Nila Madhab Panda’s Kalira Atita highlights UN’s ‘code red’ warning

Nila Madhab Panda’s Kalira Atita (Yesterday’s Past) has travelled to several film festivals around the world. Its latest stop is Australia where is it is being screened online at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) from 15 August.

The National award-winning director’s Odia film shines a light on the perils of climate change. Panda, who has been speaking about this topic since 2005, said, “The report by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on 9 August has pressed the red alert on global climate change and the impact it will have on communities across the world. We have to urgently prioritize climate change. And we need to act now.”

We had no script for Kalira Atita, developed the plot as we shot, says Nila Madhab Panda

Kalira Atita, starring Pitobash, was screened at the London Indian Film Festival in July and will also travel to the Prague International Film Festival in October. The feature highlights the effects of climate change in an Odisha village as a man loses his entire family after the village goes under the sea.

Sharing his thoughts about the film’s selection at Melbourne, Panda said, “When I made the film, my wish was always to take the message of the film around the world. A climate crisis is upon us now and climate action is the need. I am trying my best to tell real incidents through my films and bring people’s attention to such serious matters. It’s an honour for our team to be an official selection at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne.”