Filmmaker Don Palathara has revealed that he has made a new film titled Everything Is Cinema. It is set to have its world premiere at the prestigious International Film Festival of Rotterdam in June, as part of the Cinema Regained category.
The film, which was shot partially during the first phase of lockdown in India, features Sherin Catherine in the only visible role of a Malayalam actress named Anita.
Described as a hybrid of mockumentary and relationship drama, Everything Is Cinema employs some footage of Kolkata that Don had captured a few years earlier.
As per Don, the film is told from the first-person viewpoint of the fictional character, Chris, an independent filmmaker from Kerala.
His character is unravelled while he explains his relationship with his wife and with the world. Chris gets inspired by Louis Malle’s 1969 documentary Calcutta and aspires to recreate the modern version of it himself.
He moves to Kolkata with Anita, his wife, to work on his documentary. While its shoot is progressing, the coronavirus outbreak hits India, and his producer withholds the funds he had agreed upon earlier.
As the government-imposed lockdown starts, Chris gets stuck inside the rented apartment in Kolkata with Anita.
To overcome the pent up frustrations, Chris decides to make a film about his marriage without her knowledge. The languages used in the film are English, Malayalam and Urdu. Don has voiced the character Chris himself.
The traditional Urdu song used in the film is rendered by Sharath Chandra Bose, and the sound remixed by Ganesh Marar. Don, who co-wrote the script with Sherin, shot and edited the film himself. IFFR is having a special edition this year since it is the 50th edition of the festival.
There will be online and physical screenings of Everything Is Cinema at the June edition of the festival held between June 2nd and 6th.
Meanwhile, Don’s recent film Santoshathinte Onnam Rahasyam was screened in the main competition section of the 43rd Moscow International Film Festival.