Kriti Film Club Screenings Archive 2012-2017
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2012
- Theme of the month: Exploring
the CITY (4th February 2012 at Kriti Film Club
homespace)
- Adda: Calcutta, Kolkata by Surjo Deb and Ranjan Palit is a film about a
day in the life of Calcutta or Kolkata. A portrait of the city and its
people through the myriad conversations or "adda"s that happen
all over the city, day and night.
- Certified Universal by Avijit Mukul Kishore is an
impressionistic sketch of 'the public' as created by our cinema and its
relationship with cinema itself.
- Do Rafique by Rafeeq
Ellias in which Rafeeq meets Rafique Bagdadi, an extraordinary
living archive of the city and its cinema, and explores the cinema city
through him.
- Have You Dreamt Cinema? by Hansa Thapliyal...a cinema theatre is pulled down
in a suburb of a city. Three women who live in that suburb reflect on
their various relationships with that fantasy of a film in a darkened
theatre.
- Dhananjay Kulkarni ‘Chandragupt’ by Rrivu Laha is a journey of migrants to
the dream city through the track of filmi aspirations.
- In Search Of An Urban Ballad by Joydeep Ghosh is a chronicle of the
evolution of urban music in three Indian cities - Kolkata, Delhi and
Mumbai, examining the transformation in language and orchestration of
music with the changing times and the socio-political concerns they
reflect.
- Theme of the month: Exploring
the CITY (18th February 2012 at Kriti Film Club
homespace)
- Dil Ki Basti Mein by Anwar Jamal is about the walled city of
Old Delhi, which is a cultural universe unto itself – a sprawling,
chaotic, but infectiously spirited neighbourhood where life assumes many
fascinating forms in a constant struggle for survival. (Film maker
present).
- The Ghetto Girl by Ambarien Alqadar reflects on in what is also
known as India’s ‘Little Pakistan’ in New Delhi, a girl is on a search
for a lost home movie. A love and loss tale about being Muslim in India
today. (Film maker present)
- Dilli by Rintu
Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh highlights that in this city, a dream
is born everyday. The film raises critical questions about urbanization and
development through the personal stories of its people and explores the
social and spatial landscape of a city that dreams of becoming a super
megapolis.(Film maker present)
- Theme of the month: Celebrating Women's Day
Month (3rd March 2012 at Kriti Film Club
homespace, New Delhi).
- The Beauty Academy Of Kabul by Liz Mermin is an arresting and optimistic
portrait of post-Taliban Afghanistan. Both humorous and slyly submersive,
the film offers poignant moments of culture clash between the Americans
and Afghans and touching moments of feminine solidarity.
- Shifting Prophecy by Merajur Rahman Baruah is based on the struggle
of rural Muslim women, in particular that of Daud Sherifa Khanam,to fight
the sexist rulings of the conventional jamaat and patriarchal social
order in Tamil Nadu.
- Kanyashala by Ganga
Mukhi is an account of students from Kanya Vidyalaya, an
all-girls’ school at Vajreshwari who share poignant stories of how they
joined the School and their dreams for the future.
- Knocking On Heaven's Door by Sanjay Barnela and Samreen Farooqui is a
film that spans across multiple musical genres. Tipriti, Shehnaz,
Afflatus and Jivi Ben bare their hearts, sing and speak their truths
about their aspirations and struggles in a documentary that seamlessly
weaves personal stories with the soul of blues, pop, rock and devotional
folk music.
- Theme of the month: Celebrating Women's Day
Month (17th March 2012 at Kriti Film Club
homespace, New Delhi).
- Holy Matrimony by Nirmala Nair is about emotions and
pressures women go through to fit ideals predetermined by a patriarchal
society and the ‘matrimony market’ in urban India.
- Four Women And A Room by Ambarien Alqadar explores the complex ways in
which women understand and experience ‘motherhood’.
- Morality TV and the Loving Jehad by Paromita Vohra looks outside the frames
that weave the frenetic tapestry of Breaking News on India’s news
channels, to uncover a town’s complex dynamics.
