L’ATELIER DU FESTIVAL
A YELLOW BIRD
Directed by : K. RAJAGOPAL
- Year of production : 2015
- Country : France , Singapore
- Length : 90 minutes
Synopsis
It is an unwelcome homecoming for Siva, a Singaporean-Indian ex-convict haunted by a tragedy in his past as a contraband smuggler, when he is released after eight years behind bars. Dejected by his mother’s silence, he leaves home in search of his exwife and daughter who do not want to be found. One night, Siva saves a Chinese prostitute from a violent man. She looks up to him as a kindred spirit in a brutal world, giving him the first chance to a renewed identity. They begin a romance and for a brief moment he believes that perhaps he does not want to return to his old life. But she is soon deported back to China. He is rudely awoken from his growing indifference by the death of his mother, a reminder that he must not waste more time to seek salvation. His world crashes further upon discovering a friend’s betrayal, who hosts his family in secret. Re-encountering his family for the first time, he is confronted with a horrid truth, where redemption is a matter of life or death.
Statement
As a minority race in my own country, I am constantly forced to negotiate and re-negotiate my sense of belonging and intimacy with the space I live in. I am intrigued by how we often create walls around us to protect ourselves from getting hurt both emotionally and physically. Its construction initially starts consciously, often conditions our mind and slowly forces it to unconsciously take its own shape, cementing itself beyond our control. It is also a personal probe on my identity as a Singaporean by birth or nationality, as an Indian by race, individual against society, freedom versus entrapment, this motivates me to symbolically investigate these issues within myself through Siva, who is, by default of his status as a minority race and an ex-convict, marginalized in his own homeland.
Credits
K. RAJAGOPAL - Director
Specifications
Language film :
Tamil,
Working budget:
400 000 €
Financing acquired:
180 000 €
Contacts
Production
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