‘18 Feet’, a documentary on the indigenous band Karinthalakkoottam, has been selected for the Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF) 2016.
The documentary is the maiden directorial venture of Ranjith Kuzhur, a graduate from the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute, Kolkata.
“Karinthalakkoottam propagates the music of soul to connect people with a sense of historic resolution. The ‘18 Feet’ symbolises the holy distance that the Dalits were to ensure for the sanctity of the upper castes,” say Ranjith.
P.R. Ramesh, a KSRTC bus conductor hailing from Vadama, near Mala, is the man behind the exuberant squad. He had won the Folklore Academy Award in 2012. Two other band members, Mini Pradheep and Mohan, won the Folklore Academy this year.
“The rustic band expresses the struggles of an oppressed community to break out of the shackles of untouchability. The band is in the vanguard of redefining the identity of people who are battered by senseless injustice through centuries. It rekindles the sense of sanity for all with a massage of love and harmony,” says Ranjith.
Specialised in film editing, Ranjith had been with the television industry in Mumbai. He has edited several documentaries, including ‘Kapila’, which won the national award and the special jury award at the International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala this year. His other works as an editor had been screened at Munich Film Festival, International Student Video and Film Festival - Beijing, International Film Festival of India, International Film Festival of Kolkata and Mumbai International Film Festival.
