Drawing the Tiger, the opening film at Film Southasia' 2015, begins as an emancipatory fable of development. It traces the story of a young girl, Shanta Darnal, who receives a scholarship and leaves her poverty-stricken family in a mountain village in Nepal to study in Kathmandu. The narrative takes a tragic turn when Shanta commits suicide, leaving her family to cope with their lives and shattered hopes. The title draws on a fable recounted by Shanta's father in the film: of a man who has been told he will be killed by a tiger. He tries to protect himself with guards, but when he draws a tiger to show the guards the creature they must guard him against, the illustration comes alive and devours him. The tussle between fate and human agency, dreams and destiny forms the heart of the film. Directors Amy Benson and Scott Squire, a Seattle-based couple, spoke to Taran N Khan about their journey.
Taran N Khan: How did you get to know Shanta?
Amy Benson: We have our own production company in Seattle called NonFiction Media. We were hired to make a film by an organisation that works from the US, providing scholarships to girls in Kathmandu valley. They asked us to profile three girls they were supporting and show how the scholarships were helping change their lives. So it was about the power of girls education, and Shanta was one of the girls they chose.