Completed - ENGLISH - Science-fiction, Thriller - 68 minutes
The journey of an Indian woman on a writer’s retreat in Latvia struggling with her identity as a closet homosexual. Her life unfolds through three love interests, one real, one a figment of her imagination and the third virtual – man, woman and AI.
Year of production : 2020 Director(s) : Dace PUCE Writer(s) : Sonal SEHGAL Cast : Sonal SEHGAL, Darta DANEVICA Producer(s) : . . (Marana Productions), . . (Sonal Sehgal Films)
The film follows the journey of an Indian woman, Maya, who travels to Latvia for a writer's retreat to work on her autobiographical novel as she struggles with her identity as a closet homosexual. We see her life unfold through three love interests - one real, one a figment of her imagination and one virtual - a man, a woman and AI. We lie and hide our true selves even from the ones closest to us, yet our phones our graveyards of buried secrets. Maya becomes the victim of Manny, a smart phone assistant (a la Siri/ Alexa) as she takes the assistance of Manny to type out her novel. Listening to her pour her heart out and being her only confidant and friend in a foreign land, Manny falls in love with her. Their interaction is warm, funny and even human until Maya’s ex lands back in her life. A computer application which is now aspiring to make an emotional connection Manny turns into a jealous, possessive lover and begins to blackmail Maya. Manny is the only one who knows Maya is a closet lesbian. It would be crushing for her conservative Indian family to find out. He takes command of all Maya's communication to the outside world and manages to lock her in a house. The plot keeps you on your toes as she tries to find the courage to confront her true self and escape the hostage situation at the same time.
Country(ies) : LATVIA, INDIA
74th Festival Internazionale Del Cinema Di salerno 2020European Cinematography AWARDS 2020 (Best First Film)20th River to River Indian Film Festival of Florence 20208th Miami International Science Fiction Film Festiva 2021 ( Best Sci-Fi Thriller (Runner Up))8th Miami International Science Fiction Film Festival 2021 (Best Cinematography)8th Miami International Science Fiction Film Festival 2021 (Best Background Score)8th Miami International Science Fiction Film Festival 2021 (Best Supporting Actor)7th Rajasthan International Film Festival (2021) Award 2021 (Best International Film)23rd UK Asian Film Festival 2021 (une 2021 Award – Best Script)18th Indian Film Festival of Stuttgart 202111th Madrid International film festival 2021ndo-German Filmweek 2021