Best Foreign Film Oscar Race: Indian Director Geethu Mohandas Talks Liar’s Dice

It is no surprise unfortunately, that 2014 was not a good year for women directors and the Academy Awards. And regarding the Best Foreign Film category, all but one female filmmaker – Paula van der Oest and her dramatic feature Accused, were shut out from the competition.

One of those directors, Indian filmmaker Geethu Mohandas, phoned in to The Women’s Desk and Arts Express to discuss her entry honored by India as their Best Foreign Film Oscar submission, Liar’s Dice. Liar’s Dice received two National Film Awards, and premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

Geethu mohandas. Thachan.makan, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Geethu mohandas. Thachan.makan, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The drama is a stunningly crafted depiction of the fate of rural mountain culture in India today, and infused with the potent sensibility of what is not said.

Along with the tragedy of migration, and conflicts precipitated by globalization, gender, and mass poverty that persists in India even in the midst of a thriving economy on the rise. And with Geethu Mohandas dedicating Liar’s Dice to ‘the vast multitude of nameless people who are recognized only as a mere statistic.’

Prairie Miller
Prairie Miller is a New York multimedia journalist online, in print and radio, who reviews movies and conducts in-depth interviews. She can also be heard on WBAI/Pacifica National Radio Network's Arts Express.