Film By: Sreekanth Sivaswamy, Rajesh. R & Nitin. R
Mentored By: Bina Paul
City: Thiruvananthapuram

Street cultures across the world can shape socially conscious societies. This documentary asks whether public space development is merely an infrastructure upgrade or a catalyst for cultural evolution. Manaveeyam Veedhi, once informally reclaimed by street collectives, was renovated in 2023 as a cultural corridor under Kerala’s Smart City Project, ensuring 24/7 public access. The film explores its spirit through stories of inclusion and accessibility, following a young man who works as a juice maker at Manaveeyam and later became a singer through music collectives, a non-binary lesbian who shares their story of how the space gave them the confidence to acknowledge their identity. We also see artists as well as families mingling together to make it a vibrant space. The film also reflects on civic responsibility, asking how people engage with the freedom such spaces offer and concludes with an introspection on whether the Manaveeyam model can be sustained and replicated in future.