- The Waterfall by Dr Parvez Imam talks about five
random travelers who come together to trek to a waterfall in Hampi – a
serene heartland in Southern India, famous for its ruins, temples and a
river. (27th April 2012 at IHC, New Delhi - Film maker present)
- Theme of the month: Karl Marx's Birthday (5th May at Kriti Film Club homespace)
- Whispers in the Night by Sushmit Ghosh and Rintu Thomas journeys
with security workers as they share their hopes, dreams and
disappointments about a job that is both challenging and thankless. At
its heart, the film raises concerns about the need to protect the rights
of the very people who steadfastly protect us.
- Rikshawala by Abhishek Kukreja is a about a man peddling his
way in a mad city rush. Rikshawala is a self-narrated story of
transformation. It exemplifies that in the university called ‘Life’,
difficulty is perhaps the harshest teacher, but has most virtuous lessons
to impart.
- EcoReels @EcoFestival
2012 (2nd to 5th June 2012 at Kriti Film Club homespace)
- Earth Witness: Reflections
of the Times and the Timeless,
by Akanksha Joshi talks about four common people - a
teacher, a farmer, a shepherd, a father - who find themselves on the
frontline of the earth’s biggest, most complex crisis: climate change –
in the mountains of Nagaland, the grasslands of Kutch, the Gangetic
delta, and the forests of Central India. They use this challenge as a
part of their art with nature.
- Amazing Green Movies from
Enchanted lands by Nitin Das
- Jungle Gang Meets the Rhino by Krishnendu Bose
- Groundwater Up Project by Tarini Manchanda
- A Fable from the
Himalayas by Nitin Das
- Burma VJ: Reporting From a Closed Country by Anders Østergaard sheds light on the
brutal 40-year military regime that operated in a closed country, far from
the eyes of the mainstream global media. (16th August 2012 at IHC, New
Delhi)
- Mind Reels 2012 - Film Festival on mental health (13th October 2012 at Kriti
Film Club homespace)
- There is Something in the
Air by Iram Ghufran traces
a series of ‘dream narratives’ and spiritual experiences of women
petitioners at the shrine of a Sufi saint in north India.
- A Certain Liberation by Yasmine Kabir talks about Gurudasi
Mondol who gave herself up to madness in 1971, during the Liberation War
of Bangladesh, as she watched her entire family being killed by the
Razakars.
- Radiation Stories..part 3 by Amudhan RP highlights the people's
movement against the Koodankulam nuclear plant which is an over
20-year-old story. (15th September 2012 at Kriti Film Club homespace -
Filmmaker present)
- Another Poverty Film by Fathima Nizaruddin is a black comedy that
explores the mindsets behind the gross inequality that exists in post
liberalised India. (3rd November 2012 at Kriti Film Club homespace -
Filmmaker present)
The Plastic Cow by Kunal Vohra is a film on animal rights and looks at the impact
of our almost complete dependence on plastic bags, which we use and discard
carelessly everyday. Not only are these bags a huge environmental threat, they
end-up in stomach of cows as they fend for themselves and forage for food in
community garbage dumps. The film is also a comment on the religious hypocrisy
of the cult of the holy cow. (3rd November 2012 at Kriti Film Club homespace -
Filmmaker present)
- Illuminating Lives - Film festival to mark
Centenary celebrations of YWCA of Delhi (19th-20th October 2012 at YWCA, Ashoka Road, New Delhi)
- Redefining Peace by K P Sasi showcases the history of the
1000 Women for Nobel Peace Prize 2005 initiative and profiles ten peace
women from different regions of India, connected to various people’s
movements.
