Private Project

Will fly

Pokchi has lost her father to alcohol poisoning. The dire circumstances that follows, lead Pokchi and her mother Dheblu to leave their village for the mountains of Uribo. Meanwhile, 9-year-old earthquake survivor Putum and her sister are on a quest to find her parents who might have escaped the catastrophe. Set in the countryside of north-east India, the film explores how the struggles of these women are shared and their stories intertwined.

  • Junaid Khalifa
    Director
  • Poonam Gurung
    Key Cast
    Khoj
  • Junaid Khalifa
    Writer
  • Junaid Khalifa
    Producer
  • Junaid Khalifa
    cinematographer
  • Junaid Khalifa
    Editor
  • Junaid Khalifa
    Sound
  • Toby Jose
    Sound
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 4 minutes 38 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    March 31, 2018
  • Production Budget:
    300 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    India
  • Country of Filming:
    India, Nepal
  • Language:
    English, Hindi, Nepali
  • Shooting Format:
    HD
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Junaid Khalifa

Junaid has been making short films and short documentary films for festivals and educational purpose since the age of 21. His first feature film 'Will fly', a film about the struggles of women in rural north-east India. Junaid is known for his award-winning short documentary film called 'Mohammed Ali Road, Mumbai'.
Junaid grew up with a keen eye for film since an early age, influenced by his father who is a photographer. At the age of 17 he began with working in Bollywood as a background dancer. After a few years of assisting choreographers in the industry, he decided to pursue his career in film direction. He has made a number of short films, short documentaries and a feature film and has established his own film production project 'Osu Films'.

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Director Statement

This film is written, directed, shot, edited, and produced by me. Most of the actors are non-professional actors. It was made with limited resources and an even more limited budget of roughly 300 USD. The film was shot over 11 days entirely on a DSLR camera mounted on a borrowed broken tripod and the sound was recorded by small mics hidden in the sleeves of actors. The film was also edited in 11 days. This project is a product of sheer passion, hard work and dedication.

I had been thinking about this story even before I reached Darjeeling where I was inspired by real stories. The only challenge was, I did not have the resources to make the film. I was able to pursue the project with the help of some locals and friends. A lot of determination was required to put together this film.

We all gave what we had, did what we could to make this film and tell the story of Pokchi, her mother, Putum and the mountain of Uribo.