Actresses Deepti Naval and Kalki Koechlin’s drama movie Goldfish will have its world premiere at the 27th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF).

Directed by Pushan Kripalani, the film will be screened under the “A Window on Asian Cinema” section of the festival, which will run from October 5 to 14.

Featuring Naval and Koechlin as a mother-and-daughter duo, Goldfish deals with the themes of memory and identity. The movie also features Rajit Kapur, Gordon Warnecke and Bharti Patel in important roles.

“Anamika (played by Koechlin), the child of a mixed marriage, returns home to her estranged mother Sadhana (played by Naval) because she is suffering from the onset of dementia. Anamika returns to a neighbourhood she barely remembers and to a woman who sometimes doesn’t remember her at all,” according to the official plotline.

Naval said when the makers offered her the movie, she felt an instant connection with the story. “When I first heard the story of the film in three lines, I immediately connected with the film. Something inside me said this is for me — this is what I have been waiting for, maybe because I saw my mother go through Alzheimer's and dementia.”

“I am really excited about the selection of the film at BIFF, and I am sure the audiences will take the story of Sadhana and Anamika with them in their hearts,” the 70-year-old actress said.

Koechlin said she was both excited and humbled about the premiere of Goldfish at the BIFF. “The film's cast included Indians from all over the world. All these actors had their own accents— something we've never seen in a film — and that represents the diversity of Indian accents and the people of India.”

“I’m both excited and humbled that Goldfish will premiere at Busan, a festival that has highlighted so many iconic films through the last quarter of a century,” she added.

Kripalani said Goldfish explored the idea of identity through its two women protagonists. “One is unsure of who she is because she lives between two cultures, while the other is stuck in a land not her own and her identity becomes ephemeral. The film seeks to address the ideas of duty, love and painful history.”.

Set in London, Goldfish is produced by Amit Saxena’s Splendid Films (USA). Its executive producer is Pooja Chauhan.