Kala azar

A canary, a dog, a cat. The young couple employed by the pet crematorium collect them all. They drive through a post-apocalyptic landscape on the periphery of an industrial city. They make love, swim and are surprised by the large numbers of dead animals along the roadside. When they hit a stray dog, their relationship starts to derail. KALA AZAR is named after a disease decimating the canine population of Southern Europe. But this enigmatic debut is mainly about the line between life and death, the connection between human and animal and the fragility of love. (International Film Festival Rotterdam)

Director's Biography
Janis Rafa, born in Greece in 1984, has a PhD in fine arts from the University of Leeds. Her work walks a fine line between subjective interpretation and the authentic representation of landscapes and events and has been exhibited at venues and festivals such as the Tate Modern and International Film Festival Rotterdam. In 2013, she created the THREE FAREWELLS trilogy. KALA AZAR is her debut feature film.
Director's Filmography (Selection)
Kala azar (2020) - Take 11: What Remains Is a Wound Disembodied (2018, short) - This Thin Crust of Earth (2016, short) - Requiem to a Fatal Incident (2015, short) - Winter Came Early (2015, short) - Requiem to a Shipwreck (2014, short) - Three Farewells (2013, film trilogy) - 2755 Miles (2009, short)
Competition Fiction 2021
Janis Rafa
Netherlands / Greece 2020
color
85 minutes
Greek
OV with English subtitles
Screenplay Janis Rafa
Cinematography Thodoros Mihopoulos
Editing Patrick Minks
Sound/Sounddesign Nikos Konstantinou
Music LOOR/Gwilym Sainsbury
With Pinelopi Tsilika, Dimitris Lalos, Michele Valley, Tassos Rafailidis
Producer(s) Digna Sinke, Konstantinos Kontovrakis, Giorgos Karnavas
Production
SNG Film, Heretic
World Sales
Heretic Outreach
Trailer
Website
Austrian Premiere
World Premiere
International Film Festival Rotterdam 2020