Thiruvananthapuram: Being the first Malayalam female director to bring her film to the competition section of this edition’s IFFK, Vidhu Vincent is on cloud nine. Her film Manhole received wide acceptance from the audience.
A hard-hitting tale about manual scavengers in Kerala, the film revolves around the life of Ayya Swami and his family, who represent the community which is often isolated from the society.
Also read: Manhole review- Justice delayed is justice denied
Vidhu Vincent got the idea of making a social-realistic movie while she was working on her award-winning documentary Vritiyude Jathi (Caste and Cleanliness).
“I never knew the kind of alienation and social trauma these manual scavengers have gone through even if I have seen them from my childhood days. The realization that they are part of a neglected community sank in only when I grew up”, said Vidhu.
Through her film, Vidhu has given the perspective of the society as well as the government. While the society isolates them, the government too neglects the community by saying that manual scavenging is illegal.
“I believe that the audience have received my film pretty well and felt happy to be part of this project after going through a lot of challenges and limitations”, said Vidhu. She said that the movie is an eye-opener to understand the life of this isolated community.
According to Vidhu, a film needs an element of drama, politics, and an opinion. She also said that more aspiring woman directors should claim their space in the film industry by being more confident.
Vidhu Vincent’s film will compete with 14 other films in the competition section for the Golden Crown Pheasant Award at the 21st IFFK.