The Bengali film “Jhilli,” well-known to fans of independent cinema, will soon be shown in theatres on November 11, 2022. It earned the Best Film Award for the International Competition on Innovation in Moving Images at the 27th Kolkata International Film Festival.

Ishaan Ghose‘s film “Jhilli,” which he also directed and wrote, explores human endurance, agony, and celebration of life. Amazing and horrifying footage of humans and animals scraping by in the center of Kolkata’s biggest municipal landfill as the outside world changes quickly have been shown in the film.

At the press conference yesterday, the film’s original producer, Goutam Ghose, who was also there, remarked, “I truly appreciated the picture, not just because it was done by my son. In this movie, Ishaan has made an effort to learn a new language. Due to the time zone, we are in, his perspective is very different. Both then and now, body-and-soul cinema was rare. The entire process—navigating the difficulties and making it through—felt like my personal endurance test. I am very appreciative of SVF for supporting and presenting my son’s unique work to the audience”.

The film’s main character, Bokul, and his friends dwell in the underbelly of the city, which is called Jhilli. It means to dispose of. Ishaan confirmed at the press conference that neither a script nor a set designer was in place when he started the movie. The group improvised as they took pictures from various angles in Dhapa, a landfill where the solid garbage from the metropolis of Kolkata is disposed of.

Ishaan remarked, “There are so many short films and features that are literally done with blood, sweat, tears, and a mountain of expectations that we lose the drill somewhere in the midst. As a result, I desired to represent the passion and originality of my own life through something genuine and authentic, and the only way I could achieve this was by creating an uncharted film. The learning process with Jhilli is incomprehensible. I will always be grateful to SVF for assisting us in the production and distribution of the movie.

The movie has been selected at international film festivals across the world, including the Torino International Film Festival and the Mammoth Lakes Film Festival.

Priyanka Dutta