Kapila (Malayalam)

 

(62 min; 2015; HD; English subtitles)
 

Director: Sanju Surendran

 

Recipient of the National Award for Best Documentary (Arts & Culture), 62nd National Film Awards; Special Mention, Visions du Reel, Nyon, Switzerland; John Abraham Award for Best documentary Film, SIGNS 2015

 

The National Award-winning documentary Kapila revives popular interest in an ancient dance form by portraying it through the eyes of one of its most talented exponents in Kerala. Kapila is an actor-performer of Kutiyattam, one of the oldest forms of theatre originating in Kerala. The acting-style is based on hand movement and facial expressions. Sanju Surendran composes a dreamlike and abstract portrait, focussing on the sensorial universe of a hyper-contemporary vestal committed to a thousand-year-old practice