Kamali Moorthy, a nine-year-old skateboarder from Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu is all set to make a mark at the 2020 Academy Awards. The short film, titled Kamali, is based on the life of Kamali Moorthy and her single mother, which has already won the Best Documentary Award at Atlanta Film Festival, has now qualified for the Oscars.
Directed by Sasha Rainbow, this 24-minute long short-film tells the story of Kamali, who is the first and only female skateboarder in her fishing town. It also interviews and follows the life of her biggest support systems, her mother and grandmother who encouraged her to surf and skateboard while her uncle, Santosh taught her the basics of the sport.
“When Suganthi (Kamali’s mother) sees her children, she reflects on her childhood and how she could not do the things she wished to do because of the society. Today, she wants Kamali to taste the freedom she did not have,” Aine Edwards, Kamali’s mentor and Irish entrepreneur who visits the village from Chennai, told a leading newspaper. “The crew came and shot the film over six weeks. After it was edited, they even sent it to the Mumbai International Short Film Festival in December 2018, where it won Best Director Award,” she added.
Kamali has since toured with professional teams across the country to help promote the sport and has even been featured in the OG skateboarding shoes, VANS’s international commercial! “I think this award is the biggest achievement of my life, only after my children of course,” Kamali’s mother, Suganthi confessed after the documentary won the Best Documentary award at the Atlanta Film Festival.
Kamali was spotted years ago, in 2016 by a skateboarder and photographer, Tony Hawk. The picture on his Instagram account of this little 6-years-old girl skateboarding, with no shoes on and a frock, went viral! It garnered interest from across the world and three years later, Kamali’s popularity has only increased. She now has a documentary based on her life that has won several awards and will represent India at the Academy Awards in 2020.
This 9-year-old is going places!
Featured Image: Instagram
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