Sachin Dheeraj Mudigonda's Testimony of Ana shares an elderly woman’s traumatic experience after being branded a witch

Sachin Dheeraj Mudigonda’s short film Testimony of Ana tells the story of an elderly woman who was accused of being a witch. This heart-wrenching short film will be receiving its World Premiere at this year’s Oscar-qualifying Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, and it will also be receiving its European Premiere this year at Oscar-qualifying Kraków Film Festival.

An Adivasi elder accused of witchcraft by her neighbours in rural India uses faith and perseverance to survive several monstrous attacks. Living in an area beset by widespread logging, her refusal to be driven off the land sets up a conflict deeply rooted in patriarchy and capitalism waged on women's bodies-the witch-hunt.

Director Sachin Dheeraj Mudigonda’s short documentary The Bubbleman premiered at SXSW Denius Longhorn Showcase in 2019 and played at many festivals, including the 22nd Annual Cine Las Americas International Film Festival, 2020 Edition of Cinequest Festival & the 13th Annual Lone Star Film Festival in the USA. He is a recipient of the prestigious President's Award for Global Learning for his upcoming Untitled Thesis Film, and he is also a recipient of the Austin Film Society Grant for his pre-thesis film Testimony of Ana. He strives to tell stories that demand an urgent conversation and seeks to engage with people, places, and communities that are slowly disappearing.

Producer Janani Vijayanathan believes that art and technology have the power to change lives and that cinema in both fiction & non-fiction forms can raise questions, unlike any other medium. Her work as a producer has been shown at various prestigious film festivals worldwide, including Hot Docs, SXSW, and Krakow. She aspires to combine her software skills with cinematic experiences to produce meaningful work in alternate mediums such as Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality.

Cinematographer Rohin Raveendran Nair’s short film Little Hands screened at many prestigious film festivals in India and abroad, including Curtas Vila Do Conde, Dharamshala International Film Festival. His other short Paijana was the winner of the international one-minute film festival, Filminute, in 2016 (the jury was headed by Hsiao-Hsien Hou). Rohin worked as the 2nd unit director, 2nd unit cinematographer on both seasons of India's first Netflix Originals, Sacred Games, directed by Vikramaditya Motwane and Anurag Kashyap.

Testimony of Ana will be screening at Krakow Film Festival from May 30th - June 6th.