NEW YORK: The Collaborator is a coming-of-age story set in the 1990s about a “Boy” growing up during the height of the conflict on the border of Kashmir, also known as the “Line of Control”. As war rages, he is recruited by an army officer to perform a grim task, to go into the conflict zone where militants have been killed and retrieve their weapons and ID cards. Each day the “Boy” fears that he will find one of his missing friends lying amongst the dead.
The story is produced by all women producers and investors to drive awareness, helping the audience rally for tolerance and peace. This is the first feature for director Travis Hodgkins, who also adapted the script from Mirza Waheed’s New York Times bestseller and a finalist for the Guardian First Book Award and the Shakti Bhat Prize.
Hodgkins says that he felt honored to be trusted with this very delicate subject matter. He was drawn to the novel’s unique descriptions of the confusion a teenager experiences when the veil between being a child and an adult is suddenly lifted. “It’s like suddenly being lost in a storm without any heading, and the only people you can take a reckoning from are the adults around you, assuming you can trust them to guide you safely to a port. What our protagonist realizes is he can only trust himself because all around him are just as lost.”
The film was in official competition at the 2024 San Diego International Film Festival and stars an international cast, from the United Kingdom and India. UK’s Rudi Dharmalingam (Control, The Lazarus Project, Wakefield) stars in the role of “Captain Kadian” opposite newcomer Nikhil Singh Rai, who won the role of “The Boy” after an exhaustive two-year search. Nitin Ganatra (Eastenders) in the role of Village Headman leads the ensemble cast, along with Vikram Kapadia (The Night Manager), as one of the senior Kashmiri villagers.
The film marks the second feature film collaboration this year between producers Rashaana Shah (Blowing Up Right Now, IFC’s Bollywood Hero) and Cristy Coors Beasley (The Westsiders, Lonelygirl15)
The feature is a co-production between the Republic of Georgia, India, and the USA, shot in the gorgeous Caucus mountains in Georgia. It is executive produced by MXW Ventures and CnR Films, with Chaitra Vedullapalli, Namrata Sharma, and Swetha Pakala serving as executive producers. Below the line includes award-winning Swedish cinematographer Johan Holmqvist (Springfloden), award-winning editor Jamie Kirkpatrick (Old Henry, Critical Thinking), and award-winning composer Wayne Sharpe (Resilient).
“The Collaborator” was also an official selection in the Antakya Film Festival, Turkey.
This year also marked the partnership of EP Chaitra Vedullapalli, Founder of Women In Cloud and San Diego International Film Festival to launch AI scholarships worth 2.25 million dollars for emerging filmmakers.
