PIFF-18 Indie Films Expose the Heart-rendering Drama of Immigrants
On Wednesday, the 26th of September at 5 pm Cinema Paradiso screened two films entered in the Pondicherry Independant Film Festival 2018: ‘Bismillah’ a short Italian film by writer and director, Alessandro Grande, telling the story of a dangerous night for two young Tunisian siblings illegally living in Italy. The main feature, ‘What Will People Say’, set in Norway and Pakistan, co-stars Adil Hussain, who has just won the Best Actor award at the Norwegian National Awards for his role in the film. Adil Hussain plays the father in a Pakistani immigrant family dealing with its teenage daughter’s romantic interest in a local boy.
Adil Hussain kindly appeared at Cinema Paradiso to discuss the film, which has been declared Norway’s official entry for the 2019 Academy Awards. He shared how the film’s story is true to a time in Iram Haq’s life, a “heartbreaking female personal drama with culture clashes between two different worlds.” Iram Haq, who worked for many years as an actress, wrote and directed ‘What Will People Say’.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJJ7Bgzn35I
The new young filmmaker Wanphrang K Diengdoh spoke to the audience before an attempt to screen his trailer for ‘Lorni – The Flaneur’ staring Adil Hussain, but the format was not compatable with Cinema Paradiso’s gear. So he sat it out closely watching Adil in What Will People Say’.
Diengdoh’s ‘Lorni – The Flaneur’ is a noir indie film set to be released at the end of the year. Adil Hussain plays an out-of-work-detective trying to track down stolen objects’ that are of great cultural value to the Khasi heritage.
The film was shot a on a micro budget in the Northeastern hill station of Shillong where Wanphrang Diengdoh was born and raised.
Diengdoh is also part of three-membered Tarik, a politico-punk band an eccentric blend of punk and radical themes with a Khasi twist.