Ali Fazal sci-fi short, The Astronaut and His Parrot finds appreciation from Tim Cook

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Tim Cook’s visit to India has been among the headline-makers of the past week. While many dignitaries have been meeting the Apple CEO, he has himself been in awe of the Ali Fazal starrer short sci-fi film, The Astronaut and His Parrot, directed by Arati Kadav. The 15.34 minute short recently bagged the Best Director award at the Fantasia International Short Film Competition.

The film was shown to the head honcho by Arati Kadav, who was invited to deliver a special talk on the film, and Tim appreciated the filmmaker, touting her as one of India’s best sci-fi filmmakers, as she has shot the entire award-winning film on her iPhone. He said on his social media, “The Astronaut and His Parrot is a story of hope and connection. I met Arati Kadav, who created this beautiful award- winning short film, using only her iPhone and Macbook Pro.”

Ali reacted, “It was nice to finally show the movie to Tim Cook. Since the whole movie has been shot with Apple products, getting these kinds of compliments from the Apple CEO is quite encouraging. Since it’s a sci-fi movie, most of the shots were done with a green background, but it was Arati’s vision that made this movie what it is today.  I hope we continue making more such movies that represent India.”

The film is about a space explorer who, due to an accident, has been adrift in the void with a low supply of oxygen. Death is certain, so he hopes against hope to speak to his daughter one last time, to tell her how much he loves her. In his final moments in space, he tries to desperately send messages to his daughter via signals, but they are picked up thousands of miles in a temple town by a gaudy parrot in a fortune-teller’s stall. Will the message get to the little girl? Or is it all just a dream?