With eye on Oscars, Bittersweet to have limited theatrical release in Pune on 20 November

Anant Mahadevan's Bittersweet will have a limited theatrical release in the city of Pune. The film documents the story of the women in the sugarcane fields of Maharashtra, and has received critical acclaim. Produced by Suchhanda Chatterjee and Shubha Shetty of Quest Films Pvt Ltd, Bittersweet features Akshaya Gurav. The makers have decided on the limited release to ensure that the film qualifies to be selected to potentially represent the country at the Academy Awards in 2021. 

Speaking about the limited release, Mahadevan said, "In keeping with the rules for selection of the film to represent India at the Oscars, Bittersweet will have a theatrical release on 20 November in the hub of Marathi cinema — Pune." The film will be screened at the CityPride multiplex.

Incidentally, the Academy had, in view of the ongoing global pandemic, allowed films to skip the theatrical release completely and yet qualify for the competition. This was a departure from previous rules that demanded that films aiming to qualify for the competition ought to be screened for at least three weeks in a theatre. 

The director added, "The restrictions have made it necessary to selectively open the film in various states. So Pune gets a special slot. Bittersweet has made it as an official selection of world premiere at the prestigious Busan International Film Festival."

The film is also part of the selection for the Kolkata International Film Festival (2021) and Hainan Island International Film Festival in December 2020. 

A statement from the producers reads, "We feel really happy and proud that our little film went on to win laurels worldwide and within the country. It reiterates our faith in the subject and our intention behind backing such a project. Now that our first film is ready to release, we can only hope it continues receiving the love and acceptance."