S Durga-fame Sanal Kumar Sasidharan’s upcoming film Chola has been selected to screen at the Venice Film Festival, which is set to run from August 28 to September 9. The prestigious festival is not only the oldest but also one of the three biggest film festivals in the world, including Cannes and Berlin.

Thanking his teammates, Sanal said, “This acknowledgment is huge. This makes all of us behind the film humble and more responsible.” 

The film, starring Joju George, Nimisha Sajayan, and newcomer Akhil Vishwanath, will be competing in the Orizzonti (Horizons) section, which will be run concurrently with the main competition category. The Orissonti category aims to introduce the world to new trends in filmmaking. Sanal will be attending the event along with Joju and Nimisha.

Chola, which will be screened at the festival under its English title Shadow of Water, is the only Indian entry among the 19 international films selected. Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s Mathilukal and Nizhalkuthu were the only Malayalam films which previously had the honour to be selected here. In 2014, Chaitanya Tamhane’s Marathi film Court had won Best Film in the Orizzonti category.

Meanwhile, Gitanjali Rao’s animation film Bombay Rose will open the festival’s Critics Week section.