Indian expat’s short film secures entry to Cannes film fest

Santhosh Chandran Doha A short film produced by an Indian expatriate in Doha has been nominated to Cannes World Film Festival 2021. The 15-minute film, tit...

Santhosh ChandranDohaA short film produced by an Indian expatriate in Doha has been nominated to Cannes World Film Festival 2021. The 15-minute film, titled ‘Dog Brothers’, in the Indian language Malayalam has also been selected to Berlin International Film festival. The film, produced under the banner of ‘Gr8 AV Productions’ by Gopakumar G Nair, a cameraman at Qatar Television in Doha, is expected to be screened at several international film festivals including in Qatar this year.Speaking to Qatar Tribune, Nair said, “We have submitted the film to several international festivals, including Ajyal Film Festival in Doha. We have received entry to Calcutta Film Festival in India. Our team hopes the film will be nominated to Ajyal Film Festival, a prominent festival in Gulf region, and film lovers in Doha can watch the film on big screen at the festival in Doha.”The entire film was shot in India. Directed by Viswan, the film, which sheds light on the hard reality of life in many parts of rural India, has already earned media attention in India after the film was nominated to Cannes festival and several other prominent festivals in India and abroad. The incident which became the storyboard of the film happened in the southern Indian state of Kerala under the Leftist government in 2018. The film was inspired by the life of a mentally challenged 27-year-old tribal youth, who was beaten to death by a group of people in a hamlet in a tribal village in Kerala. The tribal youth was caught by a group of people, tied up for several hours and reportedly beaten with sticks for stealing rice and other food items from shops in the area. The man was later handed over to the police but died on his way to the hospital.The story of ‘Dog Brothers’ revolves around the life of two boys (siblings) in a poverty-stricken family against the backdrop of the tribal youth’s brutal murder. Making the film a creative piece of art, the director links two hungry stray dogs to the starved family and the real incident in which the tribal youth was killed by a mob. The film conveys a strong political message that a good cinema always stands for as a tool for transformation. Through the life of this family, the short-film portrays a general image of life in rural India and underlines the dark side of Indian life -- social discrimination, injustice, poverty and economic inequality that still prevail in rural India. The others who worked behind the film included Vijesh Kappara (photography and editing), Sunil Kumar PK and Ganesh Marar (sound). The film will be screened in final round of the competition at Cannes World Film Festival in France in 2022.