This Canadian-produced, South India-set documentary opens with some depressing statistics about forced marriage, and how 700 million women worldwide were married before they turned 18; 250 million of them before they turned 15. From this dour beginning, director Elisa Paloschi manages to fashion a lightfooted, feelgood film about one girl who got away, and the confident, convention-challenging woman that girl became. When protagonist Selvi was 14, her brother married her off to a man who tortured her and forced her into prostitution. Luckily, she escaped and found her way to a girls’ home, where the forward-thinking people who ran it gave her a chance to learn how to drive. Years later, she became the first female taxi driver in Karnataka, found a husband and started a family. One can’t help wondering how the presence of film-makers in Selvi’s life since her teens has shaped her, but clearly she’s repaid Paloschi for the spotlight by growing into a deeply likable, engaging screen presence. One can help wondering what darker details might have been left out of the final edit, but it’s an effective bit of awareness-raising.
