India, 1962. Shankar is the indispensable servant on the estate of the parents of little Anjana and her brother. The little girl loves his fantastical stories and follows him around. Newly independent India is still class-bound and exploitative. The mother handles the servants with a tough hand and the father commands his force with authority. Meanwhile, in the village, Shankar’s daughter gets sick, and he would like to go home…
Irfana Majumdar is the founding Artistic Director of the NIRMAN Theatre and Film Studio in Varanasi, India. She studied Performance at the University of Chicago, and has been awarded fellowships for her commitment to themes of social justice and process of collaborative creation. She now directs and teaches, creates solo performances, and programs arts events, residencies, and internships. At NIRMAN’s International Education Program, she teaches and mentors undergraduate and post-graduate students. She also leads the vision committee for the development of NIRMAN’s riverside campus, which is a site of arts, education, research, and environmental change. She has directed three documentaries. Shankar’s Fairies is her first feature.
