Canadian Premiere
Loosely inspired by people and events from director Aditya Vikram Sengupta’s life, the film follows an interconnected web of characters and the architecture of their lives. An agoraphobic recluse finds shelter in the derelict theatre inherited from his father, refusing the moneyed siren call of real estate developers and an ambitious young man finds a job in a chit fund without realizing the shady undercurrents of the financial world he’s in. At the centre is Ela, a TV host who strikes out for a new life in the wake of her daughter’s death and a floundering marriage. The Calcutta she navigates is, like herself, haunted by its past and unsure of its future.
Aditya Vikram Sengupta, working alongside Turkish cinematographer Gökhan Tiryaki (Winter Sleep) finds a lyrical atmosphere, exploring the depths and vagaries of the human condition against the backdrop of a crumbling, nostalgia-mired city in the midst of urban development and cultural upheaval.
Community Partner
Sreelekha Mitra, Satrajit Sarkar, Arindam Ghosh, Shayak Roy, Bratya Basu, Anirban Chakrabarti
India/France/Norway
2021
In Bengali with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
It's a Wonderful Life
Every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings. This Christmas classic is whimsical, sure, but it has the depth to stand up to multiple watches, and it really should be a communal experience, because that is what it's about. Rated: G
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
Aardman Animation's handcrafted mix of dad jokes, slapstick, mock dramatics and understated emotion makes this return for the claymation odd couple a constant delight. The villainous Feathers McGraw is back to no good, commandeering Norbot the robot. Rated: G
The Count of Monte Cristo
You can't beat this evergreen Alexandre Dumas tale for adventure, intrigue and romance. This lavish French blockbuster from the writers of the recent Three Musketeers movies pulls you in from the first scene and doesn't let off for the next three hours. Rated: PG
Flow
In this wordless and gorgeously atmospheric animated feature, a solitary black cat survives a tsunami and must confront his fear of water whilst sailing through a flooded world with a group of misfit animals. An enchanting adventure film for all ages. Rated: G
The Holdovers
Destined to become a seasonal staple, this bittersweet comedy reunites Sideways director and star Alexander Payne and Paul Giamatti in the portrait of a surly classics teacher forced to babysit five "orphans" at boarding school over the holidays.
Who by Fire
Jeff, a 17-year-old aspiring filmmaker, goes on vacation with his friend Max and his family to an isolated lodge. Philippe Lesage’s film is a tense, mesmerizing tour de force that is both agonizing and cathartic. A Berlinale award winner.
Credits
Executive Producer
Aditya Vikram Sengupta, Jonaki Bhattacharya
Producer
Priyanka Agarwal, Anshulika Dubey, Shashwat Singh, Vikram Mohinta
Screenwriter
Aditya Vikram Sengupta
Cinematography
Gökhan Tiryaki
Editor
Aditya Vikram Sengupta
Production Design
Jonaki Bhattacharya
Original Music
Minco Eggersman
Director
Aditya Vikram Sengupta
Aditya Vikram Sengupta’s debut film Labour of Love (2014) premiered at the Venice Film Festival, where it won the Fedeora Award for Best Director of a Debut Film. His second feature Jonaki (2018) premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. It went on to receive the Silver Gateway Award and the Best Film on Gender Equality at the Mumbai Film Festival. Sengupta’s next film Once Upon a Time in Calcutta (2021) was the first Bengali language feature to be a part of Cannes Cinéfondation’s L’Atelier at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016.
Filmography: Labour of Love (2014); Jonaki (2018)