Guwahati, Sept 9: 'Tora's Husband', the latest feature film by national award-winning filmmaker Rima Das is all set to travel the globe, like her previous films – 'Village Rockstars' and 'Bulbul Can Sing'.
After it is scheduled to be screened at the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on Sunday, 'Tora's Husband' will travel to the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), one of the most significant film festivals in Asia, in October.
The 27th edition of BIFF starts from October 5 to 14 in the second largest city of South Korea. 'Tora's Husband' will be screened at the special segment – 'A Window on Asian Cinema'.
"Busan is one of the most admired film festivals not only in Asia but in the world. They have got one of the best panellists of juries. I feel honoured that they chose my film for screening along with some of the best from the continent," Rima Das told The Assam Tribune from Toronto.
Apart from 'Tora's Husband', Nandita Das's Zwigato, Pushan Kripalani's Goldfish, Mahesh Narayanan's Ariyippu (Declaration) and Arvind Pratap's Mariam are selected for screening.
'Tora's Husband' is a drama about "a loving father strains to keep his small-town business afloat while his relationships deteriorate amidst personal loss and lockdowns during the pandemic".
Amid economic strife caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Jaan (Abhijit Das) desperately tries to keep his small business — a modest restaurant and hotel — afloat as his town in Assam emerges from mandated lockdown. With the chance of recovery looking bleak, Jaan begins to alienate himself from his friends and family, including his wife Tora (Tarali Kalita Das), whose patience is wearing thin.
In TIFF, Rima's film will be screened at the Platform segment which is TIFF's competitive programme that champions bold directorial visions. The 10 films in the programme are eligible for the Platform Prize, an award of $20,000 CAD given to the best film in the programme, selected by an in-person international jury. This year's Platform Prize jury will be announced later this summer.
Rima Das's second full-length feature, 'Village Rockstars', made its world premiere at TIFF in 2017, catapulting the film to international accolades. It was India's official selection in the Best Foreign Language category at the Oscars, and won the National Award for Best Film.
Her next feature, 'Bulbul Can Sing', also made its global debut at TIFF, the very next year. This will be the third time a film from her will get its first world screening at TIFF.
