Jan 29, 2024

International Trailer Released for Rotterdam World Premiere of Indian Dystopian Sci-Fi Film "Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust"

In 2016, Indian director Ishan Shukla made a strong first impression with his short film "Schirkoa," which screened at numerous film festivals and won top awards at LA Short Fest and SIGGRAPH Asia.

Now the director is back with a feature film adaptation of the film titled "Schirkoa": it had its world premiere at the Rotterdam Film Festival over the weekend and a new trailer was released.

The synopsis for "Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust" is as follows:

Rumors about a mythical free land wreak havoc in a hyper-regulated society where citizens wear paper bags over their heads to resolve their differences. In this stylish animated science fiction film, a system reminiscent of George Orwell's "1984" begins to crumble as rumors of a land where freedom reigns begin to spread. The protagonist, a freshman senator in love with a free-spirited girl, is caught in a complex web of events that open his eyes to a new reality.

"In Lies We Trust" and its predecessor, a short film, stand out as great examples of using a game engine to create high-impact animated works; Shukla's feature film was created entirely with the Unreal Engine. We spoke with him in 2017 about his production process after his debut short film was a huge success.

Speaking with Screen Daily last November, Shukla explained how his work has developed since then, stating:

For this film, I have spent years developing a unique animation style. The idea is to seamlessly blend the complexity of realistic CG with the timeless appeal of hand-drawn animation. The result is like a painstakingly executed painting brought to life on a cinematic canvas.

Sircore In Lies We Trust is an Indo-French co-production by Shukla animation studio Red Cigarette Media and Paris-based Dissidenz Films. It was produced by Germany's Rapid Eye Movies in association with Civic Studios and Cofinova 18.