Anjali Patil’s Selvi is carrying its journey from South Korea to Brazil, with the Tamil drama selected for the historic 50th São Paulo International Film Festival after its world premiere at the Busan International Film Festival. The film will compete in the New Filmmakers Competition at the festival’s 50th edition, giving the Indian film another important international platform. For Patil, who stars in and produces Selvi, the São Paulo selection has also opened a deeply personal connection: she has written to acclaimed Brazilian filmmaker Walter Salles, hoping he will watch the film during the festival.
The milestone is especially meaningful because São Paulo is celebrating its Golden Jubilee this year. The festival will take place from October 15 to 29, bringing together 380 titles from 93 countries, while the New Filmmakers Competition features first- or second-feature filmmakers. Selvi, directed by Sailesh Rathnakumar, is among the titles competing in that section. The official festival selection lists the film as an India-Saudi Arabia production, adding another international dimension to its journey.
For Anjali Patil, however, Brazil is not simply the next stop on a festival calendar. It carries a personal artistic connection through Salles, whose cinema has influenced her since her years at India’s National School of Drama. Patil said she wrote to Salles to tell him that Selvi was coming to São Paulo and that his films had been a major part of her life. She specifically pointed to The Motorcycle Diaries and I’m Still Here, describing it as a huge honour if Salles gets the chance to watch Selvi there.
That outreach gives the film’s São Paulo appearance a more intimate meaning. Film festivals often bring filmmakers from different countries into the same space, but Anjali Patil’s message reflects something more personal: the opportunity for an Indian actor and producer to share a film with a filmmaker whose work helped shape her own cinematic outlook.
There is also an unusual challenge surrounding Selvi’s presence in Brazil. The film’s team will not be able to attend the São Paulo festival because of an overlap with the Busan International Film Festival. That means the film will travel across continents without its makers physically being there to represent it.
The absence of the team makes the film’s back-to-back international festival journey particularly notable. Having premiered at Busan before moving to São Paulo, Selvi is reaching audiences in two different festival environments in quick succession. While the filmmakers cannot be present in Brazil, the selection itself gives the film an opportunity to continue building an international profile.
Anjali Patil is therefore also hoping to reach out to SS Rajamouli, who is scheduled to be at the São Paulo festival. She hopes the celebrated Indian filmmaker will find an opportunity to watch Selvi and support the film while its team is away. For a project making its way through two major international festivals in quick succession, his presence could offer another meaningful connection between Indian cinema and a global audience.
Selvi itself follows a home-care worker whose demanding life gradually reveals the pressures faced by women whose work often remains unseen. Anjali Patil stars as the titular character, while Sailesh Rathnakumar makes his feature directorial debut. The film’s Busan selection already placed it on an international stage, and its move to São Paulo now extends that journey further.
The film’s story gives its international festival run another dimension. At its centre is a woman whose work is demanding but often overlooked, allowing the film to focus on the pressures faced by people whose labour remains largely unseen. Through the character of Selvi, the film brings an intimate story from a specific social and cultural setting to audiences in different parts of the world.
Rathnakumar’s feature directorial debut is therefore entering the international festival circuit at an important stage in its journey. The New Filmmakers Competition at São Paulo provides a platform specifically for first- or second-feature filmmakers, placing Selvi alongside other emerging voices from around the world. For a debut feature, the selection offers another opportunity for the film to be discovered beyond its original setting.
The film’s movement between Busan and São Paulo also places its intimate story within a wider conversation about how regional cinema can travel. For Anjali Patil, the festival run brings together opportunity and admiration, while giving Selvi a chance to meet audiences and artists far beyond its home country.
The India-Saudi Arabia production also reflects the international dimension of the film itself. Its festival journey now connects an Indian-led production with audiences in South Korea and Brazil, while its participation in the New Filmmakers Competition places it within a programme focused on emerging filmmakers.
The personal connections surrounding the São Paulo selection add another layer to that journey. Patil’s admiration for Walter Salles links her own