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Director’s Profile

Director and scriptwriter Natesh Hegde was born and brought up in Sirsi, a small town in the Western Ghats of Karnataka. He earned a master′s degree in journalism from Karnatak University, Dharwad.
Pedro (2021), his debut feature film, was part of the National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC) Film Bazaar Work-in-Progress Lab 2019 and received the Prasad Digital Intermediate Award. The film was short-listed for Cannes Directors′ Fortnight 2020, before the festival was canceled due to Covid-19.
Pedro therefore had its world premiere in the New Currents Competition at Busan International Film Festival 2021, followed by its European premiere at BFI London Film Festival 2021. The film also won the Roberto Rossellini Award for Best Director at Pingyao International Film Festival 2021, received the Silver Montgolfiere for Best Film at Nantes Festival des 3 Continents 2021, screened at Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival 2021, and was in international competition at IndieLisboa International Independent Film Festival 2022.
His two shorts, The Crab (2017) and Distant (2018), screened at many national and international film festivals, and many of his short stories have been published in major Kannada-language magazines.

Synopsis

As the sun sets over the wild forest and the distant roar of a tiger can be heard, Paathi, a shepherdess, takes her livestock and a few kids and runs to the safety of their village, Vaghachipani (Tiger′s Pond).
Prabhu is standing for election as the village chairman in Vaghachipani and is hellbent on winning. Bhandari is his subordinate. Basu, a snake catcher, is not convinced by Prabhu and announces that he will reveal his dark secrets to the village. Paathi, the orphan shepherdess, is discovered to be pregnant and her employer, Prabhu, is accused.
Venkati, step-brother of Prabhu, is in love with a girl from a lower caste. He is asking for his share of the ancestral property.
Cornered from both sides, by Basu and Venkati, Prabhu decides to use his minion, Bhandari, to do what is necessary. He orders Paathi to be eliminated and blames her pregnancy on Venkati. Bhandari executes the task of eliminating Paathi, but discovers that it was Prabhu who actually impregnated her and not Venkati. As Venkati is arrested by the police, Prabhu manages to the win the election. Bhandari′s rage leads to a confrontation at the Tiger River. As Bhandari takes Prabhu down into a swirling whirlpool in the river, dusk descends and the roar of the distant tiger can again be heard.

Achievements

2025 Berlin International Film Festival

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