Aditya Vikram’s film to visit Los Angeles festival this year

Aditya Vikram Sengupta’s Once Upon A Time in Calcutta (OUATIC) is all set to be screened at the 20th Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA). The film has earlier visited several festivals, including the 78th Venice Film Festival last year. After a break due to the pandemic, this year the festival will resume its in-person screenings and events. Besides OUATIC, there will be a gala presentation of Pan Nalin’s Last Film Show, Anmol Sidhu’s Jaggi, Faraz Ali’s Shoebox and Natesh Hegde’s Pedro.
OUATIC pays homage to the City of Joy. Inspired by true events, the film follows the life of a bereaved mother trying to desperately find a new identity, love and independence, but soon realises that she is not the only scavenger in a city brimming with hunger. The film is shot by Palme d'Or winner, Nuri Bilge Ceylan's cinematographer, Gokhan Tiryaki, and music is composed by Dutch composer, Minco Eggersman. In Venice, the film was screened as part of Orizzonti (Horizons), an international competition section dedicated to films that represent the latest aesthetic and expressive trends in international cinema. OUATIC, which features Sreelekha Mitra, Bratya Basu, Arindam Ghosh and others, was shot in Kolkata in 2019. Sreelekha, Arindam and other crew members walked the red carpet before the screening. This is Aditya’s third feature and the second one to compete in the festival after Asha Jawar Majhe (Labor of Love) in 2014.