THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: On his way to the nuclear power plant, Jeevan gets off at a deserted place. The towering palm trees, the narrow side roads and the unoccupied house fill him with a sense of deja vu. At the house, he meets Sandhya, an artist, whose paintings capture his imagination. Jeevan and Sandhya talk into the wee hours of morning and drop off to sleep sometime in between.
Did he wake up into a dream? Which is real? Which is a dream? Terrified, Jeevan retraces the sights that unfolded before him the previous day.
The abstract above is a short sequence from the film ‘Matchbox.’ Directed by Karthik, who has been working as animator at the Centre for Development of Imaging Technology, (C-DIT) since 2000, the film will be screened at Kalabhavan theatre on Friday. Karthik has been involved in the production of many short films, documentaries, signature films and promo videos. He has also worked with Soorya Krishnamoorthy in his stage shows.
‘’’Matchbox’ presents a perspective that is gained when the camera turns a full 360 degrees. One can find both light and shadow in the image. The film marks the time and grey area between life and death,’’ says Karthik about the film.
The film’s cinematographer, Prasanth Krishna, has been handling camera for ad films since 2009. He has also assisted leading cinematographers such as Sinu Murukumpuzha and Tanu Balak. Sapnesh Varachal is the co- writer. He works as a programme producer at C-DIT.
The protagonist, Jeevan, meets people he had met earlier in a momentary encounter, in the middle of a land that has always captivated him. While the film talks of life as a large circle made complete by several smaller ones, Sobin K Soman’s editing ensures that the smaller ones are inflated beyond the larger one. Sobin had won Best Film Editor Award of the Kerala Government for his first film ‘Pakarnnattam’, directed by Jayaraj.
Najeem Koya and Ammu make up the cast, while music is by Balabhaskar Chandran.