India, Oct. 30 -- three women laugh quietly as they fly kites on a beach.

It is the only light-hearted scene in the film. It is also the only one shot with a wide-angle lens.

For the rest of the 90-plus minutes, the story zooms into the world of its protagonist: a woman caught between what look like choices but are really more like traps.

She is a homecare nurse now picking up shifts for a friend who has attempted to end her life. She is part of the reason, so she feels she must be part of the solution too.

As the camera closes in on her life of intimate care for near-strangers, the clock ticks on through the hours: 12, then 24, 48, 72. And one starts to longs for reprieve.

Sailesh Rathnakumar's debut feature premiered at the Busan f...