Indian Refugee Drama ‘The Clouds Woke No Clocks’ Boarded by German, Singapore Producers, Cast Unveiled (EXCLUSIVE)

Christoph Thoke’s Mogador Film, Sebastian Popp’s Stoked Film (both Germany) and Jeremy Chua‘s Potocol (Singapore) have joined forces to back “The Clouds Woke No Clocks,” a refugee drama from Indian filmmaker Aniket Dutta. The project will be led by Indian producer Roshni Sen and Dutta’s Empty Video banner.

Acclaimed Bangladesh actors Mostafa Monwar (Toronto, Busan title “Saba”) and Deepanwita Martin (Busan title “No Ground Beneath the Feet”) are set to star in the film, which follows a displaced family settling in a makeshift camp in the Himalayan foothills. The story centers on parents Khalid and Sharmeen, and their eight-year-old son Shoaib, who relocate to India to escape persecution in their home country.

“For me the state of being is more important than the state of being a refugee,” says Dutta, whose debut feature “Ghost of the Golden Groves,” co-directed with Sen, played at Festival du Nouveau Cinema Montreal. “I’m trying to encapsulate the fleeting moments of a few days of their lives. I’m very keen on exploring the space itself, the Himalayan foothills which becomes a character on its own.”

“The film takes an atmospheric yet anthropological approach,” adds Chua, whose Potocol handled Pham Thien An’s Cannes Golden Camera winner “Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell” and Lav Diaz’s Berlin winner “A Lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery.” “It aims to humanize the position of refugees for a local and international audience who may only be at arm’s length from the issues. The film does not intend to be political, instead, meditative and magical.”

Thoke, whose credits include Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Cannes winner “Tropical Malady,” has arranged for Popp’s Frankfurt-based Stoked Film to provide post-production services and host part of the shoot. “I was instantly moved by its compelling story,” says Thoke. “Sebastian and I firmly believe in the power of this story and its potential to reach diverse audiences globally.”

Sen, who co-wrote the screenplay with Dutta, says the project emerges “in this time of political propaganda and media sensationalization with brewing tension between neighboring countries.” Rather than taking sides, she explains their aim is to “reevaluate the understanding of ‘truth’ itself and purposefully shift its parameters from a firm ground of reification to a more desolidified locus by delving into the insignificant; the mundane and the ephemeral.”

Thai cinematographer Nawarophaat Rungphiboonsophit (“Manta Ray”) is attached to lens the project, with Aacharee Ungsriwong (“Pachinko”) on board as editor.