Ishan Shukla's 'Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust' premieres at International Film Festival of Rotterdam

New Delhi, Jan 29 (PTI) "Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust", a dystopian sci-fi animation film by debutant Ishan Shukla, had its world premiere at the 2024 International Film Festival of Rotterdam (IFFR).

"Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust" was screened on Sunday under the 'Bright Future' at the ongoing gala. It is based on Shukla's award-winning short of the same name "Schirkoa" (2016).

According to the makers, the 103-minute film is set in a sophisticated, near-perfect society named 'Schirkoa', where citizens live with paper bags on heads to dissolve differences.

"Tensions rise when the whispers of a mythical land without the bags start to float and a fresh council member sparks an accidental revolution," read its plotline.

Shukla, also an award-winning animator, said he is happy to receive a great response for his film at Rotterdam.

"Having our film at IFFR has been a great honour for us, the response towards the film has been truly overwhelming and amazing. It was incredible to see how well it connected with the audience here," the filmmaker said in a statement.

"Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust" features principal voices of international film personalities such as Golshifteh Farahani, Asia Argento, SoKo, King Khan And The Shrines, Denzil Smith, John Sutton and introducing Tibu Fortes and Shahbaz Sarwar and guest star voices of Lav Diaz, Karan Johar, Shekhar Kapur, Anurag Kashyap, Piyush Mishra and auteur filmmaker Gasper Noe.

Composer Sneha Khanwalkar, known for "Gangs of Wasseypur" and "Oye Lucky Lucky Oye", has scored its music track.

The film is an Indo-French-German co-production, produced by Red Cigarette Media in association with Civic Studios. It is executive produced by Anushka Shah and co-produced by Samir Sarkar.

Shah, founder of Civic Studios, said the team was thrilled by the reception "Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust" received at the movie gala.

"For a film to spark immediate conversation within the audience, leave viewers with critical questions about the world and our individual roles in it, while also mesmerising with the visuals and music is incredible. We're very happy to be able to support Ishan's vision and together we can't wait to take this story to a larger audience worldwide," she added.

The current edition of the International Film Festival of Rotterdam, which began on January 25, will conclude on February 4. PTI RDS RDS RDS