These movies are included in the 2022 Indian Film Festival of Melbourne. Find out more here.***********************
The Daughter (Hindi with English subtitles)
Director: Soumyak Kanti Debiswas
Cast: Naseeruddin Shah, Ira Dubey, Jitendra Shastri, Chitrangada Satarupa
Synopsis: In an Indian town under curfew, a young woman, Indu, grapples with her father’s dying wish. Inspired by true events.
Bad Omen (Dari with English subtitles)
Director: Salar Pashtoonyar
Cast: Fereshta Afshar, Marwa Amini, Irfan Amini
Synopsis: Kabul, Afghanistan. Pari, a widow and mother, struggles to purchase her prescription glasses in order to continue working as a tailor.
Maasa (Marathi with English subtitles)
Director: Phulawa Khamkar
Cast: Amruta Subhash, Jyoti Subhash, Sandesh Kulkarni, Vajra Pawar, Nayan Jadhav
Synopsis: An elderly widow Rakhmabai, is a tough independent woman. After her son's untimely death in a road accident, she starts serving lunch boxes with her daughter-in-law, Ketaki, to make ends meet. Both women have buried their grief in work but it hovers around them like a ghost. Their life's monotony is rocked by the entry of a new customer, Sumedh, who takes a liking to Ketaki and her son Aniket.
Kicking Balls (Hindi with English subtitles)
Director: Vijayeta Kumar
Synopsis: In a conservative society in rural Rajasthan, an NGO trains young girls who are mostly child brides to play football. The short film explores how the sport has instilled confidence, independence, and agency in these young girls to stand up to the patriarchy and say no to child marriages. While some of these girls have fought to get their marriages annulled, some have staunchly refused to go back to their husband's home. Unravelling these young girls’ journey, sisterhood, and uncertain future, one thing that remains certain is their love for football!