- Our Lanes…Our Lives (Apni
Galiyon Ki Kahani) by Tarini
Manchanda, Aanchal Kapur, Ankur Kapoor highlights key issues of
women's access to essential services like water, sanitation, electricity,
drainage and lack of safety for women and girls living in a mix of
public-private spaces in resettlement locations. (Film maker
present)
- On My Own by Anupama Srinivasan is about five single
women share their experiences of living on their own in Delhi as they
justify their decisions to their families, come to terms with their own
loneliness and also discover some things about themselves. (Film maker
present)
- Much Ado About
Knotting by Geetika Narang
Abbasi & Anandana Kapur is about how a young girl, born into
a society obsessed with marriages,a not-so-young man an NRI couple are
compared by tradition to look for matches via classifieds, match making,
bureaus and websites confronted with innumerable criteria that determine which
is acceptable and which isn’t, they question themselves and their
choices. (Film maker present)
- Where's Sandra by Paromita Vohra takes a playful look at the
figure of "Sandra from Bandra"- part covetous fantasy of the
racy Christian girl from Bombay who works as a secretary, wears a dress
and likes to dance, part condescending stereotype of a dowdy, religious
girl from a minority community.
- It’s A Boy by Vani Subramaniam examines the current
male-female sex ratio problem which was foretold by earlier campaigners
against sex determination and pre-selection.
- Green Movies from Enchanted
Lands by Nitin Das
- Stir.Fry.Simmer by Vani Subramaniam highlights
the rising food prices, colossal wastage of stocks, compromise policies
of food security mixed with conversation on excess, debates on dieting,
programs and journalism on cuisines and cooking. Just some of the many
things that food is, and signifies, to all of us.
- Pedalling to Freedom by Vijay S. Jodha is a story of one of the
poorest parts of the world, where 230,000 people learned to read and
write. Over 100,000 women learnt to cycle. Wages jumped up 1000%. It
happened in the space of 1 year. It cost Rs.65 (U.S. $ 1.50) per
person!
- The Saroj Khan Story by Nidhi Tuli began as a search for the
genius behind one of the greatest choreographers that the Hindi film
industry has ever produced.
- Mindscapes of Love and
Longing by Arun Chadha highlights
how the sexuality of people with disabilities is often marred with
misconceptions, prejudices and myths. (1st December 2012 at Kriti Film
Club homespace - Film maker present)
- Theme of the month: Marking Human Rights
Day (15th December 2012 at Kriti Film Club
homespace)
- Tales From Napa by Lalit Vachani is a remarkable story of a
little village that resisted the forces of Hindu fundamentalism during
the 2002 anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat, India.
- We are Foot Soldiers by Debolina Dutta and Oishik Sircar tells
the story of Amra Padatik (Foot Soldiers), an organisation formed by the
coming together of children of sex workers in Kolkata’s Sonagachhi red
light district in 2005.
2013
- In God’s Land by Pankaj Rishi Kumar looks at land within
the larger issue of development, forcing us to recogniae the totalitarian
attitude of the ideals of development, ostensibly to bring economic
prosperity, but rarely a benefit to real users. But the film’s most
interesting element is the people living on this god’s land. (17th
January 2013 at Kriti Film Club homespace - Film maker present)
- Dharamsala Film Festival selection
screening: Fire Under the Snow by Makoto Sasa is about Palden Gyatso, a Buddhist
monk since childhood, arrested by the Chinese Communist Army in 1959. He
spent the next 33 years in prison. (2nd February 2013 at at Kriti Film
Club homespace).
- Films on Children's Education (23rd February 2013 at Kriti Film Club homespace - Film maker
present)
- Let Them Blossom by Amrita Dasgupta highlights that learning
begins at home…Today with changing times and social structure, how
relevant is this dictum? This film is a mother’s exploration into the
existing practice of early childhood care and education in India. (23rd
February 2013 at Kriti Film Club homespace - Film maker present)
- Free And Compulsory by Malati Rao highlights that in 2009, the
Right of children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE) was passed
by the Indian Parliament, giving every child between the ages of 6 and 14
years, this essential privilege.
- Violence Reels 2013 - Solidarity screenings as part of One Billion Rising
(9th-11th February 2013 at Kriti Film Club homespace)
- One Billion Rising by Eve Ensler, Tony Stroebel is an
inspiring music video for the One Billion Rising campaign: women
worldwide rising up and against all kinds of violence.
