30. Film Festival della Lessinia
Bosco Chiesanuova (Italia)
23 August - 1 September 2024

Italian premiere

Only "holy water", says the elderly grandmother, will be able to heal the seriously ill grandfather. Thirteen-year-old grandson Fagnu listens in silence to the old woman's babbling and the delirium of his suffering grandfather. But "holy water" was first given and then denied by the spirits of the mountain, says the grandmother, and woe betide them up there. But the boy disobeys and leaves, at night and in slippers, for an arduous and dangerous climb to the top. He himself will remain without water to drink, until he arrives where, in the scenery of the Himalayan mountains, he will find the source of the miraculous water. Will he really be able to save his sick grandfather? The images of the boy in slippers climbing the spectacular, steep slopes enhance a breathtaking landscape and capture the determination, effort and aspiration of a teenager willing to do anything to save the grandfather he loves. The story is steeped in myth and ancestral beliefs that seem to be handed down from the old grandparents to the grandson, who will become their new keeper.

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  Mukund Narayan

  An Indian director, producer and screenwriter, he does not have a formal education in filmmaking, but is fascinated by its potential to tell stories and myths. Pataal-Tee, set in the Himalayan mountains, is his first film, co-directed with Santosh Singh.
  

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  Santosh Singh

  Born in a village in rural India, he loves to tell ancient and mythological stories through the medium of film, despite not having received a formal education in film. Pataal-Tee, set in the fascinating mountains of the Himalayas, is his first film, co-directed with Mukund Narayan.