F.i.g.h.t C.l.u.b

Produced by Aamir Khan and directed by debutant Anusha Rizvi, Peepli Live has been selected for the Sundance Film Festival. The film will compete with 13 other films in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition. Total 1022 international narrative features were submitted for this category.

And this one is real big! Not the fake olive leaves that everyone loves to put on their poster for every gulli-nukkad festival and keep on counting the numbers. Some even boast of 30-40 festival rounds, except, ofcourse the top five. Its been  ages since an indian feature made it to the competition section of any top rated international film festival. And Sundance is rated among the top five film festivals. 

To quote the official synopsis…

Peepli Live / India (Director and screenwriter: Anusha Rizvi)—A satirical look at the predicament of a poor farmer who creates a media frenzy when, beset with debt, he announces that he will commits suicide so his family can receive government compensation. Cast: Omkar Das, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Raghubir Yadav, Shalini Vatsa, Farukh Jaffer.  World Premiere

And here is the one the Screen published….

Peepli Live, is not just a take on farmer suicide but also on media’s obsession with ‘breaking news’ and publicity-hungry politicians. While Raghuvir Yadav plays the role of a farmer who announces his suicide days in advance, Nawaz (last seen in New York) essays the role of an aspiring hotshot reporter who decides to go town with Yadav’s announcement. His news catches the attention of news channels and politicians, which in turn results in Yadav’s character failing to commit suicide. The story’s irony lies in the fact that Nawaz’s character, which unknowingly acts as a catalyst in saving the farmer’s life, kills himself after he finds himself disagreeing with the ethical standards being practised by certain sections of the media. Interestingly, while shooting across homes, fields and roads at Badwai village near Bhopal, the unit managed to keep reporters, shutterbugs as well as locals at bay.

The details of other 13 films are as follows….

“All That I Love” (Poland) – Directed and written by Jacek Borcuch, about four small-town teenagers who form a punk rock band in 1981 during the growth of the Solidarity movement. With Mateusz Kosciukiewicz, Jakub Gierszal, Mateusz Banasiuk, Olga Frycz, Igor Obloza. North American premiere. 

“Animal Kingdom” (Australia) – Directed and written by David Michod, which centers upon a 17-year-old boy who, in the wake of his mother’s death, is thrust precariously between a criminal family and a detectives who hopes to save him. Stars Guy Pearce, Ben Mendelsohn, Joel Edgerton, Luke Ford, Jacki Weaver, James Frecheville. World premiere.

“Boy” (New Zealand) – Directed and written by Taika Waititi, a study of how two young brothers reconciles fantasy with reality when their father returns home after many years. Features Waititi, James Rolleston, Te Aho Eketone. World premiere. 

“Four Lions” (U.K.) – Directed by Chris Morris, written by Morris, Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain, a comedy about some self-styled British jihadis. With Chris Wilson, Kevin Eldon. World premiere. 

“Grown Up Movie Star” (Canada) – Directed and written by Adriana Maggs, which spins on a teenage girl left to care for her rural father when her mother runs away. Features Shawn Doyle, Tatiana Maslany, Jonny Harris, Mark O’Brien, Andy Jones, Julia Kennedy. U.S. premiere.

“The Man Next Door” (Argentina), written and directed by Mariano Cohn and Gaston Duprat, about two neighbors who clash over a wall separating their properties. With Rafael Spregelburd, Daniel Araoz, Eugenia Alonso, Ines Budassi, Lorenza Acuna. International premiere. 

“Me Too” (Spain) – Directed by Alvaro Pastor and Antonio Naharro, about the unconventional relationship between a 34-year-old college-educated man with Down syndrome and his free-spirited co-worker. With Pablo Pineda, Lola Duenas, Antonio Naharro, Isabel Garcia Lorca, Pedro Alvarez Ossorio. International premiere. 

“Nuummioq” (Greenland) – Directed by Otto Rosing and Torben Bech, written by Bech, a contemporary story of how a young man pieces together aspects of his past and gets on with his life while journeying through Greenland’s imposing landscapes. Stars Lars Rosing, Angunnguaq Larsen, Julie Berthelsen, Morten Rose, Makka Kleist, Mariu Olsen. World premiere. 

“Son of Babylon” (Iraq) – Directed and written by Mohamed Al Daradji, the tale of a young Kurdish boy and his grandmother as they travel through Iraq searching for the remains of their father/son in the wake of Saddam Hussein’s fall from power. With Yasser Talib, Shazda Hussein, Bashir Al-Majid. International premiere. 

“Southern District” (Bolivia) – Directed and written by Juan Carlos Valdivia, a look at social change that envelopes an upper-class family in La Paz, Bolivia. Toplines Ninon del Castillo, Pascual Loayza, Nicolas Fernandez, Juan Pablo Koria, Mariana Vargas. North American premiere. 

“The Temptation of St. Tony” (Estonia) – Directed and written by Veiko Ounpuu, which centers upon a mid-level manager with an aversion to being “good” who confronts life mysteries as he loses his grasp on his once-quiet life. Features Taavi Eelmaa, Rain Tolk, Tiina Tauraite, Katarina Lauk, Raivo E. Tamm. World premiere. 

“Undertow” (Colombia-France-Germany-Peru) – Directed and written by Javier Fuentes-Leon, an offbeat ghost story in which a married fisherman on the Peruvian seaside tries to reconcile his devotion to his male lover within the town’s rigid traditions. Stars Cristian Mercado, Manolo Cardona, Tatiana Astengo. North American premiere. 

“Vegetarian” (South Korea) – Directed and written by Lim Woo-seong, about a housewife whose strange dreams and resulting meat aversion cause trouble with her husband and attract the interest of her artist brother-in-law. Toplines Chea Min-seo, Kim Hyun-sung, Kim Yeo-jin, Kim Young-jae. International premiere.