An ancient ritual where performers transform into gods.

THE DANCE OF GODS

Living in Kerala for a year, director was deeply moved by Theyyam, an ancient ritual where performers transform into gods. It’s more than just a performance, it’s a living tradition of devotion and resilience. Captivated by its vibrant energy and spiritual depth, he felt compelled to document Theyyam from a fresh perspective, immersing myself in its world not as an outsider, but as an explorer eager to understand.

With a small team of three, including a DOP and a local line producer fluent in Malayalam, they faced countless challenges soaring 42-degree heat, language barriers, and the delicate task of respecting sacred rituals. Over nine intense days, they filmed three different types of Theyyam, capturing every detail, from the elaborate adornments to the raw emotions of the performers. Despite the physical and logistical hurdles, the experience was nothing short of transformative.

Director pov:

"𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘮 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘴. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺, 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺, 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦. 𝘔𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘤 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦. 𝘈𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳, 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘥𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘴, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴’ 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴."

This documentary is a tribute to the rich cultural heritage of Theyyam and the communities that keep it alive. It’s a story of faith, perseverance, and transformation, and they hope it offers audiences not just a glimpse of a ritual, but an emotional connection to the people who live and breathe it.

Zafar Mehdi

Director