Kala azar

Ein junges Paar fährt umher und sammelt Tierkadaver ein. Nicht nur verstorbene Haustiere bringen sie in das Krematorium, auch dahingeschiedene Streuner aller Art. Bewegung, physische Präsenz und Körper – tierische wie menschliche – prägen ihren rätselhaft anmutenden Alltag. Dabei stehen die menschlichen nicht alleine im Vordergrund: Das Tierische – es sind vor allem Hunde – ist dem Humanen emanzipiert, durch Bildausschnitt, Perspektive und die Lebendigkeit der Klänge. Janis Rafa knüpft einen seltsam faszinierenden Film, in dem alles verbunden scheint. (Jakob Dibold)

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.
Filmographie Regie (Auswahl)
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
Niederlande / Griechenland 2020
color
85 Minuten
Griechisch
OmeU
Drehbuch Janis Rafa
Kamera Thodoros Mihopoulos
Schnitt Patrick Minks
Ton/Sounddesign Nikos Konstantinou
Musik LOOR/Gwilym Sainsbury
Mit Pinelopi Tsilika, Dimitris Lalos, Michele Valley, Tassos Rafailidis
Produzent*innen Digna Sinke, Konstantinos Kontovrakis, Giorgos Karnavas
Produktion
SNG Film, Heretic
Weltvertrieb
Heretic Outreach
Österreichpremiere
Weltpremiere
International Film Festival Rotterdam 2020