- Now I Will Speak by Sagari Chabbra is a documentary where
women of courage speak out on their experience of rape.
- Dowry: A Social Evil by Jill Misquitta is a short anti-dowry
campaign short.
- Bol by Shabnam Virmani has been made as part of
a public service television campaign on the issue of domestic violence,
these spots instigate a range of people to “speak out”.
- Unkahee by Sakshi unfolds the script of domestic
violence and the resistance of a woman therein through a theatrical
piece.
- Ye Dilli Hai Mere Yaar by Vani Subramanian brings together first
person narratives of violence experienced by women on the streets of
Delhi with accounts of infamous cases that have scarred the city
forever.
- Mann Ke Manjeere, a music
video by Sujit Sircar, Gary is the
famous anthem about a woman rebuilding her life in the aftermath of
domestic violence. Mita Vashisht as the woman, Prasoon Joshi’s lyrics,
Shubha Mudgal’s voice.
- Sarabah by Maria Luisa Gambale and Gloria Bremer where rapper,
singer and activist Sister Fa, a childhood victim of female genital
cutting (FGC), travels back to her home village in Senegal, where she
fears she and her message against the practice will be rejected.
- Violence Reels - to mark International Women’s
Day Month (5th March 2013 at Apparel House, Gurgaon;
16th March 2013 at IHC, New Delhi).
- One Billion Rising by Eve Ensler, Tony Stroebel is an
inspiring music video for the One Billion Rising campaign: women
worldwide rising up and against all kinds of violence.
- The Lightning Testimonies by Amar Kanwar reflects upon a history of
conflict in the Indian subcontinent through experiences of sexual
violence. In all narratives the body becomes central -as a site for
honour, hatred and humiliation and also for dignity and protest.
- Memory Reels (12th March 2013 at Apparel House, Gurgaon; 15th March 2013
at IHC, New Delhi).
- The End of Flight by Tariq Theakekaraj highlights that our country
has seen riots, wars, murders, rapes and even genocides, all of which
have left behind millions of victims whose wounds may never heal.
- Dere-tun-Dilli by Divya Cowasji & Shilpa Gulati is a film
where eighty four-year old Bhagwani Taneja recalls the time when her
entire community packed up their homes from Dera Ismail Khan, in
Pakistan's North West Frontier Province, and moved to Delhi during the
Partition. (Film maker present)
- Tibet Reels (21st March 2013 at Apparel House, Gurgaon; 14th March 2013 at IHC,
New Delhi - film maker present)
- The Sun behind the Clouds by Ritu Sarin & Tenzing Sonam updates
the struggle for Tibetan independence, focusing upon the March 2008
demonstration against Chinese rule, the largest ever since the 1959
take-over of that nation. The Dalai Lama, living in exile in Northern
India, is interviewed extensively and given the opportunity to explicate
his "middle way," a compromise position he has to date been
unsuccessful in getting the Chinese to accept.
- Earth Reels (20th
April at Kriti Film Club homespace)
- The Lost Forest by Ishani K Dutta talks about a sacred grove that
held in its heart secrets of a bygone era. A forest of conflicts, which
tradition named Mangerbani. Whether it could be defined as a forest
became a big bone of contention.
- Timbaktu by Rintu Thomas and Susmit Ghosh narrates
how a small group of development activists, committed to developmental
and ecological regeneration, found ways to heal and regenerate a piece of
dry, degraded land, and create an agro forest habitat in Andhra Pradesh's
Anantapur district. Timbaktu explores critical issues of food security and
sovereignty. (Film makers present)
- At the Crossroads by Deba Ranjan talks about the Nehruvian era which
made ordinary people - mostly adivasis and dalits - lose their lands,
forests and streams in the name of ‘national development’. That
development never reached them. (30th May 2013 at IHC, New Delhi - film
maker present)
- Red Ant Dream by Sanjay Kak chronicles stories of
resistance from Bastar, Odisha, Punjab...and speaks about the life of
revolutionary possibility in India. (31st May 2013 at Kriti Film Club
homespace - film maker present).
