When two storytellers tell the same tale, which one is the lie?
Two storytellers put forth their versions of the story of Shravan Kumar. The art for the film uses painted images from a wooden portable shrine called a Kaavad. The film is a collaborative work between traditional Kaavad storytellers and Kaavad artists from Rajasthan, together with the filmmaker. Combining lush animation with live-action, the film is an interpretation of two stories which are forever fused in the act of telling and retelling.
Practical Effects
Hand-painted Kaavad shrine panels brought to hypnotic life
Direction
Sabnani bridges folk artists and filmmakers without exploitation
Sound
Raw Rajasthani voices, unpolished and transporting
Director
Nina Sabnani
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The Kaavad is a portable temple carried by Bhatt storytellers who open hinged panels while narrating—this film is literally the first time many non-Rajasthani audiences have seen one move.
Sabnani spent years earning trust from a community historically exploited by ethnographers; the co-creation credit to Papuram and Kojaram Rav is radical documentary ethics in 14 minutes.
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