Ritesh Sharma’s Jhini Bini Chadariya (The Brittle Thread) will have its world premiere at the 34th Tokyo International Film Festival next month. The film will be showcased as the lone Indian feature in the Asian Futures section.
Set in the city of Varanasi, the film stars Megha Mathur, Muzaffar Khan and Sivan Spector. The feature film, in Hindi, English, Bhojpuri and Hebrew, tells the story of ‘a sari weaver and an orchestral dancer live their respective lives, until an incident occurs’, according to the synopsis on the festival’s website.
Originally called Tana Bana (Interwoven), Sharma’s film was part of the Film Bazaar Recommends programme in 2019. The current title seems to be inspired by a poem by Kabir Das.
Jhini Bini Chadariya is the second Indian film chosen for the Japanese festival being held next month. Lijo Jose Pellissery’s Churuli is being screened in the Gala section. The festival is being held next month from 30 October to 8 November.
This is the ninth edition of the section since it was introduced in 2013. The competitive section showcases up-and-coming Asian directors who have helmed no more than three feature-length films; the top film will be awarded a prize.