Ullarivu
Short
Malayalam
mins
14
Texas Premiere
In-Person, Virtual
2023
India
Kids, Drama
Ullarivu is about a young girl's transformative journey from a carefree child of the earth into a cautious young girl in the world, as she pieces together the hidden meanings and unfair rules of the patriarchal world. Her love for nature and exploration comes to a standstill when she is forced to understand that her access to the world itself is limited due to her gender. Even though she is brought up in a loving, protective family, helmed by her father, the family dynamics are deeply rooted in patriarchal rules and values. In a world that assigns pink for girls and blue for boys at birth itself, it's only a matter of time until the rules of subjugation are inflicted upon even the most hungry, wild souls.
Mumbai Film Festival (2023)
International Kolkata Short Film Festival (2024)
Director, Writer & Producer
Sumi Mathai
Sumi Mathai is an advertising professional turned filmmaker based in India. Her debut short film 'Detour' was selected as one of the 10 scripts to be produced by Jio Cinema, from a nationwide submission of 900+ entries. Detour premiered at the Mumbai Film Festival (2017), and won the Special Jury Mention. It was also screened at Indische Filmfestival Stuttgart, Bangalore International Short Film Festival, Bucharest ShortCut Cinefest, and IndoGerman Filmweek, Berlin. Ullarivu (The Awakening) is her second short film which she produced through a crowdfunding campaign, apart from writing and directing it. She is passionate about telling stories that explore lived experiences of young girls and women, with empathy and integrity. It is her hope that her stories can shift existing cultural narratives around womanhood, and also contribute towards building a world that is kinder and more inclusive. She is currently developing her first feature film screenplay which was one of the finalists at the Pitch Fest conducted by Screenwriters Association India.
Director:
Sumi Mathai
Producer:
Sumi Mathai
Writer:
Sumi Mathai
Cast:
Devananda Shamej, Pradeep Joseph, Nandini Gopalakrishna, Shivarchana Rajesh, Aksa Prasad, Minnu Elsa Joshy, Krishna Raj & Arun Kalabhavan
Editor:
Abhishikta Kaila
Crew:
Anand Ravi, Anjo John, Sreejith Sreenivasan
This Event is supported in part by a Mini Grant from Humanities Texas.
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