Malayali filmmaker Kunjila Mascillamani selected for TIFF's prestigious Directors Lab

Malayali filmmaker Kunjila Mascillamani has been selected as one of the few international directors for the Toronto International Film Festival’s (TIFF) Directors Lab with her upcoming project ‘The Last of Them Plagues’ (Guptam). According to TIFF website, the Directors Lab is a competitive, five-day talent development program held during the festival in September. Each year, it selects 16 Canadian and international filmmakers from hundreds of applicants, offering them transformative mentorship opportunities with acclaimed directors, producers, agents, distributors, and top industry experts from around the world.

Mascillamani’s project ‘Guptam’ tells the story of a single mother forced to relocate to a conservative, religious rural town in Kerala after her younger daughter mysteriously disappears in a graveyard. What follows is a series of inexplicable and disastrous events that plague the region. As suspicion mounts, the mother must fight to convince the townspeople that she is not the one bringing down divine wrath upon them.

Reflecting on the inspiration behind Guptam, Mascillamani wrote: “The idea for ‘Guptam’ came to me in my late twenties, when like many women, I had an ‘epiphany’ – that my mother was a remarkably resilient woman and a trailblazer in her own way. I wondered at her superhuman efforts to raise two girls all by herself in a highly moralistic society like Keralam. We see women like her in every part of this country – accidental revolutionaries who had no choice but to fight. We know about strong women like Erin Brockovich, but where are the stories of single mothers like mine or yours? ‘Guptam’ is a tribute to their battles.”

The 2025 TIFF Directors Lab cohort includes a diverse group of emerging talents such as:
Alexander Lefebvre (Canada), Alicia K Harris (Canada), Balder Ljunggren (Sweden), Che Tagyamon (Philippines), Evangeline Kabuya (Canada), India Opzoomer (Canada/UK), Kaelo Iyizoba (Nigeria/US), Kamee Abrahamian (Canada/Armenia), Lin Htet Aung (Myanmar), Mai Nakanishi (Japan), Maya Bastian (Canada), Muhannad Lamin (Libya), Nick Thorburn (Canada), Rita Ferrando (Canada/Italy/Argentina), Salvador Miranda (Canada), Sam Manacsa (Philippines), Stephanie Ricci (Brazil/Italy), Tanaseth Tulyathan (Thailand), and Xu-Ming Lor (Canada).