Ayena (Mirror)
India/ Lithuania/ South Korea
2022
70 min
A momentary act of revenge forever transforms the lives of two young Indian women. After surviving acid attacks, both Ritu and Faraha must now navigate through a sea of odd currents daily, carrying the scars of human brutality on their faces. Ritu’s scars have brought her some fame: she is occasionally on television, walking the ramp, or featured in a Bollywood film. Yet, she often feels lonely. She wants to be loved and jumps into an ambiguous relationship with a fellow female acid attack survivor. Faraha has come to terms with her post-attack singlehood; indeed, it has given her a new lease of life. As she starts to experience freedom and independence, she has a growing desire to become a mother. The shadows and lights, and hope and hopelessness in Ritu and Faraha’s lives make Ayena a mirror where we see our own reflections.
Original Language
Hindi/ Urdu
Direction
Siddhant Sarin/ Debankon S. Solanky
Camera
Siddhant Sarin, Debankon S. Solanky
Editing
Nilanjan Bhattacharya
Sound
Diwakar Kumar
Script
N/A
Producer
Siddhant Sarin/ Arunas Matelis/ Sarah Kang
About the filmmaker.
Siddhant Sarin is currently a scholarship student, enrolled in Docnomads masters’ course, specializing in documentary directing. He has previously studied cinematography at DFFB, the German Film and Television School in Berlin and been trained at FAMU, the national film school of the Czech Republic. He graduated from Mumbai’s Government Law College before pursuing his filmmaking career. Ayena, his debut feature length documentary was selected for festivals such as the Budapest International Documentary Festival (BIDF), Kino Pavasaris, Dokfest München, Mumbai Film Festival (MAMI), and the Krakow Film Festival, among others.
Debankon S. Solanky studied Graphic Design from the MIT Institute of Design and earned his postgraduate qualification in Creative Documentary from the Sri Aurobindo Centre for Arts and Communication. He has directed and produced several short documentaries like 28 (2018), The Crow, the Swan, the Snake, and We Came Here To Make God (2019). The Crow, the Swan, the Snake got a special mention at the Kolkata International Short Film Festival in 2019.