Canada, India, Sri Lanka202318 minTamil with English subtitlesDrama, History

In a small village in northern Sri Lanka, a young girl is forced to confront the consequences of a deadly civil war as a wounded freedom fighter is brought into their home.

Directors Bio

*Kalainithan Kalaichelvan

Kalainithan Kalaichelvan is a Tamil Canadian writer, director, and producer whose films have screened at festivals such as the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, Rhode Island International Film Festival, and Reel Asian.

Canada, Sri Lanka, UK202167 minutesTamil, Urdu, English with English subtitlesDocumentary, Experimental, LGBTQ+ Filmmakers

If From Every Tongue It Drips is a documentary constructed between three locations that follows Ponni, who writes a form of 19th-century queer Urdu poetry called Rekhti, and her lover Sarala, a camera operator. As their personal lives unfold on camera, the lines between rehearsal and reality, location and distance, and self and other seem to dissipate. The couple’s conversations are interwoven with the director’s own reflections, connecting dots from each of their specific experiences and reference points.

By choosing to look at the personal and political through the framework of quantum physics, director Sharlene Bamboat draws connections between British colonialism and Indian nationalism, tracing the impact these distinct histories and realities have on queer art, politics, poetry, dance, and music. From landmark pieces of music and poetry composed by revolutionary figures to more contemporary works, the film shows us the politicization of South Asian pop culture and the possibilities of its reclamation.

- Mariam Zaidi