DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

Maria Kaur Bedi: Living as a woman in Switzerland in the 21st century makes you feel strong and emancipated. At 30, something changed in me. I began to see the world, the movies and myself in a different light. I discovered a deeply hidden insecurity within me that is not my own, but comes from a nasty patriarchy maxim encoded in my DNA: “Women are the second, inferior sex.” With films about strong female protagonists, I want to encourage women to take up and defend their own space in order to help shape the space outside.

Satindar Singh Bedi: Men are also victims of violence against women. Mothers who suffer pass it onto their children, leading to more violence and psychological and addiction issues in adulthood. For many years I myself had to carry the burden of an addiction and it was a big struggle to overcome it. I want us all to come together to solve this problem. Our film wants to help with that with utmost sincerity and honesty.

PRODUCTION NOTES

It almost seems as if violence is experiencing a social renaissance. We are witnessing a growing number of wars and conflicts around the world today. Even if we don’t feel them directly in our everyday lives, they still characterise our lives. With KALARI, we are not telling a victim story, but the story of those who literally take matters into their own hands and protect themselves from violence and discrimination while positioning themselves in society. For us as swiss people in 2024, this is of unbroken relevance in a world full of war and violence, and especially violence against women.