At Cannes this year, there’s a record number of seven female filmmakers in Competition. Juliette Binoche presides over the jury that includes last year’s Grand Prix winner Payal Kapadia.

The typical Kerala monsoon soaks the sleepy town of Ranni. In the quiet following the media blizzard at Ranni police station, the CCTV cameras are surreptitiously switched off. A large group of ...