IDSFFK 2025: ‘Rewritten’, an honest retelling of generational damsels and their self-salvation

Damsels in distress are characters from fairytales. The slumbering princess, awaits the arrival of ‘Prince Charming’ to awaken her. However, Rewritten by Yara Nisam, which premiered in the Malayalam Non-Competition Short Fiction category at the 17th International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (IDSFFK), looks at another possibility — what if the prince never comes?

The 11-minute short film explores the turmoils of a young woman’s mind, which ultimately leads her to a realisation that help comes from within. Rewritten looks at how women, despite possessing agency, limit themselves in certain settings.

Yara explores how self-imposed restrictions are passed on by mothers to their daughters, which initially frustrates them. Later, as they step into adulthood, the women understand their mothers better, which sets them free instead of waiting for a Prince Charming.

“In modern families, we often witness supportive fathers. There are also mothers who have agency, but that feels absent,” says Yara after the premiere.

Yara, a film student at the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad, says, “While growing up, stories played a major role. My parents used to tell me many of them. It had an impact on my expectations of the world. As an adult, I realised how a story is narrated is also important.”

The film is picturised in a comfortable familiar setting. The dilemma of the female protagonist, played by Karuna Pious, reflects perfectly on her face. Gayatri Paulson is convincing as the mother.

The film’s use of animation, done by Karuna Pious, elevates the storytelling with the use of metaphors. The animated interlude summarises the creator’s message, which shows how affection evolves into restriction.

Yara made the film as a semester project at NID. “It was shot in three days, and we had a week for ideation. I wanted to use metaphors and choreograph emotions. Due to time constraints, we couldn’t shoot that portion,” she says.

“Rewritten is my first film. It has helped me create a foundation. I realised how much time I should give to films. I also discovered that everything in cinema is intentional; the moments which you may consider magical on screen are not accidental, but done with intent.”