Niv Art Movies and Little Lamb Films are joining forces to produce a slate of Malayalam and Bengali films. The first collaboration and co-production “Whispers of Fire & Water” is part of the Viewing Room and Film Bazaar Recommends segments of the National Film Development Corporation’s (NFDC) ongoing Film Bazaar 2022.
Written and directed by debutant Lubdhak Chatterjee, whose short film “Aahuti” was at Rotterdam in 2020, “Whispers of Fire” is a Hindi, Bengali and English-language film set in Eastern India. It traces a journey of an audio installation artist who visits the largest coal mining region of Eastern India. There he encounters depleting natural resources and a landscape shaped by fire and water.
Shaji and Aruna Mathew’s Delhi based Niv Art Movies has previously produced critically-acclaimed films including “S Durga,” 2017 winner of the Tiger Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, and “Chola,” which played at the Venice Film Festival in 2019.
Bauddhayan and Monalisa Mukherji’s Mumbai-based Little Lamb Films has produced indies including “The Cloud & the Man” (Tallinn Black Nights, and IFF 2021) and “The Violin Player” (Raindance Film Festival, 2016).
The slate also includes Jiju Anthony’s “A Miracle of Love,” which was previously presented at Busan’s Asian Project Market in 2021. The film recounts a mother’s attempt to break through to her autistic child, and is inspired by Anthony’s personal experiences. Anthony has previously directed “The Forsaken” (“Eli Eli Lama Sabachthani”).
Bapi Bit, who has been directing television commercials for the past decade, is preparing his debut feature film, “Bairi. The Hindi-Malayalam project is a story about the enmity between two fishermen that has far-reaching consequences.