Portrait of a Teacher

The coronavirus has wreaked havoc on society in several ways, be it financial, or in terms of health. It has completely shattered our notions of normalcy or what was once considered normative in terms of how we interacted with our professional and personal life. This has been caused by the complete blurring of the lines between the home and the world, and the documentary film is an engagement with the same thought.

As the name suggests, it takes the viewer into the work-from-home lifestyle of a teacher, and delves into the several aspects of this change that the pandemic forced on her. While juggling household chores and her duties towards her students becomes a daily reality, the narrative invoked to communicate all of this remains controlled and quiet. It does not take shelter in any ornate devices or ostentation, or even spiral away its energy in a feverish fervour. This, in turn, becomes a decision that allows it to succeed at sharing not a story of grandeur and loftiness, but one marked by the mundane and everyday chores.

Within its folds also lies a comment about the location of women in society where they straddle domesticity as well as the professional space in a manner that is not expected of men. In the process, the film offers an endearing, honest and sincere story, enabled and enhanced specifically by its tone and approach of subtlety and calmness.