Indian film project based on the story of ashvamedha conquest ritual in Cannes film market

Cannes, May 27 (Representative) Goa-based filmmaker Ridham Janve’s new film project, ‘The Sacrifice’, based on the ancient conquest ritual of ashvamedha, is part of ten projects from around the world in the Cannes Film Market’s La Fabrique Cinéma programme for emerging filmmakers this year. Set in ancient India, the film tells the story of Shirimbita, a slave-turned-stable-boy who is hoping to raise his status by participating in a conquest ritual led by a powerful Indo-Aryan king. ‘The Sacrifice’ will be Janve’s second feature film after ‘The Gold-Laden Sheep and the Sacred Mountain’ shot in Himachal Pradesh. ‘The Sacrifice’ project is the second Indian feature film project in the Cannes Film Market’s La Fabrique Cinéma programme in the last three years. Kolkata-based filmmaker Suman Sen’s ‘Solo’ was part of La Fabrique Cinéma programme in 2021. Organised by the Institut français under the French foreign ministry to promote French language and culture, in partnership with French media organisations RFI, France 24 and Monte Carlo Doualiya and the International Organisation of La Fancophonie, La Fabrique Cinéma invites ten directors working on their first or second feature films every year to attend the Cannes film festival along with their producers.Kartikeya Singh, who produced Gurvinder Singh’s ‘Chauthi Koot’, which was part of Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes festival in 2015, is the Indian producer of ‘The Sacrifice’. Both Janve and Singh participated in La Fabrique Cinéma mentorship programme that concluded on Thursday. The Cannes film festival, which began on May 16, will end with the closing ceremony tonight.

“‘The Sacrifice’ is a story from India looking at our rich heritage. It will be an international film with an Indian root,” says Janve, an alumnus of the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad. During the mentorship programme in Cannes, ‘The Sacrifice’ project team of Janve and Singh held several meetings aimed at production backing from international and Indian co-producers. “The outlandish idea of a white horse wandering in the wild, followed by soldiers, priests, nobility and slaves, claiming new territories simply by walking across them intrigued me, and yet this 3000-year-old conquest ritual bears a close resemblance to nation building and claiming of territory that we witness today,” says the Ajmer-born Janve in his director’s statement. “I’m interested in understanding the inevitable human quest for more land, resources and power, and the cost that the pawn pays for it. I envision this film as a (Vedic) western where I depict the action in a minimal yet stylistic manner, focusing on the philosophy and politics of violence rather than glorifying the act,” adds Janve. “The relationship between man and animal, as well as man’s relationship with nature, are important themes I want to explore with this film.”Janve’s debut feature film, ‘The Gold-Laden Sheep and the Sacred Mountain’, premiered at the Mumbai Film Festival in 2018 and won several awards. Animation feature film, ‘Bombay Rose’ directed by Gitanjali Rao, was one of the projects at La Fabrique Cinéma in 2011. ‘Bombay Rose’ had its world premiere at the Venice festival in 2019.