Cannes winner director Vimukthi Jayasundara’s ‘Spying Stars’ trailer out ahead of Busan International Film Festival world premiere

COLOMBO: The first trailer for ‘Spying Stars’, the latest feature from the Cannes-winning Sri Lankan filmmaker Vimukthi Jayasundara, has been unveiled ahead of its world premiere at the 30th Busan International Film Festival.

According to Variety, the sci-fi drama, a France/India/Sri Lanka co-production, follows scientist Anandi as she visits Hanuman Island to perform last rites for her father. Set in a dystopian future plagued by ‘Illvibe’, a pandemic caused by machine dominance, Anandi finds herself quarantined in a remote hotel where a mysterious star begins following her. She eventually escapes and seeks refuge with a mother and her transgender daughter.

“I chose to construct ‘Illvibe’, a disease of the future that finds its origins in technology and devices to narrate a film of loss and mourning, an existential common experience of all mankind of today and in the future”, Jayasundara said in his director’s statement, as quoted by Variety.

The film stars Indira Tiwari, Hidaayath Hazeer, Saumya Liyanage, Samanalee Fonseka, Shreepura Mithra and Kaushalya Fernando in prominent roles. In the trailer, actress Indira Tiwari is seen isolated in a hotel where she is suspected of being infected by the Illvibe virus. Appearing to be depressed from her father’s loss, Indira was seen eating a flower from a forest as she wandered outside the hotel, as per the trailer.

It is followed by the chilling scenes, which consist of a severed hand and a huge spying machine floating in the air. The machine-dominated world identifies her emotion of guilt for her father’s death, which further results in suspicions among the viewers, as the actress reclaims that she did not kill her father.

The film is presented by House on Fire, Eleenora Images, and Film Council Production, with world sales handled by Bangkok-based Diversion, which shared the trailer on their YouTube handle. Eeshit Narain serves as director of photography, with music by Alokananda Dasgupta.

Jayasundara has established himself as a major voice in international cinema, notably winning the Camera d’Or at Cannes for his debut feature ‘The Forsaken Land’ (2004), according to Variety. His subsequent films, including ‘Between Two Worlds’ (2009), have screened at prestigious festivals including Cannes, Venice, Locarno, and Toronto.

‘Spying Stars’ is a liberation film that is spiritual in nature. It asks one question: in a time of pervasive voyeurism and technological control, how do we retain our humanity?” the director explains. (ANI)