A Reading Room With a View

Company Brief

National, March 28, 2017

Several viewers of Kerala tourism's recent film (released as part of the Live Inspired campaign in the context of Kochi Muziris Biennale) have remarked that it is unlike a typical tourism film at all. Perhaps, the lack of lush landscapes and the fact that the film is conceived as a real time view of life as seen from a window would have prompted the remarks. Yet on a deeper level, the setting itself - a reading room that juxtaposes Mahatma Gandhi, Che Guevara and Rabindranath Tagore - becomes a typical metaphor for what is seen as the unique cultural mindscape of Kerala.

“The film", says Dr. Venu V., Principal Secretary, Kerala Tourism, "is drawn from experiences of travellers to Kerala who were inspired by the capacity of this place to joyfully integrate multiple religious, cultural and ideological strains - which again, is at the heart of the Kochi Muziris Biennale. In a world that is being segregated into separate rooms and exclusive spaces," he adds, "this film is a tribute to Kerala that celebrates the idea of living with our differences and diversities."

In a deceptively simple manner, the film juxtaposes several of these ideologies and religions that overlap and seep into each other to reveal a multi-hued tapestry of singular beauty. Live sound and subtle music add to the realness of the film.

"To portray an idea as authentic as this", says Shelton Pinheiro, Executive Creative Director, Stark, "we felt we needed to veer away from the slickness and compactness of a commercial and enter into the space of a short feature or a documentary - all the while keeping the film within a duration that is ‘watchable’ at one go. In short, the idea and the treatment of this film remained stubbornly inseparable from each other."

The film was conceived and scripted by Stark Communications and directed by the reputed cinematographer/ director Sameer Thahir. It is a part of the Live Inspired campaign that is currently being aired both nationally and internationally.

You can find the film here:

CLICK HERE

The Team:

Cinematographer/Director : Sameer Thahir

Script/Creative Directors : Shelton Pinheiro, Ajith Gopinath

Music : Sushin Shyam Tdt

Editing : Nishad Yousuf

Sound Design : S Radhakrishnan

Crew : Khalid Rahman, Sanu Thahir, Jimshi Khalid

Account Managers : Anu Praveen, Manoj Indira Sukumaran

For further information please contact:

Sivakumar.S

Email: siva.kumar@stark.in