Synopsis
The Fourth Direction evokes the atmosphere of suspicion, fear and paranoia of the Punjab in 1980s. It considers two loosely connected incidents: two Hindu friends trying to get to Amritsar and, some months earlier, a farmer who is told he has to kill the family dog. One story flows into the other and back – like a relay race one character passing on the baton to another. What binds the two is the condition of the common man trapped between the excesses of the military on one side and the militant movement for a separate Sikh nation on the other. Spanish première
* Festivals and awards
Cannes – Un Certain Regard / Rotterdam / Best Asiatic Film in Singapur / Best Film in Bombay
Filmmaker
Gurvinder Singh
Gurvinder Singh’s family hails from the state of Punjab in Northern India. Contemporary Punjabi literature became his gateway to understanding the sociopolitical undercurrents and interpersonal bonds and schisms of a majorly agrarian Punjabi society. This understanding led to his first film Alms for a Blind Horse, based on Gurdial Singh’s novel of the same name.
Filmography: The Fourth Direction (2015), Alms for a Blind Horse (2011)
