DIRTY SECRETS, 4min., USA
Directed by Prathiba Natesan Batley
DIRTY SECRETS is autobiographical dance short film with an all women cast and crew, that traces a lifetime of sexual abuse and harassment across my lifespan in both the east and the west which is a surprisingly common story. This is an international collaboration across a cast and crew from the US, Malaysia, and India.

https://www.eyakkamdance.org/
https://www.instagram.com/eyakkamdance/

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?

My dance company Eyakkam's mission is to make the beautiful, traditional dance form of Bharatanatyam which has a troubled past and present more current. Eyakkam means movement in my mother tongue Tamil meaning a social movement, a political movement, a physical movement, or a musical movement. I want to remove the caste and religious hegemonies from the dance form while giving women more agency as actors and creators. I want to use this dance form to talk about current issues and take it to the masses rather than to just a few classes or castes.

I cannot exactly point out when I started thinking about writing/making Dirty Secrets, but I remember being affected deeply every time I or someone else experienced sexual harassment/abuse/violence. Like I say in my film, we share, comment, like, subscribe, or cancel but often do nothing. When the Nirbhaya gang rape case (in Delhi) and a series of inhuman sexual violence cases became more public in India I realized how women and their bodies were weaponized by the political organizations or groups in question. It is perhaps the anger or ineptness that I cannot change people's minds or perhaps it is the hope that I might spark a debate amongst survivors to come out and discuss their struggles more openly that motivated me to make this film. And finally, the chair I sit on has four legs – my husband without whom I could not have had the courage to talk about my personal experiences, my brother who is an unwavering supporter of my works, my dance teacher who is like my second mother, and my late mother who trusted me to do what I believed in irrespective of popular opinion.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?

The idea began in 2015. However, the initial iterations were not very satisfactory. Then I took a break for a few years because my ideas were not fresh. In 2019 I wrote the first version of this script. My husband and I honed the script further and further. I shot the film in early 2023.

3. How would you describe your film in two words!?

Authentic (I know that is one word)

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?

Resources. As someone who knows nothing about the camera, the angles, or editing, and with limited resources for backdrop/location/supporting cast/crew/music I had to make decisions within a very small budget.

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?

I was moved that they caught on to several nuances that I had intended in the film. A small example is the change in the hairstyle. The intent behind this was that, in India, in traditional families, women are often frowned upon for leaving their hair loose. We are expected to keep our hair tied most of the time. Leaving the hair loose is seen as a sign of defiance or even looseness of character. However, this does not exist in the west. Although women are freer here, there are other insidious restrictions. I expected to be freer in the land of the free and started leaving my hair loose when I moved west. Although the nuances of the mudras or the hand gestures were not picked up by the audience (and I did not expect them to), the intent, the story, the danced storytelling, and expressions were all noted by the audience.

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?

I am not sure I can call myself a filmmaker yet. Dirty Secrets is a maiden effort. An effort I am proud of. If I were to make another film, I need to write a superb script. However, I can call myself a film buff. Rather an old Tamil movie buff. I am crazy about old Tamil cinema, its making, its language usage, and its songs. This has had a huge impact on Dirty Secrets. The area of dance filmmaking is in its nascent stages, and I hope to explore this more.

7. What film have you seen the most in your life?

Tamil cinema. Most people would laugh if I said this, but I love watching really old Tamil movies. The film Parasakthi was released in 1952 and it changed the course of the state's politics forever. It has beautiful writing, revolutionary thinking, and rational views that it had a difficult time getting through the censors. It talked about a society that was famine-struck in post-colonial India and how this affected the livelihoods of the poor. And its songs are absolutely lovely. I sing them all the time. If I must name an English film, I'd say Pulp fiction. The writing is so crisp and goofy, the direction is top notch, and the actors are perfectly cast.

8. What other elements of the festival experience can we and other festivals implement to satisfy you and help you further your filmmaking career?

Perhaps filmmaking workshops, increased access to resources such as mentors and crews, and expanded visibility.

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site?

Seamless.

10. What is your favorite meal?

I am a Tamil at heart. So idli with sambar and chutney is my go-to. Idlies are steamed rice cakes and sambar is a spicy stew with lentils and vegetables. My husband is a great cook and I love everything he makes, especially his pea and mint soup with homemade bread.

11. What is next for you? A new film?

This is what I am scratching my head about. I want to work on a project on caste because casteism is a human rights violation that is rearing its ugly head both in India and amongst the people of Indian origin residing in other countries. I urge people to read about the SB 403 bill passed in California which is a very promising step. I want my next project to bring awareness to this issue. I am yet to decide if this would be a film or a live performance. I am also completing the choreography for a performance dance piece called The good long winter which is an adaptation of the nedunalvadai – a second century Tamil poem that describes the heroine who misses her husband and the husband who is away at war in the bitter cold winter.