The global sales rights for the Kannada film Pinki Elli? (Where Is Pinki?) has been picked up by Pictures Tree International. The film, written and directed by Prithvi Konanur, will have its world premiere at the Busan International Film Festival next month in the A Window on Asian Cinema section.
Konanur’s film, starring Akshatha Pandavapura and Deepak Subramanya, follows the frantic search for an eight-month-old baby in the slums of Bengaluru. Bindhushree discovers that her daughter Pinki is missing after leaving her in the care of her maid Sanamma. The maid has been loaning the baby to a relative who uses the child to beg on the streets of Bengaluru.
According to a report in Variety.com, the Kannada film might have a theatrical run ahead of a free-to-air screening in the first half of 2021. Picture Tree has already begun its sales campaign with a deal with Channel 4 Television in the UK.
Konanur made his directorial debut with Waves (2012), which was produced by the Children’s Film Society of India. His second film, Railway Children (2016), had its world premiere at the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival in 2016. Pinki Elli? was also announced as a selection in the India Gold category for this year’s cancelled Mumbai Film Festival.
The feature, produced by Krishnegowda for Sapthagiri Creations, has been shot on location in Bengaluru with a single, handheld camera and employed many first-time artistes from the city’s slums.