New Adoor movie to premiere in Locarno Festival

New Delhi, July 23 (UNI) Director Adoor Gopalakrishnan's latest film ''La Danse de l'enchantresse'' (The Dance of the Enchantress) has been chosen to premiere in the latest edition of Locarno Film Festival which opens on August one.

The film is a French production directed by Gopalakrishnan. The 72-minute film is about Kerala's ancient dance-form of Mohini Attam.

''The film was completed just three months back, and would thus have its first showing at Locarno,'' the director told UNI over the phone.

Adoor Gopalakrishnan hails from a family which was a patron of Kerala's choreo-art, specially Kathakali. He had thus imbibed a deep knowledge and understanding of dance as a medium of artistic expression.

His latest film would, in a way, expose the Western audiences to Mohini Attam, which has not had the sort of global exhibition that some other classical Indian dance-forms had got.

The 2004 Dadasaheb Phalke Award-winner, Gopalakrishnan has had old links with the Locarno Festival. His 1984 classic, ''Mukhamukham'' (Face to Face) - about the rise and fall of a trade-union leader - was selected for Locarno's competition that year. It has been revived by Locarno this year and would again be shown at the Festival.

Gopalakrishnan said he has himself been invited by Locarno Film festival as its honoured guest and he hopes to be present when his two films are shown during the forthcoming 12-day fest.

Locarno is celebrating the 60th year of its existence.

UNI