London-based director Nathalia Syam traces life on illegal migrants in ‘Footprints On ‘Water’

New Delhi [India], September 3 (ANI): Situations like the Russia-Ukrainian war and other socio-economic crises or certain times financial problems, and many more factors are leading to the displacement of people globally.

London-based director Nathalia Syam has tried to deal with this sensitive issue of undocumented immigrants in her feature film ‘Footprints On Water’, which was screened at the G20 Film Festival in New Delhi.

The English-language film ‘Footprints on Water’, which was totally shot during the lockdown, is about the daily fear, tension, and persistent threat to their life and identity faced by illegal Indian and other Asian immigrants in the United Kingdom.

It is inspired by the real-life incidents and the personal experiences of the director and her sister Neetha Syam as they themselves were immigrants when they moved to the UK 20 years ago. Nathalia was born in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. 

Nathalia spoke in detail about her film and said that she feels honoured as the film has become part of such an event happening in India and she got a chance to represent the UK at the festival.

She told ANI, “The movie is based on the lives of undocumented migrants residing in the UK. The writer of this movie, my sister Neeta, has been working on the script for about five or six years. It was inspired by us because we are immigrants who moved to the UK about 20 years ago. We anticipated a different life there. The community of people who really amused us were the undocumented migrants who really chose to stay invisible life.”

“It is therefore based on numerous similar real-life incidents, but since these stories reflect reality rather than being primarily intended for commercial consumption. We tried to show the story in a realistic way without over sympathetic approach and overdramatisation,” she added.

The movie was shot during the pandemic and the director had to face many challenges because of the restrictions imposed, however, she took it as a part of filmmaking. The shooting started in the month of December 2020.

“Indeed shooting the film was challenging. We did 95 per cent of shooting in the UK and for three days we shot in Kerala. There were last-minute changes in terms of locations and nothing was certain because of the pandemic, but that is part of the filmmaking process. We feel privileged and honoured to be a part of the G20 event and G20 Film Festival, which is showcasing films from different parts of the country happening in India. Our film will be released in the UK in January, followed by releases in India and other countries.”

The film stars Adil Hussain, Nimisha Sajayan, Lenaa and Antonio Aakee. 

G20 Film Festival started on August 16 and concluded on September 3. It was organised by the India International Centre, the G20 Secretariat and the Ministry of External Affairs. The other films that were screened during the festival included ‘Pather Panchali’, ‘We Are Still Here’ from Australia, ‘Thou Shalt Not Hate’, from Italy, ‘Ivie wie Ivie’, from Germany, ‘Aristocrats’, from Japan, ‘My Night’, France, among others.