Making its world premiere at next month's Kolkata International Film Festival is a film that I cannot wait to talk more about, Avichi. Avichi is the first feature from director Varun Chowdhury, who also wrote and edited what is one of the most unusual and interesting Indian independents I've ever come across.
It's being marketed as the "first Indian atmospheric film", but it's much more than that. Completely without dialogue, the film endeavors to explore the emptiness of its protagonists souls in an attempt to find meaning in a barren, post-apocalyptic landscape. Here's how the filmmakers describe the film:
The world of Avichi on its surface seems like a beautiful oasis but as we are introduced to two men, stripped off their humanity and driven by a core animalistic instinct to survive, it reveals its ruthless and unforgiving nature.
As these two men scavenge and hunt in what seems like a vacuum of emptiness; hunger & pain, a single moment of hope breaks them free and takes them on a journey deeper into the world of Avichi. As they explore the unknown and strange corners of Avichi, they find themselves surrounded by the horrors of their past and an inevitable dark future where their fight becomes no longer to survive but to keep their hope alive no matter how illusive or delusional it is.
As this film has no spoken language you experience this journey through a wave of visuals, sound and music.
I'll be reviewing the film upon its premiere, but let the images from this trailer wash over you and prepare yourself for an experience unlike any you've had before.