The Circus Tent
(Thamp)
A film by Aravindan Govindan
India, 1978

The arrival of a travelling circus sends ripples through a remote village, as it explores the lives and hopes of its often marginalised inhabitants.

Shot in a semi-documentary style, Aravindan Govindan’s The Circus Tent is an allegorical and poetic film on the transience of human relationships. Aravindan worked with a troupe of real-life circus artistes and travelled with them to villages on the banks of India’s Bharathappuzha river, capturing the interaction of performers and villagers alike.

Once thought lost, Aravindan’s lyrical masterpiece in now fully restored and preserved for future generations.

“Full of mysterious shadows and magical situations [...] a succession of true-to-life images strung together by Aravindan's unique poetics and his cinematographer Shaji Karun's extraordinary visual flair. The film abounds in passages, long and short, that stick to the mind tenaciously” The Economic Times, India

ON BLU-RAY SOON