IN THE BELLY OF A TIGER
MQ Hof 8
MQ Arena 21
Free Entry
IND, USA, CHN, IDN, TWN 2024 | D: Siddartha Jatla | 91 min | OV with English subtitles
Austria Premiere
With: Lawrence Francis, Poonam Tiwar, Sorabh Jaiswar,Jyoti and others
Script: Amanda Mooney, Siddartha Jatla
Cinematography: Siddartha Jatla
Editing: Akhmad Fesdi Anggorro
Original sound: Resool Pookutty
Music: Shigeru Umebayashi
Producers: Sarada Uma, Fang Li, Bhavana Goparaju
Production: Flash Forward Entertainment
The elderly couple Bhagole and Prabhata return with their widowed son and two granddaughters to their home village in northern India from the city, where they have been unable to find work. A tiger from the forests around the village is on the prowl. There are frequent deaths, but the animal is protected and must not be hunted. When the villagers complain to the local government, it decides on a new regulation: anyone who provides the tiger with food will receive a sum of money. When the family runs out of food, Bhagole, the eldest member of the family, secretly goes into the forest at night to sacrifice himself to the tiger. But things turn out differently than expected. Between colourful lotus blossoms, glowing jasmine trees, magical star plants and the harsh reality.
In the Belly of a Tiger is based on a true story that made headlines in India and which Siddartha Jatla researched with a grant in 2017. He was born to a director and an actress and grew up making films.He is a graduate of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) and was admitted to the Asian Film Academy as a cinematographer as part of the Busan Film Festival's cultural exchange programme.Jatla's first short film The Artist premiered in Busan in 2012 and has been screened at more than 40 film festivals.In the Belly of a Tiger is his second feature-length film and was shown at the Berlinale 2024.