THE LYNCHING

Bronze Spike
TitleTHE LYNCHING
BrandTURTLE LIMITED
Product / ServiceTURTLE
CategoryB03. Sound Design
EntrantWUNDERMAN THOMPSON Kolkata, INDIA
Idea Creation WUNDERMAN THOMPSON Kolkata, INDIA

Credits

Name Company Position
Senthil Kumar Wunderman Thompson India Chief Creative Officer
Arjun Mukherjee Wunderman Thompson Kolkata VP & ECD
Saptarshi Dey Wunderman Thompson Kolkata Art Director
Anurag Acharya Wunderman Thompson Kolkata Creative Director
Aneek Ray Wunderman Thompson Kolkata Art Director
Prabuddha Banerjee Independent Music Director
Diptanshu Roy Wunderman Thompson Kolkata Senior Creative Director

Write a short summary of what happens in the film.

India, the world’s largest democracy was slowly turning into a hotbed of hate crimes. Over the last few years the beautiful co-existence of this country’s multiple castes and cultures was being torn apart by the evil of mob lynching. Fuelled by fake news spread through a mobile phone in every hand, hundreds were losing their lives. ‘The Lynching’ was a reminder that the true fabric of this country has always been weaved by harmony. The film was created by taking inspiration from hundreds of actual cloth textures and patterns that were as varied as the diverse cultures of India, and then animating over 4110 photo-realistic frames to show how the power of peace can win over hatred and stitch back the torn fabric of a nation.

Cultural / Context information for the jury

India, the world’s largest democracy has today become the hotbed of mob lynching. Over a hundred deaths due to mob lynching in the last few years have been fuelled by social media, in the name of eating habits, casteism, religion and fake news. While hate crimes keep rising across the country, the people in power keep denying it. So the need of the hour was to send a strong message of peace. To end this greatest evil of the recent times, we choose the occasion of Pujas, India’s biggest religious festival where millions pray to Goddess Durga to slay all evil. And to spread this message, we chose Social Media, the hunting ground for such hate crimes in India.

Tell the jury about the sound design.

The sound design of ‘The Lynching’ was created to first intrigue the viewers with its dark dystopia, bringing out the primordial aspect of lynching and then lift their mood by shifting to a joyous festive tune weaved around Durga Puja, the biggest festival of Bengal that brings various faiths together. Real sounds like the repetitive rotating noise of an old, discarded fan, the hollow vibration of a cell phone, the uncanny mewing of stray cats, sporadic dog barks were captured live and coupled with distorted voices of men muttering an unknown language to create the backdrop of a society where fear of lynching lurks large. The later part of music is marked with dhaak beats, an Indian drum and the sound of traditional worship bells building up to a frenzied crescendo with the blowing of the conch shell, celebrating the victory of true faith and peace amid the festivity.

Links

Social Media URL