Don Palathara's Monkey Play heads to Vancouver as unfinished industry pick

Indian filmmaker Don Palathara will bring his latest feature, Monkey Play (Kurangukali), to Canada as an unfinished film looking for its route to screens, after its selection for the Vancouver Film Festival's Business Hub Works-in-Progress programme, as reported by Variety.

The festival runs Oct. 1-11, with the curated Works-in-Progress section set for Oct. 5-6. The section shows up to eight feature-length projects still in the final stages of production, four Canadian and four international, to industry buyers, programmers and sales agents.

Monkey Play follows Sethu and Nikita, a couple who withdraw to an isolated house in the hills of Idukki, Kerala, after the death of their young daughter. The story turns when Sethu finds a feral child in the forest and brings him home. That arrival fractures the couple's already fragile bond.

The cast is led by Dileesh Pothan and Parvathy Thiruvothu, alongside Rajesh Madhavan and Arjun Radhakrishnan, according to Variety. It is a strong ensemble by Kerala standards. Pothan and Thiruvothu are both established leads in Malayalam cinema.

The film is produced by Kerala-based Artisan Films, Mankind Cinemas and Guardian Angel Films. The credited producers are Dixon Podudas, Jomon Jacob, Amshunath Radhakrishnan, Jose Mathew and Palathara himself. Artisan Films' debut feature, Ekadesham, is currently in post-production.

Palathara described Monkey Play as a film about the biggest fear of any parent, centred on grief after irretrievable loss. He is working across psychological thriller and drama, with elements of the uncanny. The misted Idukki landscape and a blur between reality and perception are central to that approach.

The selection continues a steady festival run for the director. His feature Family had its world premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam in 2023. His earlier features include Everything Is Cinema (2021), Joyful Mystery (2021), 1956, Central Travancore (2019), Vith (2017) and debut feature Shavam (2015).

What makes this stand out is the timing. Works-in-progress showcases are not public premieres. They are closed industry sessions where directors show rough cuts to secure sales representation, festival slots and finishing funds.

That context matters in Vancouver. The 2026 edition is the 45th Vancouver International Film Festival, a large autumn event listed as featuring more than 160 films and 85 shorts alongside VIFF Live performances, talks and special events across the city. For Monkey Play, the next step is finishing the film and finding its launchpad.