The Raindance Film Festival is the largest and most important independent film festival in the UK. Now in its 24th year, it is based in the heart of London’s buzzing West End film district. This year the festival invites movie lovers to discover the Tamil independent film Nila.

VUE Piccadilly Circus – Thursday 22nd Sep at 18:30
VUE Piccadilly Circus – Tuesday 27th Sep at 13:15

Nila (the Tamil word for ‘moon’) will receive its European Premiere at the 24th Raindance Film Festival. Under the Discovery section, this is the first time a Tamil film will screen at the festival. Screenings take place on the 22nd and 27th September in London.

Originally trained as an engineer with a Master of Science Degree in Information Systems, Selvamani Selvaraj found his true calling in film. Selvamani Selvaraj identifies himself as a writer and hopes to make films that let him explore human emotions and express them honestly. He assisted Ang Lee on the Oscar-winning film Life of Pi.

Written, directed and co-produced by Selvamani, Nila is about a taxi driver who moves to a new city and is surprised by a face from his childhood town whilst out driving one night.

Raindance: The dreamy aesthetic and beautiful settings lead us right into the wondrous nighttime world of taxi driver, Vimal. After moving to Bombay he is surprised by a face from his childhood town whilst out driving one night. The on-screen bond of the actors alongside simple and elegant camera-work seems to capture the heart and soul of Bombay.  As a viewer we are immersed in the film, the rain, the emotion and most importantly: their journey. It is not just the journey of a taxi driver but also a journey of growth between two friends whose rekindled bond soon leads to a desire of more from each other. After a night at the theatre, a lot of mesmorising rain and an incident with the taxi we may start to wonder whether that is a good thing or not. Nila is a film of beauty, humour and love moved by the age-old tale of head versus heart… Both are powerful but which one would you choose?

Runtime: 95
Cast: Sruthi Hariharan & Vicky R
Country: India
Director(s): Selvamani Selvaraj
Writer(s): Selvamani Selvaraj
DoP(s): Piyush Goswami
Producer(s): Vp Rajesh and Arvind Selvaraj
Executive Producer(s): Alex Thomas
Screening Status: European Premiere