Poet Filmmaker Jayan Cherian
RHYTHM OF DAMMAM (2024)

Synopsis:

In Uttara Kannada, India, Jayaram Siddi, a twelve-year-old boy, is believed to be possessed by the spirit of his late grandfather, Rama Bantu Siddi. Despite seeking help from local black magicians, Jayaram's condition remains unchanged. He escapes into a dream world, using 'magical' instruments from his grandfather to connect with his ancestors. However, he becomes overwhelmed by the agonizing history of his ancestors' chattel slavery, losing touch with reality. Jayaram drops out of school, and his family strives to restore his balance by embracing tribal rituals and Dammam music, both vital to their cultural heritage. The film delves into Jayaram's struggle with intergenerational trauma, emphasizing the challenges faced by him and his family in finding healing and stability.
Ka Bodyscapes (2016)

Three young people, Haris, a gay painter; Vishnu, a rural kabaddi player, and their friend Sia, an activist who refuse to conform to dominant norms of femininity, struggle to find space and happiness in a conservative Indian City.

Haris, a talented but struggling painter, prepares for his first solo exhibition, he persuades Vishnu, the object of his desire, to join him in the city. Vishnu is fully within the grip of his conservative Hindu family, which limits his choices. But he joins Haris and stays with him in his tiny rented apartment as a reluctant yet willing lover and model. Sia, a white-collar worker in an export firm, struggles both at home and at work. At home, she battles the misogynist restrictions, her conservative Muslim relatives impose on her, at work, she questions the violent and humiliating labor controls, and the dehumanizing surveillance and she protest against the misogynist punishments meted out to menstruating women workers. Each of these defiant acts provokes severe punishment and for these young people, it marks the entry into adulthood in a challenging world.





Trailer
Papilio Buddha (2013)
Papilio Buddha (2013)
A group of displaced untouchables in Western Ghats of India embrace Buddhism in order to escape from caste oppression. The film explores the new identity-political
uprising based on Ambedkarism, gaining momentum among the Dalits in the region, in the milieu of an on going land struggle.
“Shape of the Shapeless” Tells the story of the spiritual quest of a burlesque performer, a yogi, and an artisan who transgresses the boundaries of traditional notions of body,
gender, and sexuality.

SHORT FILMS


·      Love in the Time of Foreclosure (2009) 

 One day from the life of Jim, a disabled U.S war veteran , and his wife Sarah who are in the verge of a foreclosure.

 

                                      

·      Hidden Things(2009)

A radical adaptation of a  Poem by the Greek poet CP Cavafy titled    Hidden Things.

 

·      Capturing the Signs of God (2008)

Capturing an unusual evening, from the life of a cartoonist who dares to work on a forbidden caricature.

 

·      The Soul of Solomon (2008)

Soul of Solomon is a radical re-reading of Biblical Song of Solomon on the milieu of the relationship between a priest and a sex worker.

 

·      The Holy Mass (2007)

Holy Mass is an experimental narrative tells story of Veronica Hines, a middle aged lady who has strong spiritual inclinations, and her three brothers. Even though, these four siblings are apparently different in personalities a particular trait in their character connecting them together and the movie explores human spirituality in the milieu of Christianity, blood scarifies, and necrophilia.

 

·      Tree of Life (2007)

Tree of Life is a discourse, between a New York cab driver and a passenger. It is a story of cultural miscommunication, religious fundamentalism, intolerance, terrorism and racial bigotry.

 

·      The Hid-entity (2007)

Visualization of a poem by the same title

 

·      Simulacra the Reality of the Unreal (2007)

Simulacra: the Reality of the Unreal is a ‘found footage’ experiment with image manipulation and looping. The central idea of the piece is to interrogate the most aired visual clichés in current history of warfare, terrorism, torture, nuclear anxiety and state surveillance in the lights of Baudrillardian concept of ‘hyper reality’.

 

·      Inner Silence of the Tumult (2007)

An attempt to capture the spiritual journey of a butcher to get in touch with his inner silence, while deeply engaged in his tumultuous work.

 

 

·      Tandava the Dance of Dissolution (2005)

       Tandava the Dance of Dissolution is an attempt to re-read the Hindu myth of  cosmic dance of  Shiva on the milieu of current history of warfare, destruction, intolerance and religious       fundamentalism, using the costumes and dramatic techniques of the south Indian classical dance Bharatanatyam.