Indian poverty wins Oscar nomination again

After Slumdog Millionaire’s sweep of the last edition of the Academy Awards, Kavi, another film with an India link, has been nominated for the awards this year. And like Slumdog, Danny Boyle’s blockbuster hit which told the rags-to-riches story of a boy from Mumbai’s slums, this year’s pick too focuses on the poverty prevalent in Indian society.

Kavi, directed, produced and written by Gregg Helvey, has been nominated in the Short Film (Live Action) category of the 82nd Academy Awards. The 19-minute fictional film tells the story of Kavi, a boy in India who wants to go to school and play cricket but is forced to work in a brick kiln as a modern-day slave.

Child labour is the focus of Helvey’s short film. Filmed entirely at Wai, near Mumbai, the film’s tagline is “Does slavery exist?” The movie website claims that about 27 million people are enslaved in the world today.

Kavi is Helvey's University of Southern California thesis project. Planning is on for a feature-length version of the award-winning film whose crew includes John Harrison (cinematographer), Chris Witt (editor), and Patrick Kirst (music).

Kavi’s competitors at this year’s Oscars are The Door (Juanita Wilson, James Flynn), Instead of Abracadabra (Patrik Eklund, Mathias Fjellstrom), Miracle Fish (Luke Doolan, Drew Bailey) and The New Tenants (Joachim Back, Tivi Magnusson).

Kavi is the sole India link in the Oscars this year, after A. R. Rahman’s number ‘Na Na’ from Couples Retreat failed to make the final list. Last year, India had been well-represented at the Oscars with Boyle’s Slumdog and documentaries Smile Pinki and The Final Inch.


ilovekolkata
(With ANI inputs)