Pooja, Sir

Pooja, Sir

TIFF65: Greek Premiere
Pooja, a queer police officer who lives in solitude in Kathmandu, in a deeply patriarchal society where she must keep her sexuality under wraps, is summoned to the south of Nepal to take on a delicate case: in a region where unrest between Nepalese citizens and the large Indian minority, the Madheshi people, is a commonplace phenomenon, the son of a politician falls victim to kidnapping. Pooja, an elite member of the Police Force, deploys all sorts of skills – ingenuity, imagination, sound reasoning, but above all empathy stemming from the experience of oppression – in order to solve an enigma that initially seems quite irresolvable. Utilizing most creatively the conventions of a classic detective story that would be the envy of even the most experienced Hollywood screenwriters, Pooja, Sir artfully balances between sociopolitical drama, gripping detective adventure, and the personal story of a woman’s emancipation, whose struggle transmutes into the broader struggle of a voiceless and suppressed part of society, trying to express itself. Filmed with a masterful finesse, this unexpected queer story from Nepal introduces us to the tensions which simmer through an entire country, but primarily to those which transverse – as well as comprise – the self.
Screening Schedule

No physical screenings scheduled.

Direction: Deepak Rauniyar
Script: Deepak Rauniyar, David Barker, Asha Magrati
Cinematography: Sheldon Chau
Editing: J. Him Lee
Sound: Samrat Khanal, Leandros Ntounis
Music: Vivek Maddala
Actors: Asha Magrati, Nikita Chandak, Dayahang Rai, Reecha Sharma, Bijay Baral, Gaumaya Gurung, Aarti Mandal, Ghanashyam Mishra, Prameshwar Kumar Jha, Pashupati Rai, Niraj Shrestha
Production: Aadi Films, Baasuri Films, Tannhauser Gate
Producers: Deepak Rauniyar, Asha Magrati, Ram Babu Gurung, Alan R. Milligan
Costumes: Janaki Kadayat
Production Design: Aki Thekpa
Format: DCP
Color: Color
Production Country: Nepal, USA, Norway
Production Year: 2024
Duration: 118'
Contact: The Film Collaborative

Deepak Rauniyar

Deepak Rauniyar's first feature film, Highway (2012), was the first film from Nepal to screen at a major global film festival, premiering at Berlinale and later playing at Locarno. His second feature, White Sun (2016) debuted at the Venice Orizzonti competition and screened at over 100 film festivals, including Toronto, Locarno, Rotterdam, New Directors/New Films, Sydney, and Golden Horse. It won the Interfilm Award at Venice, Best Film at Singapore, and Palm Springs International Film Festivals. Nepal nominated White Sun for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards. White Sun received rave reviews, with the Hollywood Reporter calling it "impressively accomplished" and The New York Times, which included Rauniyar among the "9 New Directors to Watch" list, writing that White Sun "captures a place that isn't seen much in movies.".

Filmography

2008 Threshold (short)
2012 Highway
2016 White Sun
2022 Four Nights (short)
2024 Pooja, Sir