Short Film Nominee December 11, 2022
Kaaval - Under The Watchful Eyes
By Ajmal Haneef with 6.7
thriller · Short Films · malayalam
At the heart of ‘Kaaval’ rests a crucial message about the conservation of wildlife which humans have exploited endlessly for their material gains. The manner of communicating the same to the viewer is defined by thrill, suspense, mystery and even a suggestion of the fantastical.
Visuals of lush forests soon take an overwhelming turn as they are coupled with a sense of the unknown. A forest ranger, Sabari is on a quest to dispel the mystery of sounds of gunshot he had heard during the day, followed by finding the head of a dead animal floating in a stream. His path soon crosses with the unlikely Satpathy who presents to him an account of a ranger before him who went missing in the jungle, never to be found again, taking him deeper into the many secrets that lurk in this unexplored space.
Matters soon come to a head when Sabari is eventually faced with a formidable foe. As he fights for his escape and survival, the narrative further ropes in action and violence, and at the end of it all, ties them together to present the final narrative as a balanced whole, along with an emphasis on its pressing, educational message about the protection of wildlife.
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