- BOM" / aka 'One Day Ahead of Democracy’ by Amlan Dutta is based on Malana, a remote
village in the Himalayas, isolated for thousands of years, that has been
fostering a unique model of democracy of consensus. Narrated in an epic
structure, a visual essay from the edge of the world with a universal message
of trust, peace and eternal unity. (10th August 2013 at Kriti Film Club
homespace)
2014
- Theme of the month: International Women’s
Day
- Teen Behenein by Kundan Shah and Shekhar Hattangadi is based on
the real life incident of three sisters in Kanpur who committed suicide
in 1988 to save their parents a huge dowry. (5th March 2014 at Sarojini
Naidu Centre for Women’s Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia; 7th March 2014,
YWCA of Delhi, Ashoka Road, New Delhi - film maker present).
- Apna Haq by Feminist Approach to Technology is a film with
visual stories and experiences on the question of lack of adequate toilet
facilities in urban slum communities of Delhi. (9th March 2014 at IHC,
New Delhi - film makers present)
- The Waterfall by Parvez Imam was independently produced in
the wake of similar bombings on Gaza in Dec 2009. (18th July (2:00 pm
onwards) to 21st July 2014 (midnight) Online - link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3uYpo6NR9I )
- Apour Ti Yapour. Na Jang Na Aman. Yeti Chu
Talukpeth (Between Border And The Fence. On Edge
Of A Map) by Ajay Raina delves into the untranslatable in
Kashir (Kashmir), maps the distance it has travelled emotionally and
psychologically from the idea of India. (30th August 2014 at Kriti Film
Club homespace).
- Remembering 1992 by School of Media and Cultural Studies, TISS, Mumbai (27th
September 2014 at Kriti Film Club homespace).
- Badalte Nakshe (Changing Maps) by Nithila Kanagasabai, Archana
Sadar, Nitya Menon, Likokba Sangtam follows Farhana Ashraf, a
teacher and a writer, as it engages with certain questions: 20 years
later, how do those who were children at the time remember the lived
experience of the 1994 Mumbai riots?
- Ek Aakhri Panah (One Last Refuge) by Tanvi Barge, Krishna Panchal,
Piyush Garud, Juanita Mukhia - During December 1992 and January
1993, Muslim communities living in the city of Mumbai witnessed communal
violence within their localities. This resulted in the expansion of areas
like Mumbra and the creation of ghettos across the city. This film looks
at Mumbra and its history through the eyes of two young Muslim women who
work in the Rehnuma Library, a space where young women meet to study,
write, co-create and work on issues of women’s empowerment.
- Theme of the month: Older Persons Day
- Zohra Segal on Zohra Segal by Anant Raina is the story
of Zohra Segal, in her own words. Compiled from two interviews with Zohra
Segal when she was about to turn 100, interspersed with recitations and
personal photographs, it presents an account of a truly fantastic life.
(1st October 2014 at IHC, New Delhi - film maker present).
- Theme of the month: Masculinity
- Mardistan (Macholand):
Reflections on Indian Manhood by Harjant Gill takes us through the experiences
of four different men, ranging in age from 20s to 40s and explores the
notion of contemporary manhood in a rapidly globalising India. (1st
November 2014, Kriti Film Club homespace).
- Men Against the Tide by ITVS
& CNN-IBN talks about how men across the world are challenging the
various facets of masculinity. It honours men throughout India who are
striking at the root of gender-based violence. (1st November 2014, Kriti
Film Club homespace).
- Theme of the month: Mental Health Day
A Drop of Sunshine by Aparna Sanyal talks about
Schizophrenia. It takes us through the story of Reshma Valliappan, a 30-year
old Indian woman, and charts out her journey of eventual triumph over her
condition. (10th – 14th October 2014, Online viewing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwKQ4J5b5nk&feature=youtu.be)
2015
Three Characters in Search of a Forest by Krishnendu Bose is a
story of Delhi's Ridge forest and it's struggle for survival, shared through
the lives of three characters - Pradip Krishen, Ravi Agarwal and Ranjit Lal
(4th June 2015 at Indian Social Institute, New Delhi - in collaboration with
ICR).
