How little Kamali’s passion for skateboarding has inspired many

When filmmaker Sasha and her team were filming a music video, they met Kamali Moorthy, an adorable seven-year-old skater girl from Mahabs. They decided to make a documentary on the girl who rebels against her fishing village traditions when she takes up skateboarding. The documentary, titled Kamali, won the Best Director Award at the recently concluded Mumbai Shorts International Film Festival. Director of the film, Sasha shares the reason why the film is the story of empowerment and how the little girl is becoming a symbol of hope for the future.

“The documentary came about when I flew to India for the first time to film a music video for British Band ‘The Wild Beasts.’ It was a song called Alpha Female and I had proposed filming Indian girls skateboarding as the theme for the video. I had seen a photo of Kamali skating barefoot down a ramp and knew she had to be part of the video. Little did I know that it would be her and her mother, Suganthi’s first trip out of their fishing village in Mahabs. Kamali and her mother stayed with me and the crew and speaking with her really opened my mind to what dedication and bravery women take to break the cycle of tradition and repression. Their story needed to be shared, because Kamali is the prime example of a little girl being given the freedom to be herself, and what a delight it is to see,” says Sasha.

The director says that Suganthi has been supportive of anything that might give her daughter greater opportunities and experiences. “When I approached them about the film, they were happy to do it. However, they told us at the end they never imagined we would be barging into their lives 24-hours a day for a month!” smiles Sasha.

The film was self-funded and the crew planned as much as possible. “Of course that gets thrown out the window as soon as you land because life just happens. In my room, we had a big board where we jotted down what happened every day and then would plan for what to focus on the next day. I knew that just having insight into a single mother in India’s daily life would be interesting enough, and the fact that we had such personal access to the family was something we didn’t want to drown in unnecessary drama,” says the director.

In India, a female skateboarder is a symbol;  a symbol of going against the grain, standing boldly in front of society and taking ownership of one’s life. 

“Skateboarding symbolises freedom for these young women to choose to define for themselves what a woman can and should do. I believe the stories we tell impact the world we live in. For the most part of our history, a woman has been told stories that they are weak, sad little creatures who are worthless if they are not beautiful, or rich, or at best, both! I think there is no truth to this.

Women are strong, courageous, community-driven, creative individuals. I think if we as women start seeing images and stories that empower us, the whole community, economy, and environment will benefit from it. Open the doors and make space for everyone. But we need to be confident enough to step out," remarks Sasha.