Change is almost always scary for me. I don’t like my routine being interrupted, and I
especially find it difficult to accept that if I want to ‘make something of myself’ or even just
survive, I have to be willing to try new, often risky things.
In A Road to A Village, director Nabin Subba, looks at how change affects a community and
specifically a family, living in rural Nepal. Maila has had the same source of income for years,
basket weaving. It’s something he works hard at, something he’s good at, and something
that has got his family by. It hasn’t made them the wealthiest in the village, but they are
surviving. Then, all of a sudden, things change. No one uses bamboo anymore, and everyone
has a TV or a cell phone or is going abroad. To top it off, the tastes of his seven-year-old,
Bindray, are changing as well. Now, Maila isn’t just asked to keep up with the times, he’s
asked to provide things that will make his only son happy. He must swallow his pride and
sometimes make himself uncomfortable for the sake of his family.
This film is heart-breaking for me in its portrayal of what it sometimes takes to survive- what
parents have to sacrifice for their families, what people have to leave behind to make sure
that they continue to move forward and what can happen when we lose sight of the most
important things to chase the things we think we need.
I have to shoutout the actor who plays Bindray! He’s the heart of the film for me and I hope
we get to see him in more things!
A Road to a Village is now playing at TIFF ’23. For more information, click here.
