Athena Film Festival - Leeches
In the chaotic 'old city' of Hyderabad, 18-year-old Raisa hatches a dangerous and improbable plan to save her younger sister from becoming a one-day bride.
Interview with Director Payal Sethi
Watch Leeches on Prime Video and iTunes
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
LEECHES portrays the practice of temporary marriages in communities who live in one of the fastest growing cities in India but are unable to participate in any meaningful way in its economic boom. I came across this practice while living in the city two years ago, thereafter researching the facts through Shaheen, an NGO that helps girls who run away from such arrangements.
On the cusp of destitution, desperate measures are often the only ones available. The system of 'one-day-brides,' which is one such measure, offers the fig leaf of religious sanction to a clear case of sexual slavery. Thus, in Hyderabad’s old city, rich businessmen prey on the virginity of underage girls in an archaic tradition that is still propagated under the auspices of Sharia marriage laws. These men take brides for short periods, sometimes just a night, with rates varying according to the duration of the marriage. An intricate web of opportunists facilitates this flesh trade, including many clerics, who service clients with a predilection for teenage-virgin brides.
In the absence of records, it is impossible to find out the extent of the practice, yet the press stories of the individuals compelled me to explore the ways in which young women might react and rebel in these oppressive circumstances. Raisa, the protagonist, represents the courage and spirit of a small percentage of girls who refuse to accept these sham marriages as their fate.
I made this film for them.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
Leeches has an important and surprisingly, little-known story to tell, and I am certain that the story will grip you, because it gripped me when I was roaming the alleys of Hyderabad’s old city, listening to tales of young girls who are commodities to their families and community.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
While bringing awareness to an issue that continues unabated and against which there are no laws as yet in India is definitely important to me, Leeches is first and foremost the story of a young girl’s sacrifice for her sister. By going deep into her motivation for doing what she does, the specific details of the film create a universal message that has had quite an impact with every screening of the film. Making the film in this way taught me how to balance both the personal and universal within a story, and I imagine this is a lesson I will carry forward to the films I make next.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development and production?
The story for Leeches came about from an idea for a feature that I never wrote, where this young Muslim girl was a secondary character in an important subplot. Frustrated with the mechanisms of the ‘industry’ with regards to another feature script I already had ready, my co-writer and I decided to turn her into the subject of a short film. He wrote the first draft of the story, which I then turned into a screenplay. However, I just couldn’t jump into making the film, because it felt like something was missing. It was a gut feeling, which led me to return to Hyderabad and seek out Shaheen, the NGO that introduced me to the world within Leeches, a very frighteningly real world that opened doors and flooded my imagination with details that all made their way back into the film.
So I rewrote the screenplay based on almost a year’s worth of research, and then I knew I had to get the film out into the world. This was just the beginning of a really long road to actually shooting the film. I insisted on shooting on location, which was not recommended, because the locations in the film were very conservative and disadvantaged neighborhoods. We were watched the whole time, whether we knew it or not, but I chose to ignore the palpable threat of shooting this way and barreled through eight days of the most intense pain and joy I have ever experienced. Similarly, the people we cast mirrored the authenticity of places in the film – we searched for non-actors who may not have always delivered the performance we needed, but gave us something much more significant, by embodying the people we wanted to represent.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
The screenings are usually met with a mixture of incredulity, disturbance and outrage, and always, a plea to show the film to as many people as possible. As the director, I tend to dwell on technical aspects or narrative issues that I feel could have been better, but what I’ve realized is that when the story and film engage the audience emotionally, these tiny details cease to matter.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Mostly, it is the technical feedback that is challenging and always useful. Of course, it is always hard for an educated and dare I say, privileged, audience to accept that a mother can do to her daughter what ours does in this film, but as far as the subject matter and issue are concerned, I have done my homework very thoroughly and can stand by every narrative choice in the film.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
A dialogue, more awareness, and hopefully the connection to a whole new community. I would love to hear feedback from this community, and perhaps other stories like ours. Because it is certainly not unique – there are versions of this kind of practice and injustice against women and girls all over the world. I am always struck by the similarity of these stories. For instance, when I screened the film in Zanzibar in East Africa, there was such recognition amongst the audience, who is familiar with similar practices in their own country.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
All of the above! As an independent female filmmaker in India, going against the grain of commercial cinema, I need all the support I can get. I am ready to make my feature this year so I look forward to connecting to future collaborators in this journey.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
Since the film is not a documentary but a short film, which has a far smaller audience, I don’t expect to see policy change. However, I have noticed that when I screen the film for non-festival audiences, especially young women from less privileged backgrounds, there is a beautiful identification that then sparks conversation and questions. It is a small drop in the sea, but with each screening like this I feel empowered. Lately, I have been thinking of developing a feature film based on the short, with a completely new setting, but a female character who has to stand up for herself this time.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
There are several, I would think.
- Does this actually happen?
- Does this still happen?
- Do families really do this to their daughters?
Would you like to add anything else?
I would urge anybody who watches the film and/or reads this article to spread the word about the film, which will be available to watch on Amazon in the US & UK and Google Play worldwide, immediately after the Athena Film Festival. We are donating a portion of the proceeds from digital sales to Shaheen, the NGO, which needs help to continue the good work they are doing.
What are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I am working on my first feature film, a humanistic thriller called MAYA DELUXE. My Cinematographer runs a postproduction studio in New York, my cowriter is a serial entrepreneur with a successful online news portal called Scroll, and my lead actress has gone from strength to strength to carve quite a niche for herself in the Hindi mainstream and alternative industries. We’re all very happy with where the film has brought us.
Interview: February 2017
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We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series and music video. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
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Leeches
In the chaotic 'old city' of Hyderabad, 18-year-old Raisa hatches a dangerous and improbable plan to save her younger sister from becoming a one-day bride.
Length: 27 minutes
Director: Payal Sethi
Producer: Payal Sethi, Apoorva Marur
Writer: Samir Patil, Payal Sethi
About the writer, director and producer:
Payal Sethi studied filmmaking at Vassar College & NYU's Tisch School of the Arts before beginning her career under the tutelage of veteran director Mira Nair.
Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists):
Funders: producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists
Made in association with: Laughistaan, FilmKaravan
Where can I see it in the next month?
Taos Shortz - New Mexico, as well as Patna, Chennai & Calicut in India, and of course, online.