Reverends behind the lens
In September 2020, amid the first shock of the pandemic, three priests from Kerala decided to use cinema to uplift parishioners with an inspiring story. Frs James Thottiyil, 35, Jose Puthussery, 35, and Jacob Koroth, 44, of the Ernakulamangamaly Archdiocese got together and made a 14-minute short film inspired by how underprivileged children in Kerala were coping when parents had to self-quarantine.
David and Goliath (2021) is about siblings named Thavi and Thanu, aged nine and five, being raised by a single mother who has to isolate after she comes in contact with a Covid-positive person.
The story follows how the two look after each other and care for their speechimpaired mother by coming up with clever ways to maintain a distance from her in their little house by the sea.
“The pandemic reminded me of when I was volunteering at a slum almost a decade ago. A 10-year-old boy whose parents were rarely around did the chores, balanced school and work, sold lottery tickets and looked after his little sister, who tagged along with him everywhere,” says Fr Puthussery.
When the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, a non-profit that works to promote cinema, announced isolation and survival as the theme of a scriptwriting contest, Fr Puthussery drew on that memory, and sent in his script. It was one of 10 selected, in August 2020, for initial funding of Rs 50,000.
He then reached out to Frs Thottiyil and Koroth, who work with the Angamaly Archdiocese’s media and communications division, Pilgrims Communications. Fr Thottiyil is a childhood friend; Fr Koroth has a postgraduate degree in filmmaking.
They would be happy to direct the film, the men said, but first they had to raise more money. “We pooled in our money, borrowed a bit from other priests who were as excited as we were, and accepted donations from parishioners,” says Fr Thottiyil.
Filming began in September, as donations mounted (the priests eventually collected Rs 2.5 lakh in all). The movie was shot in the scenic village of Ezhikkara in Ernakulam, amid lagoons and lush fields, which was safer during the pandemic but made logistics challenging. Getting equipment to the site, for instance, meant walking it down slippery, narrow gullies between fields.
The crew was restricted to 40. The leads, nine-year-old Gogul Krishna and five-yearold Andriya Ambrose, were selected after a quick audition at a local school. The rest of the cast of 16 were recruited locally too.
“I have never seen such a big camera. I enjoyed the shooting days,” says Krishna. “Now my friends in school have seen the film, they joke about how I am a film actor.”
By December 2020, the film was ready. It was uploaded to the Chalachitra academy’s Youtube page in July 2021 and screened at the International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala in December 2021, in the section for the script contest winners.
Built into the title is an allegory for the battle between a small state like Kerala and the looming threat of Covid-19.
In the Biblical tale of David and Goliath, a shepherd boy stands up to the giant Goliath, to protect his people, with faith that God will in turn protect him. He casts a single stone that strikes the giant in the forehead and fells him.
“In the film’s title, we ensured that David, pronounced Daveed in Malayalam, is in Malayalam script while Goliath is in English. This is to drive home the concept that Kerala will triumph over Covid-19,” says Fr James.
The priests are now collaborating on a fresh project, a possible feature film. “We have got a lot of love and support from our parishioners and from people who were pleasantly surprised that priests could make non-devotional movies too,” says Fr Koroth, “We want to keep this faith in us going.”