Kochi | Malayalam short film 'Ullarivu', written and directed by a young Keralite director, has been selected for screening at the prestigious Mumbai Film Festival.
This short film by Sumi Mathai will be screened in the Focus South Asia category, a non-competitive section of feature and short films by South Asian and South Asian diaspora filmmakers at the festival.
The Mumbai Film Festival is scheduled to begin on October 27.
'Ullarivu' is the only Malayalam short film selected for screening in the category.
She said 'Ullarivu' was produced through a crowdfunding campaign which received generous donations from 155 contributors, successfully raising Rs nine lakh for the film.
"The film was shot in a village in Poonjar, near Kottayam, with a small cast and crew. It is about a young girl's deep connection with nature, and how it starts to disintegrate when she encounters the strangeness of the world," Sumi told PTI.
In the course of a day, the young girl unwittingly learns the rules of existence in a patriarchal world, as she pieces together the hidden meanings and damaging rules of the system, Sumi, who is currently based out of Kochi, added.
The protagonist's role is played by child artist Devananda Shamej, and the film's cast also includes Pradeep Joseph, Nandini Gopalakrishnan, Shivarchana Rajesh, Kris Raj, Arun Kalabhavan, Minnu Elsa Joshy and Aksa Prasad.
'Ullarivu' is Sumi's second short film. Her debut English short film 'Detour' was selected as one of the 10 scripts to be produced by Jio Studios, from a nationwide submission of 900 applications.
She had directed two Bollywood stars Vikrant Massey and Sayani Gupta in 'Detour', which premiered at the Mumbai Film Festival in 2017, and won the Special Jury Mention.
'Detour' was also screened at Indische Film Festival Stuttgart, Bangalore International Short Film Festival, Bucharest ShortCut Cinefest, and IndoGerman FilmWeek, Berlin.
Sumi is currently developing multiple projects including two features, one of which was selected for Pitch Fest 2022, conducted by the Screenwriters' Association, India.
