Directed by Atanu Mukherjee, ‘Wig’ premiered at the International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala, and was recently selected by Aesthetica Short Film Festival (ASFF) as its official entry under the drama competition category.
The film tells the tale of Artika, who considers herself a liberal-progressive individual. Hailing from a small town in India, she struggles to fight the clichéd remarks and find a niche for herself in Mumbai. The film follows her encounter with a trans person, which makes her question her notions about self, perceptions and society.
Presented by Hamaramovie, it is co-produced by Vinay Mishra, Pallavi Rohatgi, Preety Ali, Raghavan Bharadwaj, Abhishek Gautam and Pooja Gupte (who was also the director of photography). The director, Atanu Mukherjee, is an alumnus of Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute, Kolkata and has notable projects like ‘The Gatekeeper’, ‘Stray Dogs’, ‘Monsoon Shootout’ accredited to his name.
Held in York, UK, ASFF offers an eclectic selection of short films and has been championing independent filmmaking for the past eight years. It is a BAFTA-Qualifying short film festival, which adds to its prestige, since the screening or acceptance of a film into two or more of the Qualifying festivals, renders it eligible for a BAFTA. Packed with masterclasses, networking sessions and panel discussions, the ninth edition will be held from November 6-10.