‘Removal of the Eye’ Trailer – Artemis Shaw and Prashanth Kamalakanthan’s Parenting Comedy Kicks Off US Theatrical Release

Filmmakers Artemis Shaw and Prashanth Kamalakanthan not only co-direct and co-write, but also star alongside their real-life family, including their infant son and Shaw’s mother, Katerina, in their autobiographical comedy-drama, Removal of the Eye.

Inspired by the cultural clash that took place after moving into the same Manhattan apartment building as Shaw’s parents shortly before their son’s birth, filmmakers Shaw and Kamalakanthan turn the lens on themselves as new parents Kallia and Ram—roles that they originated in their award-winning lo-fi comedy New Strains that represent loose alternative versions of themselves. At their wits’ end with their sleepless baby, Kallia and Ram realize Kallia’s Greek mother is on a secret mission to exorcise the family from the evil eye. Trapped between the pressures of New Age parenting, old-world superstitions, and meddling in-laws, they fight to hold on to their dreams and aspirations.

The film, which premiered at Baltimore’s New/Next Film Festival and the 2025 edition of the International Film Festival Rotterdam, will have its New York Premiere on Wednesday, February 4 (Nitehawk Williamsburg) and screen Thursday, February 5 (Nitehawk Prospect Park) and Friday, February 6 (Roxy Cinema), with a Los Angeles Premiere set for Thursday, February 12 at 2220 Arts, presented by Mezzanine. More dates to follow.

“Upon the birth of our first child, we were struck by the lack of films about new parenthood and the world of infants more generally,” Shaw notes. “The logistical challenges of filming with a baby are too vast to contemplate in our traditional filmmaking model. We knew that we had to move quickly to capture our experience.”

Shot over three months with improvised dialogue and no professional crew, the production worked around the baby’s schedule, the filmmakers’ day jobs, and Katerina Shaw’s neurological disease, which impairs her visual perception. Composer Will Epstein (New Strains) joins the duo once again, and Shaw produced.

Watch the official trailer for Removal of the Eye above.