- Best of the Dharamshala International Film
Festival
- A World Not Ours by Mahdi Fleifel is an intimate, humorous,
portrait of three generations of exile in the refugee camp of Ein
el-Helweh, in southern Lebanon. (6th October at IHC, New Delhi).
- Mapa by León Siminiani is about a young Spanish
director who gets fired from his job at a broadcaster. It is a road movie
told in the first person about a young filmmaker who travels to India in
search of a new “map” for love and life. (8th October 2015, Zorba the
Buddha, Ghitorni, New Delhi).
- Violence Reels 2015
- Ebang Bewarish (And the
Unclaimed) by Debalina is
based in a remote village in the state of West Bengal. Two girls Swapna
and Sucheta loved each other so much that they had to kill themselves;
the village hated them so much that they had to be burnt as unclaimed
bodies. (20th November 2015 at IHC, New Delhi - film maker
present).
- Sporty Reels (17th December 2015 at IHC, New Delhi)
- Kicking From The Corner by Vikram Buragohain explores the football
culture in Shillong. It traces the evolvement and aspirations of football
players from small localities to professional clubs.
- Rough ’Em Up by Sanjay Barnela is the story of an elitist
sport that ended up making inroads into small towns so quickly - rugby.
From Kashmir to Kerala, Manipur to Mumbai, state teams are battling it
out to win the Women’s Rugby Nationals each year.
2016 (a year of films curated around Music)
- Had-Anhad: Journeys with Ram and Kabir by Shabnam Virmani is about Kabir, a 15th
century mystic poet of North India who defied the boundaries between Hindu
and Muslim.The film journeys through song and poem into the politics of
religion, and finds a myriad answers on both sides of the hostile border
between India and Pakistan. (27th January 2016 at IHC, New Delhi).
- Urban Voice (Jibon Ebong) by Aneek Chaudhuri is a bio docu-feature on
urban folk musician Susmit Bose whose songs have often dealt with social
issues- human rights, labour rights, child rights, global peace and
non-violence. (28th February 2016 at IHC, New Delhi - film maker
present)
- Theme of the month: International Women’s Day (11th-12th March at
IHC, New Delhi)
- The Other Song by Saba Dewan is based in
1935, when Rasoolan Bai, the well-known singer from Varanasi, recorded
for the gramophone, a love song that she would never sing again, ‘My
breasts are wounded, don’t throw flowers at me.’ (Film maker present)
- Ore Udal (One Body) by Asha Achy Joseph delves into how our
social, cultural and political psyche embraces rape and its violence - to
the extent of making it a ritualistic practice of consumption to the
spectator. (Film maker present)
- Reflecting Her: Women &
Reproductive Health by Anna
Pawlowska (Poland); Atieno Otieno Careen (Kenya); Priya Goswami (India);
Sarah Chitambo (South Africa) has been shot in four continents
by four women directors. It discusses the dilemmas, personal choices,
lack of control and violence that women all over the world face over
Reproductive Rights. (Producer present)\
- Born to Sing by Shikha
Jhingan profiles the lives of women singers in Punjab- the
Marasans. They have been known to carry the darkest secrets of the
royalty, from one generation to another. (21st April 2016 at IHC, New
Delhi - film maker present).
- Kabira Khada Bazaar Mein (Journeys with Sacred
& Secular Kabir) by Shabnam
Virmani takes us to 15th century North India, when the mystic
weaver Kabir spoke his poems in the market place, his spirituality firmly
grounded in the public square. 600 years after his time, Kabir is found in
both spaces – sacred and secular. (26th May 2016 at IHC, New Delhi)
- Taan Bekro (Music Of The Sand) by Saumya Sharma is a poetic journey of the
rendezvous with the nomadic tribe of Rajasthan, commonly known as the
Saperas (Snake Charmers) or Kalbeliyas, in a quest to discover their
cultural heritage and lifestyle. (9th July 2016 at IHC, New Delhi - film
maker present).
