#fireonwater

Apologies for the delayed post. I've been occupied with the festival. "Fire on Water" / 'நீர் மேல் நெருப்பு' had its Asian Premiere at the Osaka Asian Film Festival https://www.facebook.com/OsakaAsianFF

I was here back in 2017 with Jagat. Since then, I've missed the festival, the people, and the country. This time, I'm glad to be here again with the team, including our Post-Production supervisor Samad and lead actresses Rubini Sambanthan and Rupini Krishnan. Unfortunately, our main lead Karnan couldn't make it this time. How I wish he were here.

I still remember planning a longer stay for the festival back in 2017, but I had to rush back to Malaysia since my son's delivery was expected earlier than anticipated. I informed the festival organizers that I had to leave early and offered to cover the flight change charges, but the festival program director, Terouka Sozo San, graciously absorbed the costs as a gift. Such a sweet people.

Hence, I'm glad to be back here to witness the works of other Asian directors and meet them in person. I'm also grateful for the opportunity to serve as one of the jurors for the short film competition. It's a wonderful feeling and experience to be able to watch the voices of young filmmakers from across Asia. I

I'm touched by the fact that almost 5-7 people who watched Jagat back in 2017 came back to watch my second film, "Fire On Water." They vividly remember Jagat, and some even attended two screenings. They mentioned experiencing different layers of emotions the second time around. Such an intimate and lovely festival and people!

9th March 2024

I’m so humbled to inform everyone that Fire on Water-Neer Mel Neruppu (Original Tamil title) ‘Satirical Romantic Drama’ that I have written, directed, and co-produced under our banner Skyzen Studios will have its world premiere at the International Film Festival of Rotterdam in January 2024.

IFFR is quite special to me since it was my first International Film Festival back in 2007 with my short visual poetry video called 'Thaipoosam'. The films, people, and ambiance are still vivid in my memory. I look forward to attending again this time with a feature-length film.

Special Thanks to my Producer and business partner Sivanantham for initiating the idea to revive this story, Dato Seri A.Anandan who supported the development stage, as well as the entire cast and crew who put their hearts and souls into the project.Thanks for believing in the project.

Thank you, Stefan Borsos and the selection committee for selecting the film. It's great to read Srikanth Srinivasan's description of the film on the IFFR website. His description captures the entire intention and spirit of the film.

Thank you for the overwhelming support for the "Fire on Water" film poster! I didn't expect such a flood of likes, comments, and reshares. While I couldn't personally respond to each comment and share, please know how much I appreciate your enthusiasm.

For those expressing interest in the poster, let me spotlight the talented team behind it. The concept originated from the mind of our renowned artist, Stephen Menon. I shared the character's essence and the symbolism of fire and water with him, and within days, he returned with the idea and initial sketch.

Sharing the sketch with our brilliant stills and behind-the-scenes photographer, Magendran Subramanian, we realized additional budgeting for a separate poster shoot wasn't feasible. Creatively, we decided to capture the perfect shot during filming itself. Initially, I allotted extra time for Magen to capture the image independently while filming. True to his lightning-fast skills, he nailed the ideal poster moment on the fly! Despite this being his first film as a stills and BTS photographer, Magen's extensive experience and talent were evident in every frame, making him feel like a seasoned pro.

Working with Designer Vinoth Madivanan was a long-held wish. Unfortunately, conflicting commitments prevented collaboration on "Jagat." This time, I asked if he'd consult with a fine art artist for the poster, and he graciously accepted. Together, we explored several drafts based on Stephen's initial concept. Stephen provided invaluable guidance on text placement, spacing, and color palette. It's a seamless collaboration between Siva (Producer), Vinoth, Stephen, Tamaka Tamakastudio (Tamil font artist), and myself.

Primarily knowing Tamaka as an abstract artist, I discovered her hidden talent for creating custom Tamil fonts on Instagram. Intrigued by her unique style, I contacted her about designing a font for me. Despite her expertise in abstraction, we prioritized readability as the key function of the font. After collaborating on several drafts, we successfully honed the design into a beautiful and legible Tamil font. Partnering with Tamaka was a fantastic experience, bringing her artistic vision to life in a functional format.