The filmmaker who gave us ‘Siu Soon’, a pandemic film shot entirely on an iPhone, has its first international premiere with ‘Ariyappu’
The filmmaker who gave us ‘Siu Soon’, a pandemic film shot entirely on an iPhone, has its first international premiere with ‘Ariyappu’
I can’t forget the image of protesters on the red carpet of the BFI London Film Festival earlier this month. expressing solidarity with the anti hijab movement In his home country, Iranian filmmaker Ali Abbasi painted his hands and mouth red, while the cast and crew of his film, holy spider, carrying placards with slogans. This was the defining moment of the festival for me. Tickets for the movie were sold out.
Iranian filmmaker Ali Abbasi (center) with protesters at the premiere of his film ‘Holy Spider’ at the BFI London Film Festival on October 8, 2022. photo credit: Getty Images
Ali Abbasi holy spider About a journalist who investigates the serial killing of sex workers in an Iranian city.
In comparison, the Busan International Film Festival, which was held at the same time, did not have nearly as much drama, although holy spider Screening was done there too. Perhaps this is because South Korea does not have a large expatriate population from Iran. I managed to catch a show, and thought holy spider was a powerful statement against malpractice.
memorable first
ariyappu This is my first film to premiere at an international film festival and it has been a memorable experience so far. I’m traveling with the film from Locarno – the premiere of the swish Pelexpo-Fevi Theater was attended by a crowd of over 2,000. Then came the London Film Festival and Busan.
As the latter two dates came together, I missed the first screening of my film in the section ‘A Window on Asian Cinema’ in Busan. There was a good crowd, the organizers told me. I managed to attend the second and third screenings where the audience mainly came for a Q&A session with the director and I was happy to interact with him.
A still from Mahesh Narayanan’s ‘Ariyappu’.
By the time I reached Busan, directors like Nandita Das, Rima Das and Arvind Pratap, whose films were also screened in my category, had left. ariyappu was the last to be shown in this section.
It was wonderful to meet the director of Kannada film, Jaishankar Aaryar. Shivavamma. It won the award in the ‘New Currents’ category, meant mostly for budding filmmakers, sharing the honor with the Korean film. a wild roomer by Lee Jeong-hong , I was able to watch both the movies.
A still from Kannada filmmaker Jaishankar Aaryar’s ‘Sivavamma’, which won the ‘New Currents’ category award at the Busan International Film Festival.
Meeting with Iranian director Hadi Mohghegh, whose film the scent of the air Opening Busan and winning the Kim Jiseyok award was the high point for me. I first heard about Mohgheg when he came to Thiruvananthapuram for the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) in 2015. He has a keen interest in Malayalam cinema, and had seen ariyappu, We had an in-depth discussion about the Iranian influence in our film.
Mahesh Narayanan with Iranian director Hadi Mogheg (left), whose film the scent of the air Busan opened and Kim Jiseok won the award.
Hadi Mohghegh in Busan. , photo credit: Getty Images
a young crowd
Interestingly, the festival had a younger audience in contrast to the more serious crowd in Locarno. At festivals in India, viewership is mixed, especially at IFFK, which includes people from all walks of life and age group. Busan’s crowd was curious and eager to know more [about the milieu of my films], Many people found it difficult to understand the socio-political situation of Delhi [where Ariyippu is set] And so there were questions about the background of the film.
Mahesh Narayanan’s work
are anchored in a powerful narrative contemporary issues A defining feature of the work of Malayalam filmmaker Mahesh Narayanan. his latest, ariyappu (Announcement), featuring Kunchako Boban and Divya Prabha, is snapped by Netflix,
This is Narayanan’s third film To premiere on OTT, post pandemic release, See you again soon (shot entirely on an iPhone) and Malik,
Ariyappu is “strong” feminist film and deals with the moral compass of the working class,” said Narayanan in a video introducing his film to the audience Busan,
The hero couple, Harish and Reshmi, are from Kerala and travel to Delhi for work. The audience wanted to know if there was really a deep divide between India’s north and south, as I portray in the film. The portrayal of patriarchy in our society and homes also seemed shocking to young Koreans, which in turn came as a surprise to me.
However, there was a certain language barrier during the Q&A session. From what the interpreter told me, the audience’s questions were detailed and sharp about Indian society and interpersonal relations, but I am not sure the essence of the questions asked or that my answers were adequately conveyed.
I think young Koreans are not fully aware of the impact of Korean cinema on Indian filmmakers. This is where the Masters class at film festivals comes in. It is a great opportunity for both filmmakers and film lovers to see and learn from the greats of international cinema.
As we moved from one screening venue to another, trying to pack in more and more films, there was an air of excitement all around. Much of this can be attributed to k-pop band bts One evening performance in the city. I didn’t go for it though the temptation was high. My aim was to watch as many movies as possible, and I’m glad I did.
K-pop band BTS Line posters of a street in Busan where the group held a free concert on October 15, 2022. photo credit: AP
(As told to Saraswati Nagarajan)
The writer is a Malayalam filmmaker who won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Debut Director in 2017.