Tamil writer-director Sailesh Rathnakumar’s debut feature Selvi is set to screen at the 50th Sao Paulo International Film Festival in Brazil, adding another major international festival stop to the film’s journey.
The film will arrive in Sao Paulo following its selection for the 31st Busan International Film Festival, where it is scheduled to screen in the Vision – Asia section beginning October 6.
For Rathnakumar and the team behind Selvi, the back-to-back festival selections mark a significant beginning for a film that explores the largely unseen lives of home-care workers and the emotional realities surrounding care work, migration and displacement.
Selvi to Screen in Sao Paulo
Following its Busan screening, Selvi will make its Brazil premiere at the Sao Paulo International Film Festival. The film has been selected for the festival’s New Filmmakers Competition.
The selection is particularly notable because the Sao Paulo festival is celebrating its 50th edition, giving the film an opportunity to reach an international audience during the event’s Golden Jubilee year.
National Award-winning actor Anjali Patil, who also produces Selvi, described the selection as especially meaningful for the team.
“Sao Paulo completing 50 years makes this selection really special. It’s a Golden Jubilee year for one of the most celebrated and largest film festivals in South America, so to be part of this edition makes us very proud,” Patil said in a statement.
A Story Inspired by Home-Care Workers
At the heart of Selvi is a world that is rarely explored on screen: the lives of home-care workers.
The film looks at themes including care, migration, friendship, guilt, exhaustion and determination. Rather than treating caregiving simply as a profession, the story examines the personal experiences and emotional pressures carried by people who leave their own homes to care for others.
The screenplay was co-written by Rathnakumar and cinematographer Bargav Sridhar. The story grew out of Sridhar’s personal observations of home-care nurses who looked after his mother during months of critical illness.
According to the film’s makers, many of these women had migrated from smaller towns in Tamil Nadu. They lived in modest hostels while working in homes far away from their own families and communities.
That experience became an important point of departure for the film.
Sailesh Rathnakumar Draws From His Own Migrant Experience
The subject also has a personal connection for Rathnakumar, who migrated from Coimbatore to Chennai.
That shared experience of migration helped inform the filmmaker’s approach to a story centred on people negotiating unfamiliar surroundings while working in demanding circumstances.
With Selvi, Rathnakumar makes his feature-film debut as a writer-director, bringing together fictional storytelling and observations rooted in real-world experiences.
Anjali Patil’s Personal Connection to Brazil
For Patil, the Sao Paulo screening carries an additional personal significance because of her connection with Brazilian filmmaker Walter Salles.
“Brazil also has a very personal connection for me because of Walter Salles. His films, especially The Motorcycle Diaries and I’m Still Here, have had a tremendous impact on me since my days at the National School of Drama,” she said.
Patil also expressed hope that filmmaker SS Rajamouli, who is expected to attend the festival, will have an opportunity to watch Selvi during the event.
She described the film’s journey from Busan to Sao Paulo as particularly special for everyone involved.
Selvi’s International Festival Journey
The Sao Paulo selection follows the film’s earlier announcement for the Busan International Film Festival. Its inclusion in the Vision – Asia section places the debut feature within a major international platform for Asian cinema.
The consecutive festival appearances give Selvi an opportunity to introduce its story to audiences and programmers across different parts of the world while highlighting the work of a new Tamil filmmaker.
The film is produced by Reema Kaur, Hansal Mehta and Sahil Saigal under the banner True Story Films, with Patil also serving as a producer.
Selvi is supported by the Red Sea Fund, an initiative of the Red Sea International Film Festival, as well as Hong Kong Asia Film Financing.
What Makes Selvi Stand Out
Rather than relying on a conventional subject, Selvi turns its attention towards workers whose contributions often remain invisible within the households they serve.
Its focus on migrant home-care workers creates space to examine the complicated relationships between work and identity, responsibility and exhaustion, as well as friendship and isolation.
The film’s international festival trajectory also places Rathnakumar’s debut within a broader conversation about contemporary Asian cinema and stories rooted in everyday human experiences.
With Busan and Sao Paulo now on its festival calendar, Selvi is beginning its journey on an international stage even before its wider audience release.
