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April 12, 2025

AFS Cinema

Online May 2 - 4

Virundhu (The Feast)

India | Short

2024 | 25 mins | Tamil

Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, February 2024, World Premiere - Special Jury Prize Winner, International Competition
Sydney Film Festival, June 2024

A fisherwoman takes on a powerful local politician by hosting a feast for him using an unforgettable secret dish that could save her dying lake.

About the Artist

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Rishi Chandna is a self-taught independent filmmaker based in Mumbai and Goa. Currently he is in development of his first feature-length fiction film titled GHOL/THE CATCH. The project has been mentored at the 2021 Sundance Screenwriters Lab, and selected at the Cannes Film Market 2021, the 2021 NFDC Film Bazaar Co-Production Market and the 2021 Hong Kong Asia Film Financing Forum where it won the top HAF Fiction Award for a non – Hong Kong project.

The Feast (‘Virundhu’ in Tamil) is his first work of short fiction and was awarded the Special Jury Award at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival in February 2024. The film is part of an anthology of three short fiction films Rishi is making, that represent marginalised communities dealing with issues of climate change and political disenfranchisement in the context of water pollution, access and inequality. His debut short film, TUNGRUS (2018), a black comedy about a Mumbai suburban family divided over eating their dominating pet rooster, was shown at Hot Docs, Visions Du Reel, BFI London Film Festival, IDFA and became an Oscar-qualifying short documentary after winning at Slamdance Film Festival. Tungrus has released online on the prestigious New York Times’ OP-DOCS, PBS POV SHORTS, The Criterion Channel and several other platforms such as Atlantic Selects, Amazon Prime, Vimeo (Staff Pick) and Aeon Magazine.
His second short film, PARTY POSTER (2022), a satirical documentary about the political poster culture in India, has shown at Palm Springs International Film Festival, Krakow Film Festival, DocAviv, Glasgow Short Film Festival and more, and was also launched online on New York Times’ OP-DOCS.

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Trailer

Credits

Crew:

Director:   

Rishi Chandna

Writer:

Rishi Chandna 

Rahul Srivastava

Producer(s):

Rishi Chandna 

Anita Arjundas 

Jessica Seddon 

Rahul Muralidharan

Film Editor:

Ashwin Arvind

Featured Cast:

     ​       

D. Antony Janagi 

GeorgeVijay 

Anbarasi

Thank you to our community partners for this screening!

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