Kali Arulpragasam is the sister of rap artist MIA and the daughter of a Freedom Fighter. It is perhaps no wonder then that LFS student Michael Graf chose her as the subject of his term three short documentary. KALI follows the eccentric yet vulnerable statement jewellery maker as she talks about her childhood in Sri Lanka without the presence of her father, seeking asylum in the UK, and her relationship with her world famous sister. However, Graf said it wasn’t her family that intrigued him. "When I met Kali I realised very quickly that the most interesting aspect of her [was] her character and how she's influenced by the people around her. I never wanted to make a film about the sister or the daughter of somebody, but about a person who is trying to be independent and go her own way amidst two very strong and overbearing characters."
Director Graf assembled a crew which included Gabrielle Gozo as Sound Recordist and Emir Togrul, who reprised his role as Cinematographer after his work on THE WHITE ORCHID HOTEL. Their combined effort recently resulted in KALI being selected at its first festival, and screened on 20th November at the Kasseler Dokfest in Germany, giving Graf the opportunity to give the audience an insight into Kali’s life as an artist and her influences. "It's great to have the chance to show the film to a different audience and get immediate reactions as well as meeting other filmmakers and producers,” said Graf on attending Kasseler Dokfest. "On top of that you get to watch a lot of different films, which is very inspiring.”
There is no rest for the wicked, and Graf is already on to his next projects. "Apart from producing three graduation films, I'm developing a documentary for my graduation which I will be shooting next spring/summer in Switzerland. It's going to be influenced by the current political climate and the state of the western world, told through a small story."
For further updates, follow KALI on Facebook.
Written by Ben Corbett
Photo Credit: Emir Togrul