When you make a film about a recent event, it is a bit like making a second draft of history. The first draft is what we see from television news, Internet reports and so on, Tom Waller, director of the movie The Cave on the Tham Luang cave rescue in Thailand, has said.
He was speaking on the challenges of making the film on the amazing rescue of 12 children and their football coach after 18 days in the cave less than one-and-a-half years ago at a meet-the-press organised on the sidelines of the IFFK here on Saturday evening.
Mr. Waller said a real challenge was condensing the events of 18 days into less than two hours for the film.
That, he said, was a big responsibility as it involved cutting out information and being stingy on details.
Mr. Waller spoke of the real-life rescuers playing themselves in The Cave and how the film could not be shot at the actual locale because it had become a tourist attraction for many.
The film, he said, was made ‘under the radar’ and only when it was almost complete that they got to shoot at the Tham Luang cave for 12 hours, giving the film a lot of authenticity.
South African society
Danie Bester, co-producer of the South African film Fiela’s Child , spoke about the complex South African society, especially from the changeover from Apartheid to democracy. His film, adapted from a novel into a movie, was about equality and highlighted injustice.
Mr. Bester, a speaker of Afrikaans spoken by 10% of the country’s population, said they enforced Apartheid and segregation which was wrong.
He spoke about the film’s main protagonist, a theatre actor making her debut with his film and how she came to bag the role despite many others keen on it. Shareef C., director of Kanthan - the Lover of Colour which had won the top prize at the Kerala State Fim Awards for 2018, spoke about his film which focussed on the traditional life of the Adiya tribe of Wayanad and their survival. Made by a crew of 10 who were newbies in the world of cinema, the film, in Ravula language, starred social activist Dayabai.
