media industry, pursuing a career in that field had initially seemed like an uncertain choice.The lockdown changed that perspective.A family connection inspired her documentaryAccording to her profile, for her final-year mass communication project, she chose a subject that was particularly close to her roots, the traditional goldsmiths of Goa.Her father and grandfather had both worked in the goldsmithing trade, which meant she had grown up observing the craft and the people associated with it. Rather than choosing an unfamiliar subject, she decided to document an art form she had seen from close quarters.Her documentary explores the intricate work involved in traditional gold jewellery-making and the skills passed down through generations.The film shows artisans working in small workshops and shaping precious metal. Among the techniques that particularly impressed her was the engraving of an entire name on a gold ornament using a thin metal wire.For Shirodkar, documenting this process was an opportunity to draw attention to the craftsmanship behind jewellery, something that often gets overshadowed by the commercial value of gold.Why Konkani?
Today Prachi works as an assistant director in Mumbai (@prach.18)
The choice of Konkani as the language of the documentary came naturally. Since the film was about Goa and its people, she wanted it to reflect the language and cultural nuances of the region. Her father, who had firsthand experience in the trade, wrote the script using terminology associated with goldsmithing.An unfinished documentaryThe project initially began as a group assignment during her college years but remained unfinished. It was her partner, Mario Pimenta, who encouraged her to take up the project again and took charge of editing. Shirodkar handled the direction, cinematography and narration.She had never operated a camera professionally before and had no dedicated crew or substantial financial backing. Instead, she worked with whatever resources she had available. And finally it was done.The experience gave her an opportunity to understand the importance of patience and trusting the people she worked with.From festival rejections to international recognitionThe documentary’s journey did not begin with immediate success. She initially faced rejections while submitting her work to film festivals. But the film eventually received its first selection at Jackson Doc Fest in Tennessee, USA.It then reached Kerala for screenings at the International Folklore Film Festival and was selected for the International Cultural Journal Award in Uzhhorod, Ukraine.The documentary also won the Best Documentary award at the Miseentage Indian Film Awards 2025.In 2026, it received the Best Documentary award at the Amader International Short Film Festival and the Best Student Documentary award at the Goa International Film Competition, according to The Goan.Shirodkar also received a Young Achievers Award from Rotary International for her contribution to culture.From documenting Goa to working in MumbaiToday, she works as an assistant director in Mumbai, where she has gained exposure to the scale and demands of professional film production.The experience has also changed how she approaches filmmaking.Her advice to aspiring filmmakers is to begin with subjects they know and people they can trust. Sometimes, the most compelling stories are not found in distant places but in communities and traditions that have existed around us for generations.
