Settled in Canada since 2002, Seema says over a Zoom call that it was the panoramic Canadian landscape that ignited the filmmaker in her. Instead of shooting a music video or a documentary, she decided to go ahead with a film, Oru Canadian Diary, which unfolds in Canada but for a song and a few scenes shot at Kanhangad in Kasaragod district in Kerala. Incidentally, Kanhangad is where Seema’s family hails from.
Scripted by her and produced under the banner of Sreem Productions, the film stars newcomers Paul Paulose, Simran and Pooja Sebastian, all of whom she selected through auditions.
“It is a romantic thriller, a suspense-filled film about two youngsters from Kerala who migrate to Canada. Sara, the female protagonist, reaches Canada and keeps in touch with Surya. However, a few days later, the calls stop. Once Surya reaches Toronto, he begins his search to locate Sara,” narrates Seema, working as regional manager of Malayala Mayooram TV, a Malayalam channel in Toronto.
Lyrics by Sivakumar Vaarikkara and Sreethi have been composed by music director K A Latheef. Playback singers Unni Menon and Madhu Balakrishnan also feature in the film.
“The shooting in Canada featured Canadian actors as well but the work was completed without any hassles. It was only in Kerala that we faced a few issues but it was all solved peacefully,” she says with a smile.
With dialogues in Malayalam and English, Oru Canadian Diary is an addition to the number of films that explore the lives of the Malayali diaspora.
Actor-director Renji Panicker released the first look teaser of the film on his Facebook page on October 14.
Seema hopes to release the film on an OTT platform and is raring to do more films.
