Co-scripted by Ronny Sen and Soumyak Kanti DeBiswas, the film screen in the Narrative Feature Competition at the Park City festival in January
‘Cat Sticks’, directed by Ronny Sen, follows a group of Kolkata youngsters who seek greater lust and life in their relentless pursuit of Brown Sugar (adulterated heroin) and its unsustainable high. The black and white film begins with three characters – Pablo, Ronnie and Deshik – but soon brings together disparate people from various parts of the city, all linked by their addiction.
Rahul Dutt as Pablo in Cat Sticks
Originally from Kolkata and a photographer by profession, Sen won international acclaim for his haunting images, many of them in stark and grainy black-and-white, which he emulates in his directorial debut as well. His choice of subject for his first film was based on what he saw all around him when growing up in Kolkata’s Salt Lake in the 1990s and 2000s. 'Cat Sticks' is produced by Theodore Shivdasani, Soumyak Kanti De Biswas and Tanaji Dasgupta. The film’s music score is by British composer Oliver Weeks, with the film’s poster designed by Polish artist Lech Majewski. Its cast includes Tanmay Dhanania, Sumeet Thakur, Joyraj Bhattacharjee, Rahul Dutta, Saurabh Saraswat, Sreejita Mitra, Raja Chakravorty, Kalpan Mitra.
Slamdance, held over January 25 to 31, 2019, presents 11 narrative features and nine documentaries in competition, which includes ten world premieres, four North American and four US premieres. These films are represented from Argentina, Belarus, Brazil, Germany, India, Italy, Kenya, Poland, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, apart from the American selections. The festival also welcomes back the Russo Fellowship — a $25,000 prize launched in 2018 by celebrated festival alumni Anthony Russo and Joe Russo (‘Captain America: Civil War’, ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier, ‘Avengers: Infinity War’) to provide a deserving filmmaker with mentorship from the Russo duo.
In addition, the 25th edition of the festival will introduce the new Breakouts section, which features non-first-time-feature directors who demonstrate a determined vision of filmmaking that is instinctively becoming their own.