DUST

David retraces the footsteps of his lost love and embarks on a journey to the troubled heart of India, where his girlfriend Mumtaz was last seen. Mumtaz was a photographer and David’s only remaining clue as to how she spent her final days is one of her photos which depict a small boy. In search of the boy, he meets the ageing, cynical Dr Sharda whom he asks for help. But before long David finds himself confronted with Sharda’s dark past – a past that Mumtaz documented in her photographs. The film was presented at the Berlin Film Festival 2019.

Udita Bhargava (1982, India) has taken degrees in mass communication and English literature and has studied directing at the Film University Babelsberg Konrad Wolf. She has worked as a camera assistant, photographer and post-production assistant on international productions including “Slumdog Millionaire” (2008). Her short films have screened at festivals around the world, with her most recent, “Imraan, c/o Carrom Club” (2014), winning the 3sat Promotional Award at the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen. “Dust” is her debut feature film.