Filmmaker Nithin Lukose, who made his directorial debut with Paka: River of Blood, is in the process of readying his next, Pankali (The Partner). Interestingly, Anurag Kashyap and Raj Rachakonda, who co-produced Paka, are on board Pankali in the same capacity. 

The film is among the 28 in-development titles selected by the Hong Kong Asia Film Financing Forum, an independent film project market, for their upcoming edition to be conducted from March 14-16. Due to pandemic concerns, the process will be online this year, making it three times in a row in the forum's history. 

The selections, picked from 222 submissions from 38 different countries and regions, comprise first-timers as well as established filmmakers. This is the first time that a Malayalam project has caught the attention of HAF. The other Indian titles include Aamis-fame Bhaskar Hazarika's Insectum and the Sonal Sehgal-produced Indo-French feature Travellers directed by Pierre Filmon.

Speaking about Pankali, the sound designer-turned-filmmaker tells us that he is looking for a notable leading man for the festival-friendly project billed as a political satire set in Kerala. "It is centred on a riot and a relationship drama happening in the aftermath. It's a subject that Anurag strongly gravitated towards and expressed interest in backing it."

Nithin feels that the acceptance by such platforms encourages filmmakers of his and subsequent generations. "A Malayalam film entering the international co-production market is rare. When a co-producer from abroad comes forward, the filmmaking process gets more interesting. The exposure is tenfold."

Meanwhile, Nithin is looking forward to the digital release of Paka, a revenge drama starring Basil Paulose, Nithin George and Vinitha Koshy. He has entered into negotiations with a couple of leading platforms and expects an update soon.