As a certified internet addict, I have been religiously consuming the Cannes content flooding my Instagram feed. From Alia Bhatt serving art in a That Antiquepiece gown to those unintentionally funny videos of attendees battling it out with the guards on the red carpet for the perfect photo op, my algo has truly been thriving.
But somewhere been the gowns and the chaos, one thing really stood out for me: Amma Ariyan. The 1986 Malayalam film, which has been selected for Cannes Classics this year, has flown largely under the radar. Which, honestly, feels very on-brand for Malayalam cinema. While the rest of us were busy discovering “experimental storytelling” through A24 edits on TikTok, Malayalam filmmakers were already doing it decades ago with half the budget and twice the political rage.
Directed by John Abraham, Amma Ariyan is unlike anything Indian cinema was making at the time. Part documentary, part political road movie, part elegy, it follows a man travelling across Kerala to inform a mother about her son’s death, gathering stories and people along the way. Even the making of the film sounds impossible today: it was funded village by village by the Odessa Collective through street performances and public donations. It wasn’t even released commercially. The film, which is available on YouTube, is a perfect watch for those who may find themselves cooped up indoors due to the heat this weekend.
