7.8 /10 1 Votes
5/5 Facebook Directed by Elisa Paloschi Music by Ken Myhr Production
company Eyesfull Initial release 2015 (Canada) Screenplay Elisa Paloschi Producer Elisa Paloschi | 3/5 The Guardian 7.7/10 IMDb Produced by Elisa Paloschi Edited by David Kazala Running time 78 minutes Director Elisa Paloschi Music director Ken Myhr Cinematography Elisa Paloschi | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Similar The World Before Her, Gulabi Gang, The Forgotten Woman, India's Daughter, Speed Sisters Profiles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Idfa 2015 trailer driving with selvi
Driving with Selvi is a Canadian documentary film that focuses on South India's first female taxi driver, a young woman named Selvi who had previously escaped a child marriage. The film was directed by Elisa Paloschi, who also acted as producer for the project.
Contents
Driving with selvi official trailer
Background
Paloschi met Selvi in 2004 in India when she was tourist in Mysore, India. After Paloschi volunteered with Odanadi, an organization dedicated to rehabilitate people affected by human trafficking, they asked her to shoot a short film for their organization. Paloschi became "enamored" with Selvi, and ended up following her over the next 10 years to film the documentary.
Chicken & Egg Pictures had financially backed Paloschi with her project, as had GoodPitch2 India, a subsidiary of the BRITDOC Foundation. Funding for post-production costs had been solicited through Indiegogo, a crowdfunding website.
Plot
The official DWS website gives the following summation of the film:
"Driving with Selvi follows the inspiring story of Selvi, South India’s first female taxi driver, as she takes control of both the steering wheel and her future during a courageous transformation from abused child bride to empowered working mother.
We first meet 18-year-old Selvi at a girls’ shelter in 2004 – timid, soft-spoken, a fresh runaway from a violent child marriage and the victim of a life set against her. Over the 9 years filmed, we see a remarkable transformation as Selvi finds her voice and refuses to surrender to expectations – learning to drive, starting her own taxi company and working on the front lines of reproductive health education.
Reception
The film had its world premiere at Raindance Film Festival.
Paloschi has stated "I didn’t set out to make films that would send a message, but I gradually realised that I was drawn to people who had a spark in their soul and a powerful impact on those around them."
Indie Wire called DWS an "inspiring story". The Toronto Film Scene echoed that it was inspirational, also writing "Her growth and transformation is an inspiring one as she changes from an eighteen-year-old soft-spoken runaway, to a woman finding her voice and refusing to surrender to the limitations that society attempts to force upon her."
Paloschi was included as a delegate because of her work on DWS for the Canadian-Indian Copro Treaty signing, an international co production treaty for film between the two countries. His Excellency David Johnston headed the delegation.