Kala Azar

At the margins of a city somewhere in the south of Europe, a young couple start their day with their job routine: collecting deceased pets from their owners in order to cremate them and return their ashes. This paid job aside, they also collect and cremate roadkill found as they drive around in their car, which also seems to be their home. In this endless life cycle, human beings and animals coexist harmoniously, until the couple causes a roadkill themselves.
Set against a visually stunning and desolate landscape with an eerie sensuality, Kala azar is a film about death and life itself.

  • 2020, IFFR
  • 2020, New Directors New Films
YEAR:
2020
DIRECTOR(S):
Janis Rafa
WRITER(S):
Janis Rafa
PRODUCER(S):
Digna Sinke, Konstantinos Kontovrakis, Giorgos Karnavas
CAST:
Pinelopi Tsilika, Dimitris Lalos, Michele Valley, Tasos Rafailidis
CINEMATOGRAPHER:
Thodoros Mihopoulos
PRODUCTION DESIGNER:
Elena Vardava
EDITOR:
Patrick Minks
MUSIC:
LOOR, Gwil Sainsbury
RUNTIME:

91 minutes

COUNTRY:

Greece, Netherlands

Premiere:

Los Angeles

category:

About the director

Janis Rafa lives and works between Amsterdam and Athens. She completed her education in Fine Art (BA, MA, PhD) at the University of Leeds supported by AHRC. Her body of work spans from experimental moving image practices to video-essays, sculptures, environmental installations, cinematic narratives and, most recently, medium and feature length films.