CYCLE

About the film

A wronged young tribal woman, in the absence of systemic justice, turns rebel but struggles to be able to fulfil all the expectations that the path to retribution demands.

Filmmaker's Statement

Cycle is not about bad guys and their victims. That binary of good and evil is merely the symptom, not the root cause of the problem. This film, instead, seeks to explore the chain of power which perpetuates the cycle of violence – to suddenly thrust upon its bloodthirsty audience – the idea of anti-vengeance. This may hopefully question our frightening mob mentality in matters of retribution, and start a conversation around the gaping chasm between collective and individual moralities. This film wishes to see individuals who are compelled to pick up a gun not as ‘good’ or ‘bad’, but as a complex product of circumstances, inequalities, fragilities and desperations.

About the director

Devashish Makhija has written and directed the multiple award-winning short films Taandav, El'ayichi, Agli Baar (And then they came for me), Rahim Murge pe mat ro (Don’t cry for Rahim Le Cock); and the full-length feature films Ajji and Bhonsle. His short and feature films have competed at the international film festivals of Rotterdam, Gothenberg, Black Nights, Beaune, Busan, Glasgow, Tampere, MOMA, APSA, Barcelona, Singapore, amongst many others.