Made in Nagpur film ‘Paidageer’ to be screened at Cannes

Nagpur: ‘Paidageer’, a Marathi movie produced by city’s theatre activist and filmmaker Sanjay Jiwane, will be screened on the inaugural day of the 74th Cannes Film Festival, which is making a comeback in physical format for the first time since the outbreak of Covid-19.
The movie is one of the official selections for ‘March Du Film’ section of Cannes, where filmmakers and investors come together on one platform. This year, more than 10,000 entries were received from 130 countries for this section. According to the official website of Cannes, 1,500 of them have been shortlisted for screening.
“We received the official correspondence today. Our movie will be screened on July 6, the very first day of the festival. It’s a great honour for a film made in Nagpur,” said Jiwane. The team has been invited to France, but it’s not possible for them to visit due to the travel ban.
The movie is an on-screen adoption of the Marathi play of the same name written by Jiwane. Inspired by Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar’s life message that ‘Pen is mightier than the sword’, this play portrays the struggle of a mother to educate her child in a crime-ridden and anti-social environment of slums.
Despite her husband being a pick-pocket, a murderer, and a bully, she never lets his evil shadow fall upon her son. It was first staged in 1991 in Nagpur. Jiwane and his team organized several shows of the play during the next seven years. It was quite a popular play then and had won many awards too.
“When we decided to make a movie on it, I made it a point to have all artists, and locations from Nagpur. We conducted workshops and did shooting at Bhide Girls High School, Dhanwate National College, Kachipura and many other locations,” Jiwane recalled. Jiwane’s daughter and actress Sanchi has played lead in the movie.
As it was lockdown, the team categorically decided to send the movie only in film festivals across the world. It has won several recognitions worldwide, the official selection to Cannes becoming the biggest. The team has planned to release this movie in theatres once the government allows theatres to function.
Nagpur to Cannes
Film ‘Paidageer’ is entirely shot in the city
Writer-director and actors all are from Nagpur
Total 22 producers have come together to make this movie
Has won awards and recognition at ilm Division festival
Was official selection for many international film events
Now, going to the Cannes film festival in the ‘Marché du Film’ section