Sundance Fest 2020 to feature three Indian films, new directors
What's the story
Sundance Festival 2020 is just around the corner.
And, three films by Indian-origin makers have been selected for screening at the festival that will run from January 28 to February 3.
The films are Fire in the Mountains by writer-director Ajitpal Singh, Writing with Fire by filmmakers Sushmit Ghosh and Rintu Thomas, and LATA by Alisha Tejpal.
Let's discuss the plots of the films.
Number 1
'Fire in the Mountains': A tussle of tradition v/s modernism
With Fire in the Mountains, Singh fictionalizes a personal tale in which his cousin died because her husband didn't take her to the hospital, suspecting her to be possessed by ghosts.
The film is Singh's directorial debut and revolves around a homestay named Swizerland and its husband-wife owner.
Life gets hard as the husband spends on shamanic activities to cure their wheelchair-bound son.
Number 2
'Writing with Fire': Story of a Dalit women-led media organization
Writing with Fire essays the brave rise of a group of educated Dalit women forming their news portal called Khabar Lahariya.
The film is based on the real-life struggles by the eponymous news portal, whose chief reporter Meera had described the selective cancellations Dalit women face in the male-dominated news industry.
The film shows how the group succeeded from print to digital.
Number 3
'LATA': A tale about housemaids in our country
The film is based on the plights of Indian maids.
LATA narrates the experiences of a housemaid working in an affluent family inhabiting in South Mumbai.
The various ramifications of power play and luxury keep impacting the maid in the film.
Other interesting submissions include Life in a Day 2020, where director Kevin MacDonald has compiled footage of one day from 300,000 global entries.
Context
The festival will screen 72 films, 38 from first-time directors
Notably, 38 directors will get their debut feature in the festival, which will screen 72 films.
"The year has been tumultuous. But the whole form of the festival being upended has given us the opportunity to experiment with things that would have taken us longer to get to had it not been for the pandemic," explained festival director Tabitha Jackson.