A little bit of Bollywood meets Bermuda tomorrow when teachers from an Indian film school host a special information session about possible courses for Island students.

Staff from the Whistling Woods International Film School, in Mumbai, will be at Bermuda College to talk about the opportunity of taking a two-year diploma course in filmmaking.

The plan to enroll Bermudian students was hatched when Whistling Woods founder Subhash Ghai met Premier Dr. Ewart Brown when the Premier visited India earlier this year.

Mr. Ghai is an Indian film director, producer and screenwriter and is most notable for Indian films such as 'Khalnayak', 'Pardes' and 'Taal', made in the 1990s and more recently 'Yuvvraaj' , 'Black & White' and 'Om Shanti Om'.

His films are known to be epic, and richly themed. He won Best Director in 1992 for 'Saudagar' and Best Screenplay in 1998 for 'Pardes'.

Mr. Ghai learned filmmaking in 1968 from the Film and Television Institute of India when it first opened. He formed the film production company Mukta Arts Ltd. in 1982, which now promotes the school. Mr. Ghai realised a dream in 2006, when he founded Whistling Woods International.

"We started with 80 students, and today we have 450. We designed our curriculum to keep pace with changes in film technology. We also wanted to keep up with the changing scenario of the audience all over the world," he said.

Mr. Ghai said he is very much involved with the running of the school. "I was involved in designing the curriculum," he said. "I give my students knowledge of the film world. I do my best whatever I can do. I have a great faculty with me."

Whistling Woods is the largest film school in Asia. Its courses are taught in English, and about 20 percent of the students are from European countries.

Mr. Ghai added: "The Premier of Bermuda was in Bombay and he showed his interest in signing up with the facilities we provided. We had a very cordial talk. He suggested we take students in Bermuda to learn about the filmmaking industry.

"We welcomed the idea. We said 'yes, we will be able to do that'. It will definitely encourage the talent in Bermuda to be filmmakers internationally. It will be a nice idea."

Mr. Ghai said that Whistling Woods International is in the process of spreading the word about its programme to other countries, so reaching out to Bermuda worked well. "This was a good opportunity for us to be associated with Bermuda and also their talented children," he said.

He said that they would be sending some of their faculty to Bermuda to teach on the Island and they would also be setting up a training centre to train Bermuda teachers in filmmaking. Bermudian students will also have the opportunity to study at campuses in India and Spain.

The Bermuda Government will provide scholarships for two or three Bermuda students to study filmmaking at the institute.

Scholarship students will also receive incentives in terms of housing, laptops and software upwards of $3,500.

A two-year film programme at Whistling Woods costs approximately $30,000 while a one-year programme costs approximately $9,000. The diploma in filmmaking course will be a two year programme. It will begin with an eight-month foundation course that will allow students to dabble in all aspects of film.

Students will learn various aspects of cinematography, direction, scripting and editing, producing, screenwriting and sound recording and design, among many other things. Whistling Woods offers two online courses in the basics of screenwriting, and also a writing for television programme.

Mr. Ghai said the project also opened the door for Bermuda to be used as a setting in a Bollywood film. One of Bermuda's most up-and-coming filmmakers, Lucinda Spurling, said the project sounded like a positive step.

Ms Spurling has produced documentary films such as 'Rare Bird' and 'Lion and the Mouse'.

"When I was an aspiring filmmaker, there were little or no local scholarships for art based degrees, and film courses are very expensive," said Ms Spurling.

"For a young person today to get a scholarship opportunity to study in a two year degree programme in filmmaking, it is a move in the right direction.

"Opportunities for young Bermudians is never a bad thing."

To learn more attend the information session at the Bermuda College on May 5 at 6 p.m. in room H-100 in Hallett Hall. Parents are welcome.

Also, check out their webpage at www.whistlingwoods.net or e-mail info@whistlingwoods.net.