Prithvi Konanur’s Pinki Elli? heads to the 45th Hong Kong International Film Festival

Prithvi Konanur’s Kannada-language feature Pinki Elli? (Where Is Pinki?) has been selected for the 45th Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF45).

The festival will be held in a hybrid format and will feature screenings and audience-engagement events simultaneously in theatres and online from 1–12 April 2021.

Pinki Elli? will be screened as part of the Global Vision segment at the festival.

The film has travelled to several festivals already, including the Busan film festival, the International Film Festival of India, and the International Film Festival of Kerala.

Writer-director Konanur shared a news report about the film’s selection at HKIFF on Twitter, saying, "Pinki goes to Hong Kong!"

The film is about a young mother who returns home to discover that her infant daughter and ageing babysitter are missing, which leads to a desperate hunt through the bustling streets of an Indian metropolis.

Pinki Elli? exposes a society still entangled in a rigorously upheld class system, persistent gender inequality, and a desperate economic environment that is only too willing to put a price on an unsuspecting newborn.

Despite the pandemic and international travel restrictions, the festival will be going ahead in hybrid format and include screenings, two online masterclasses with documentarians Frederick Wiseman and Hara Kazuo, who will meet a cinema audience in Hong Kong through live online streaming.

HKIFF45 has also introduced a live-streaming initiative Zoom-in Directors and will invite Hong Kong filmmakers and guest speakers to share their views at post-screening talks and other interactive events.

The full line-up of films is available on www.hkiff.org.hk.