NYIFF 2025-Pyre and Hema (Short)
In a fading Himalayan village, an elderly couple's hope is revived by a letter from the son they haven't heard from in 30 years.
Date and time
Location
Theatre 4, Village East by Angelika
181-189 2nd Avenue New York, NY 10003Refund Policy
About this event
Pyre
Director: Vinod Kapri
Starring: Padam Singh Kapri, Heera Devi
Run time: 1 hour 50 minutes
Language: Hindi
Year Made: 2024
Country: India
Synopsis:
In a remote part of the Indian Himalayas, aging couple Padam and Tulsi find their world beginning to erode. Their once lively village is now desolate as more and more families migrate to the cities, leaving the couple to wonder if there will be anyone left to carry out their last rites when their time finally comes. With little hope left, the couple begin to feel themselves wither away beside their beloved village, turning to their childlike bickering as a source of fleeting distraction. One day, to their surprise, Padam and Tulsi receive a letter from their son - a son who they have not heard from in over 30 years. Through this unexpected beacon of hope, their lives change overnight as their once estranged son unwittingly provides them with the will to live on.
Vinod Kapri ( born 15th August 1972 ) is an author , and award-winning filmmaker. He won the prestigious national award for the film “Can't Take This Shit Anymore in 2014. He made his feature debut with "Miss Tanakpur Haazir Ho" (2015) - a socio-legal satire that received extensive critical acclaim. His second feature film "Pihu", released globally in 2018 has been widely appreciated in prestigious international film festivals, streaming on Netflix. Pihu was the opening film of IFFI Goa 2017. His powerful documentary film "1232 kms" ( streaming on Disney Hotstar ) about the heartbreaking journey of migrant workers during the first covid lockdown earned tremendous critical acclaim and won a national award. Pyre is his latest ,premiered at the 28th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival in the Official Competition section and won the best film PÖFF Audience Award.
Hema
Director: Ritvik Dhavale
Starring: Rajshri Deshpande, Samrat Chakrabarti, Neil Iyer, Kapil Talwalkar, Aishwarya Sonar
Run time: 16 minutes 22 seconds
Language: Hindi, English, Marathi
Year Made: 2024
Country: India
Synopsis:
Having recently arrived in America with her husband and son, Hema finds herself culturally displaced and must redefine her identity as a dependent mother. An encounter with a young Marathi man threatens to upend her already fragile existence.
Ritvik Dhavale is a writer and director who spent half his life in Pune, India, and the other half in Cupertino, CA. The stories he wants to tell lie between these two worlds - some fully emerged into diaspora experiences while others blur the line. Ritvik's journey into filmmaking began as a thespian in high school theater. He received his B.A. in Screenwriting from UCLA in 2017. He gained professional experience as an assistant in the CAA Media Finance Group, a Coordinator in the Sundance Feature Film Program, and a Creative Assistant in the Netflix Original Independent Film Team before fully dedicating himself to bringing stories to life.