Film From Odisha Stable Selected For Moscow Fest

Runanubandha – The He Without Him has been officially selected for screening at the prestigious 41st Moscow International Film Festival 2019 (MIFF), under the “Films Around the World” section.

The movie has been produced by Odisha-based Swastik Arthouse. The only other Indian presence at the festival is a documentary, Reason, by Anand Patwardhan.

MIFF is one of the oldest film festivals of the world, having started in 1935.

Runanubandha – The He Without Him had earlier featured as one of three Indian films at the international competition of the 24th Kolkata International Film Festival last November. It also featured in a competition at the 11th Bengaluru International Film Festival last month.

On April 12, it premiered in UK and France with screenings at the Festival des Films Indiens de Toulouse in France and London Bengali Film Festival in UK. The film was also screened at the 14th International Film Festival of Thrissur and at the Nitte International Film Festival in Mangalore.

The film has been directed by acclaimed filmmaker and national awardee Amartya Bhattacharyya and produced by Swastik Choudhury. It features first time actor Priyanka Ghosh Roy as the protagonist. Swastik Choudhury also plays a very interesting character. Indian filmmaker Susant Misra has a cameo in the movie.

Shot in Kolkata, the film captures some essential characteristics of the city in a unique way. Amartya has written, directed, shot and edited the film himself.

Swastik Arthouse has earlier made two critically acclaimed Odia films – Capital I and Khyanikaa (The Lost Idea). Khyanikaa has now featured in 25 film festivals, the most by an Odia film.
Runanubandha, in spirituality terms, refers to the body’s memory. The film explores a daughter’s search for her father in the metropolis of Kolkata.