A Sad Dream of an Imaginary Woman

Unable to recover from childhood loneliness and trauma, 40 year old woman Purva, harbors a desire to disappear from her continuous existential pain. Deciding to vanish, her guiltful mother joins, as this is the only way to extrication from their nightmarish memories

  • Nidhi Saxena
    Director
  • Nidhi Saxena
    Writer
  • Vimukthi Jayasundhara
    Producer
  • Vartika Tiwari
    Key Cast
    "Nidhi"
  • Bhadra Basu
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 23 minutes 6 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    September 30, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    100,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    India
  • Country of Filming:
    India
  • Language:
    Hindi
  • Shooting Format:
    black magic
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Black & White
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Nidhi Saxena

As a film writer and director, I aim to delve into the complexities of love and relationships with a female gaze, portraying the vulnerability and longing in search for a true connection.
With over 9 years of experience in the media industry, I have honed my skills as a documentary producer and director to begin with, and evolving into fiction work, as a director. I am also a published writer, contributing to several eminent magazines and national newspapers. Through my writing, i explored various themes, including love, relationships, and feminism, which have informed and deeply influenced my film work.
I am particularly inspired by the works of directors such as Tsai Ming-Liang and Apichatpong Weerasetakhul who have all explored complex emotions, I am also striving to explore the depths of human emotion, and the impact that love and relationships have on our lives.

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Director Statement

Reading R.D.Laing's, “The Politics of the Family”, I started reflecting and contemplating on my relationships with my family, founded on morality and guilt. Indian women are enduring loveless and passionless relationships in families where their disobedience is immoral and deserves punishment. Confined within the walls, even a telephone ring symbolized a possible connection with the outside world.The slow passage of time in the house feels like an illness, and the pace of the film reflects this melancholy. I wanted viewers to feel the boredom-filled monotony of being trapped for years in an old, abandoned house. In some scenes with adult Nidhi and child NIdhi are in same scene symbolizing that the past is standing alongside in her present.The entire film is weaved through phone calls and letters, where older Nidhi connects with the younger one, as she has no one else to talk to.