Constantly poked fun at by her classmates because of her unruly hair, Viru wants nothing more than the beautiful set of red ribbons her best friend Bhanu wears on her hair, something her own mother cannot afford. Even though Bhanu regularly prays for her in the temple, Viru is riddled with envy. When an unexpected red stain on her dress makes her the source of even greater ridicule, Viru’s desperation mounts.

In India, children tend not to be educated about oncoming signs of adulthood, the repercussions taken for granted. This is especially problematic for a young girl, for whom the sudden tell-tale blood stains on her skirt can be immensely disturbing, interpreted as a sign of ill-health or, worse, bad luck. As a result, menstruation is a time of strain for many girls for whom the sudden displacement from the norms of their prior lives, as well as the abundant limitations imposed on their freedoms, wake them up to the reductive role bestowed upon them by society.

RETTAI JADAI explores this time of turmoil for an adolescent girl with sensitivity and vivid color. 

This film is part of a special program entitled “Childhood on Edge”, curated by the legendary Uma da Cunha, who has been IFFLA’s Programming Advisor since the festival’s inception in 2002. The program features six films with diverse characters on the verge of the momentous transformation from childhood to adulthood. 

DIRECTORS

Franziska Schönenberger was born in Munich. She studied journalism and media sciences, as well as directing at the University of Television and Film, Munich. Jayakrishnan Subramanian was born in India. He studied art at the Madras University in Chennai, and graphic design at the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad. He went on to obtain a masters in media art from the Bauhaus University in Weimar. They directed together the feature-length documentary AMMA AND APPA, which premiered at the Berlinale International Film Festival and toured more than 50 festivals worldwide.THE SHADOWS OF THE DESERT, their second feature documentary, photographed by Christopher Aoun, the two time Academy Award-nominated cinematographer, premiered in competition at DOKFEST Munich. At the moment their narrative debut feature film, BRIDE WITHOUT DOWRY, is in development.