Ilai (Leaf) | European Premiere

Director: Rajiv Reddy Pochareddy
Starring: Manjula Odanadi, Pritham Charavarthy, Mighty Gibson.
Run time: 67 mins | Recommended Certificate: U
Language: Tamil with English subtitles | Year: 2013 | Country: India

With great pathos, and a riveting narrative, Ilai (Leaf) encapsulates the stories of many thousands of Indians arriving in the big cities each year, in the hope of a better future, or sometimes just by chance. Often their only baggage is a troubled past. We are introduced to one such story, a lonely little girl from the countryside who accidentally finds herself in a bustling metropolis. The girl can’t speak the city’s language, or understand its high-speed ways. She wanders the mean streets to find shelter, but soon realises she must enlist the help of others, including a homeless old woman to ensure her survival.

Ilai (Leaf) is screening with a short film – FOREST MAN | Dir. William Douglas McMaster. A doc. based on the true story of a man who planted an Indian forest from scratch.