• Film

New Asian Cinema: Indian Cinema Draws Growing International Audiences

none windowtext 0in;padding:0in’>is a Tamil-language drama film written, directed, and filmed by Indian director Chezhiyan. The story takes place right before the 2008 financial recession and is set in the city of Chennai, an ever-growing metropolis where economic divides have left a section of the population behind and forgotten. Illango played by Santhosh Sreeram is an assistant film director living with his wife and their five-year-old son in a rented apartment. As their neighborhood gets gentrified by the booming IT industry, the landlady issues the family a 30-day notice to vacate so she can rent the apartment out at a higher price.

none windowtext 0in;padding:0in’> is the directorial debut of Chezhiyan. Trained as a civil engineer, Chezhiyan was influenced by his mother who was a storyteller and a singer. He started working as a professional cinematographer after his apprenticeship with the famous Indian cinematographer P. C. Sreeram. Chezhiyan received critical acclaim for his work in directing Balaji Shakthivel’s film Paradesi. He won the Best Cinematography Award at the 2013 BFI London Film Festival Awards.