Debutant director Natesh Hegde’s Pedro, made under Rishab Shetty films, will have a world premiere at the Busan International Film Festival in October. The 108-minute film will be screened in the new ‘current section’. “Pedro is the baby of a first-time director, Natesh Hegde, and the film going to the Busan Film festival is such a big achievement. This being the first Kannada film to be screened at one of the biggest film festivals in Asia is a proud moment for our team,” says Rishab.

“The shoot of Pedro commenced in 2019, and the entire film was shot in Sirsi,” says Natesh, adding, “Later the film was part of WIP LAB and won the award of post-production assistance. We also participated in the Film bazaar — Goes to Cannes 2020, — Cannes market. The film was shortlisted for the Directors Fortnight Cannes 2020 but due to the pandemic, the festival got cancelled. It will now have its world premiere in Busan 2021, and it is quite an exciting development.”

Pedro, shot by Vikas Urs, stars Gopal Hegde, Ramakrishna Bhat Dundi, Raj B Shetty, Medini Kelmane, and Nagaraj Hegde.