Can’t we, after Cannes?

Cate Blanchett with Shrimoyee Chakraborty at Cannes

Hectic but fulfilling is how director Shrimoyee Chakraborty would describe the past 10 days as she presented her documentary, Spirit of the Wildflower, at the Cannes Film Festival. "We met some of the top buyers in the documentary world. We had presented the trailer to some of them before showing the film at Cannes. They were moved by the story," Chakraborty told mid-day.

The positive response at the festival has encouraged her to dream big - she is thinking a theatrical release. "I hope to release the film this year," said the director, who has woven a tale of two siblings from a rural tribal community in Madhya Pradesh.

A still from the docu. Pics/Instagram

Spirit of the Wildflower, co-produced by Om Singh, follows Ankita and Vinu, who are running India's first legal Mahua distillery, while one of them dreams of transitioning to a man. It began with the director's fascination with Mahua, used to make fermented liquor. "But when I met Ankita and Vinu, I had to make the story about them. There was so much to tell about how the trans community in India is treated," she said.

May 16
When the docu was first screened at Cannes