DocNomads film awarded in Mumbai, India
The film Coming Back to Life directed by Mantra Watsa won the Special Jury Prize in the competitive section Royal Stag Barrel Select Large Short Films at the 25th MAMI - Mumbai Film Festival held from 19 to 24 October.
The film premiered in HotDocs Film Festival held in Toronto, and has been presented at the Tirana International Film Festival (Albania) and at the Int. Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (India).
Jury statement: “The Royal Stag Barrel Select Large Short Films Special Jury Prize goes to an extremely well-crafted film, one that by its incisive use of lensing and unobtrusive camerawork takes you right into the world of a sex worker and her trauma. The animated images of Coming Back to Life (Et Moi, Je Revis) by Mantra Watsa are often nightmarishly disturbing and affecting, staying with the viewer much after the film has ended. Mantra’s polished command over the craft and ability to express deep anguish with artistry had us thoroughly in awe.”
ET MOI, JE REVIS
By Mantra Watsa (India) • 20' • 2024
Synopsis:
Shéhrazade, a sex worker, is reclaiming her body and mind from trauma. The lens traverses both outside and within her body to map her experience of love and intimacy – on the job or at home – and capture her healing. The fluidity of the form allows her to animate an inner world that the camera cannot capture.
in MAMI catalogue.