THRONE OF DEATH (MARANA SIMHASANAM) Official Selection

Awarded the Camera d’Or at Cannes, THRONE OF DEATH is a provocative and darkly comic examination of politics, technology and human nature. Krishnan and his family, seasonal laborers far generations, live in a small island community in Kerala. Out of work and desperate to feed his family, Krishnan steals a bunch of coconuts from his landlord. Events spiral out of control as he is caught and, to the shock of his fellow islanders, suddenly finds himself accused of a murder that happened on the island several years before. Because it is election time, the local politicians take up his cause to win votes.

Meanwhile, a new technology for executions is being introduced. Developed with a loan from the World Bank and technology from America, the “Electronic Chair” appears to symbolize a “glorious” death. In a startling turn of events, villagers and politicians join together to demand that, if freedom and justice cannot be served, Krishnan at least deserves the honor of being the first in the country to die by the Chair.