KOCHI: For transwomen, motherhood is a forbidden fruit that most of them long for. But Eddie, the trans protagonist of the Malayalam feature film Avanovinola, wants to become a nun. The film, written by Sherrey Govind and co-directed by Deepesh T, will be screened at the IFFK on Sunday. The 82-minute-movie, which premiered at Bengaluru International Film Festival recently, will be shown under the Malayalam Cinema Today category.
The Malayalam film travels through the lives LGBTQ community and their lives. The inclusion of the movie at the festival is a testimony to its sensitivity towards all fractions of society. Narrating the life of Eddie on-screen, ace actor Santhosh Keezhattoor transforms into a trans person who is forced into prostitution to save money for his sex reassignment surgery. “Born to an evangelist father Pathrose, Eddie’s ultimate dream to become a nun becomes a contradiction to the life zie was intended to live.
Sherrey, who co-directed the film with Deepesh, intended it to be an offbeat movie that traverses three stages of Eddie’s life. Pathrose’s death disturbs zim. Later, zie decides to follow zis father’s path. The film has been given unrealistic treatment by its makers. “Eddie was someone I created from my mind, without any real-life references,” says Santhosh, one of the producers of the film.
The movie was born during the first pandemic outbreak. The two Kannur-based filmmakers joined hands with their friend and actor, Santhosh. Sherrey and Deepesh have cast around 20 real-life transpeople from Kannur and nearby areas in the film. This was also an effort by the team to provide more opportunities to the community.
Manikutty from Palakkad and Riya Isha from Pernthalmanna, who transpeople, managed the costume department of the movie. “We believe the transgender community is forced into prostitution due to lack of recognition and jobs. We would like that to change,” says Santhosh.
For Sherrey Govind, the 26th IFFK is his comeback after a decade. The filmmaker was the talk of the town at the 2011 IFFK with his national award-winning film, Adhimadhyantham. “One could see an anthology of three stories in the film.Theatre actor Krishnan plays the role of Pathrose, who explains the conflicts of a family when children explore sexuality,” adds Sherrey.