Kolkata director’s docu-feature makes it to the prestigious Cannes program

'Thirteen Destinations of A Traveller' directed by Partha Das has reached its first stop and has been selected as one of the four work-in-progress films from south Asia at this year’s Cannes Docs in Marché du Film - Festival de Cannes.
The documentary-feature, an Indo-Bangladesh project, is a story of two parallel journeys; one in which thousands of Sufi pilgrims march together over days and miles to proclaim unrequited love for humanity as they endure physical pain.The second story is about a disabled, marginal Muslim man in present India who tries to transform his life fighting against physical, economic and social challenges in search of love, compassion and elusive happiness.

The film follows Farooq, a disabled, marginal Muslim traveling street hawker, as he embarks on a motorbike road trip to join the march of pilgrims who for the past eight hundred years walk ceremoniously for thirteen days each year to reach the shrine of the great Sufi saint Khwaja Mainuddin Chishti (aka Gharib Nawaz, benefactor of the poor), traveling more than 400 kilometres on foot as a mark of respect, devotion and love on the occasion of his death anniversary.

Kolkata-based Partha Das is an audio-visual artist working across different media ranging from films, performance and installation art. His works have been showcased across various art galleries and institutions including Lalit Kala, India; Alliance Française du Bengale; Modern Art Museum, Michigan; Cultural Institute of Portugal. 'Thirteen Destinations of A Traveller' is his maiden documentary feature. He has been working on this project for the past three years having spent a good three months on the road with the pilgrims and walked along with them from Delhi to Ajmer for three consecutive years in search of characters and stories.

Speaking about the film, the director shares with ETimes that this film is sort of an observation: “It’s all about observing the class position, economical diversity and unconditional love & compassion. I am shooting this film for the last three years where a parallel narrative of multiple diverse human is expressed. ‘Thirteen destinations of a Traveler’ is an observation of a rational mind, how that becomes a spiritual believer gradually become more intimate and personal.”