New Delhi โฃ – Indian filmmaker Praveen โขMorchhale’s โขlatest feature, “White Snow,” arrivesโ amid a backdrop of increasing scrutiny over film censorship in Kashmirโ and a โgrowing international recognition ofโค his distinct cinematic voice. Morchhale, known for his contemplative and visually poetic narratives focusing on marginalized communities and social injustice, positions “White Snow” as a culmination of his artistic evolution.
Morchhale’s previous works, “Widow of โSilence” (2018) and “Walking With The Wind“โ (2017), garnered critical acclaim at prestigiousโข festivals including Rotterdam, Busan, Sao โPaulo, and Hamburg. โฃ”Widow of Silence” received a Jury Awardโฃ at Belgium’s Mooov Film Festival, while “Walkingโ With The Wind” earned both the ICFTT-UNESCO Gandhi Medal and National Film Awards recognition in India. His 2018 Busan International Film Festival โฃselection, “Walking With The Wind,” wasโ nominated โfor the Kim Ji-seok Award. Most recently, his 2023 film, “Behind Veils,” won โthe INALCO Jury Award at France’s Vesoul Asian Film Festival.
“‘White Snow’ is the continuation and perhaps the further refinement of everything I have been working toward,” Morchhale stated, describingโข the film as aโ move towards greater minimalism. “In โขmy earlier films, I was still trying how to listen to silence, how to believe in stillness. With ‘White Snow,’โ I felt โI โam ready to strip awayโ evenโ more, further getting closer to minimalism.”โ He further articulated his vision for โthe film, aiming for a quality akin to a haiku: “I wanted the film to feel like a haiku where words areโ short but infinite in resonance andโค meaning. I wantโ to leave the audience โคto resonate โwith imagesโฃ and meaning without guiding them.” He considers โข”White Snow” his most personal and simultaneously universal work.
Morchhale emphasizes the importance โof artistic integrity in his filmmaking process. “I make filmsโฃ that are fearlessly self-reliant and honest,” he said. “I protectโ my integrity by โresisting โคthe pressure to entertain at the cost of honesty.Integrity, to me, means telling the truthful story that I strongly believe in.”โค He acknowledges the commercial challenges inherent โin this approach, โขstating, “I do not follow trends, markets, orโฃ provocationsโฆifโ my work touches a few persons deeply, it is enough.”
“White Snow” is anโฃ international co-production, reflecting a trend of increased cross-border collaboration within independent Asian cinema, particularly for projects โaddressing sensitive political and cultural subjects. The film’s crew includes Nalin Vinayak โฃ(music), Ravi Sataliya (costume design), Akhilesh Dogne (production design), Hossein Mashali and Omid โขMohammadipour (sound design).
