Mumbai’s night rat killers have finally got their due - on the international film circuit. The Rat Race, a documentary on the city’s night rat killers, has been selected for the International Documentary Festival of Amsterdam.
“I am thrilled it is making a mark in the international festival circuit. The screenings at Amsterdam will bring more attention to our film,” said Miriam Chandy Menacherry, director-producer.
The 52-minute docu will premier at the festival on November 22 and be screened in India in January 2012.
“We are timing the India launch just before the civic elections scheduled in February because we believe the film can result in policy change,” said Aruna Balkrishna Singh, co-producer.
The film focuses on the lives of the rat killers who work through the night looking for rodents in dark, dirty alleys. They use a stick to kill the rodents and get Rs5 per rat.
They are expected to kill at least 30 rodents per night and hand over the carcasses to the civic officials. If they fall short even by one rodent, they are expected to make it up the next night else they stand to lose a day’s pay.
The docu compares the supervisor of the pest control department with James Bond because he has a “license to kill”.
The Rat Race, which took two years to complete, has won the Co-Production Challenge at Mipdoc Cannes where the concept was pitched with a trailer.
“Since the win at Cannes it has been an uphill task funding the film for one more year. At one point, we were really low on funds and had to return to Cannes to market our film and put it in the digital archives. So, we resorted to crowd funding,” said Menacherry.
While the night rat killers and civic officials offered their services for free, family and friends pooled in finances.
The Rat Race is the latest among the several documentaries, films and photo features on the life of night rat killers. “All these docus and films have not helped us. We still kill rats using sticks. The authority should give us advanced equipment to keep the city rodent-free,” said a night rat killer from south Mumbai.
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