Project Detail

Ka Ba Ddi: a breath, a move, a game

Ka Ba Ddi: a breath, a move, a game

Synopsis

In this South Asian team sport, players repeating ‘kabaddi’ frantically cross boundaries on the court, tagging their opponents before returning.
Ka ba Ddi is a high-energy team sport originating in South Asia played between two teams of seven players on a divided court. Players respond to boundaries, bodies think in relation to each other: lines of the court, focal points for players movements. Stretching back into their own territory; a vocabulary of movement that make connections with what is happening in the wider world, in domestic UK politics but also internationally. Territory has never felt so terrifying or so contested. The rules based order of Kabaddi stipulates that one team sends a single "raider" into the opposing team's territory, the aim is to tag/touch as many players as possible from the opposing side before retreating back into your own territory. Rules govern our bodies, we live in a series of ever increasing courts both materially and ideologically.
Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2025 - Short Film Competition

Details

Year
2025
Type of project
Shorts
Running time
10 min
Format
16mm
Director
Alia Syed
Producer
Alia Syed
Director of Photography
Alia Syed
Sound
Luke Fowler, Ankna Arockiam
Composer
Luke Fowler, Ankna Arockiam

Production Status

Production Company

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