Cannes Film Festival 2024: 3 Marathi Movies To Be Screened At 77th Edition Of Festival de Cannes

The 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival will be held between May 14 and 25 at the French Riviera. With one the most renowned film festivals just a month away, all eyes will be on the titles being screened in the competitive and the non-competitive categories. Like in the past, this year too, some of the Indian titles too will be screened at the Festival de Cannes. Here's a list of homegrown movies to be screens at Cannes 2024.

Gypsy

Gypsy is the story of a family from a nomadic tribe that wanders throughout their lives. The synopsis of the film reads, "A young boy from a nomadic tribe named Jyotya has to eat bad food brought by begging every day. Hence it has a hot-fresh appeal. But he doesn't get to eat it. Finally, he has to rely on the smell of the substance. This gets him used to smelling different food items. Next the smell of a substance overwhelms him. And finally it is this smell that gives him the opportunity to change his life."

Valli

Written and directed by Manoj Shinde, Valli was screened at the Singapore International Film Festival 2023 in the Asian Feature Film Competition category. The synopsis reads, "A religious devotee, trapped in an enforced gender identity, plots an escape from his oppressive village in this delicately layered examination of gender fluidity."

"Every night Valli is sought after for his blessings as a jogta—presenting as a woman devotee bound to a Hindu goddess. Though he is spiritually revered, he is also ostracised by the villagers and routinely subject to their harassment and violence. Stifled by his life of servitude, he wishes to renounce his jogta identity and live as a man. To do so, he enlists the help of his only friend and fellow castaway, Tara."

"With its intimate portrayal of the jogappa tradition in the rural regions of western Maharashtra, the film immerses us in Valli‘s world, capturing his difficult journey while bravely interrogating gender expectations and religious tradition without reaching for easy answers."

Bhera

Bhera is the story of two innocent lives in a remote village in Lower Konkan during the Covid era. Anibai, who lives alone in the village far away from the main settlement, is eagerly waiting for her son Suresh, who is stuck in Mumbai during the Covid period.

Anibai suffers from appendicitis and Vishnu, who is deaf-mute from birth, is her only connection to the rest of the world. The orphan boy Vishnu, who lives like a slave in his uncle’s house on his mother’s side, but longs for Maya, comes to Anibai full of affection. Vishnu, who has no idea where Anibai is and is waiting for his friend Suresh on one side, gets even more excited.