QUEEN OF THE BEACH
Award-winning documentary Queen of the Beach, directed by Cleetche (Chris McDonell), premieres On Digital and On Demand August 15 (Indian Independence Day) from Under the Milky Way.
Winner of 11 film festival awards, including Best Picture and Best Documentary wins at 8 Festivals in India, Queen of the Beach chronicles 8 years in the life of Shilpa Poojar, a child-labourer working on a beach in Goa whose dream is to go to school.
While on vacation in Goa, India, Canadian filmmaker Chris McDonell turns his camera on Shilpa Poojar, a 9-year-old beach hawker hustling tourists to buy clothes and jewelry from her seaside shop. Funny, charming and skilled beyond her years, she is a migrant worker from the unique Banjara tribe and the primary breadwinner for her family. Forging a connection in this chance encounter, Chris returns 3 times over the next 7 years to capture Shilpa’s story of sacrifice and survival and help her achieve her childhood dream of going to school – a relentless effort that will test them both along the way.