OK Computer – Stefan Borsos

Popular television is usually not an integral part of film festival programming. And despite the success of what has been rather unwisely called ‘quality television’, this has hardly changed in the recent years (with even television work by otherwise highly regarded artists and auteurs still often being neglected). But as I strongly believe in the interrelatedness of film and television, one of my top priorities as a new programmer was to give popular television a fair chance and one way or the other bring it to the festival.

Along came IFFR alumni Anand Gandhi, who was kind enough to forward me the first episode of a sci-fi series he produced – only for me to be somewhat disappointed when looking at the first, very Blade Runner-ish images, which reminded me of the unexciting polish of said ‘quality television’ I wanted to avoid. But then, during the first sequence at the scene of the crime, things completely change: Monty Python meets The Office meets Armando Iannucci. WTF?!

The wholehearted dedication to what is often pure nonsense, delivered in a deadpan manner, is among other things what makes OK Computer so original, so wonderful. Thank you, Anand Gandhi – and thank you, Pooja Shetty and Neil Pagedar for your, ahem, very long feature debut which deservedly found its way into our Bright Future section. And of course: Who could not fall in love with Kani Kusruti as Monalisa Paul?!

Written by Stefan Borsos