- A Better Place by Miquel Galofré tells the story of five
community-based organisations through the work that they do and how their
experiences in diverse communities and areas impacts their view of the
world. Infused with local music, stunning visuals complement stories of
hope, resilience and survival. (10th June 2016 at IHC, New Delhi).
- Song Of The 'Other' Firefly by Abhijeet Bhatt, Abhishek Dutta, Meghna Talwar,
Nagma Sahi Ansari and Umang Sabarwal traces the travels of
‘Jugni’, a feminine spirit often found in Punjabi folk music and Sufism.
(4th August 2016 at IHC, New Delhi - Film makers present).
- A Bohemian Musician by Rochak Sahu is a student film on the life
story of Keshav Lal who collaborated with the likes of Laxmikant Pyarelal
and V. Shantaram. Fate brought Keshav Lal and his wife to the streets of
Pune where they played music for a living. (4th August 2016 at IHC, New
Delhi).
- A tribute to Amma (late Mahasweta Devi) (4th September 2016 at IHC, New Delhi).
- Gangor by Italo Spinelli is an Indo-Italian
project, based on the poignant short story 'Choli Ke Peeche' by Magsasay
Award and Padma Vibushan Award winning writer Mahasweta Devi. It was
screened at Cannes in 2011.
- Birth 1871 by Dakxin Chara explores the processes of
‘criminalisation' in the context of the Denotified Tribes of India, and
how they combat social stigma through Theatre arts. (Film maker present)
- 18 Feet by Renjith
Kuzhur symbolises the sacred distance that the Dalits were made
to maintain to ensure the purity of the upper castes. An indigenous band
from downtown Kerala, 'Karinthalakoottam', propagates the music of the
soul and connects people with a firm resolve. A public bus conductor is
behind the exuberant squad inspiring people to break free from the
shackles of caste discrimination. (6th October 2016 at IHC, New Delhi -
Film maker present).
- Chalo Hamare Des (Come To My Country -
Journeys With Kabir And Friends) by Shabnam
Virmani is a journey in search of the des (country) invoked in
the poetry of the 15th century mystic poet of North India – Kabir – this
film interweaves the stories of two people from two very different
countries, Indian folk singer Prahlad Tipanya and North American scholar
Linda Hess. (25th November 2016 at IHC, New Delhi).
- Koi Sunta Hai (Someone Is Listening - Journeys
with Kumar and Kabir) by Shabnam Virmani searches
for that elusive sound, that jhini si awaaz, Kabir urges us to
hear, while interweaving the folk music traditions of the mystic poet
Kabir with the life and music of the late classical singer Kumar
Gandharva. (12th December 2016 at IHC, New Delhi).
2017
- Flames of Freedom: the Ichchapur Declaration by Subrat Kumar Sahu is a story of a sleepy,
idyllic Indian village, Ichchapur in southwest Odisha’s Kalahandi
district, that suddenly wakes up in a spontaneous uprising of Shudras
(Dalits, Adivasis, and OBCs) against age-old, Brahmanic-Feudalism. (14th
January 2017 at IHC, New Delhi – Film maker present).
- Sent Away Boys by Harjant Gill poses pertinent questions
like what happens to families in the absence of sons? What happens to land
in the absence of farmers? What happens to communities in the absence of
men? (17th February 2017 at IHC, New Delhi).
- Mod by Pushpa
Rawat attempts to communicate with a group of young men in a
locality, who hang around a water tank near her house. They are in turn
suspicious and curious about the presence of a woman with a camera! (10th
March 2017 at IHC, New Delhi – Film maker present).
- Kakkoos by Divya Bharathi documents the lives of Manual
Scavengers in Tamil Nadu and the dehumanising that comes with their
occupation. (21st April 2017 at IHC, New Delhi - Film maker
present).
- The Tiger Who Crossed the Line by Krishnendu Bose shows how, with increasing
development pressures on the forest corridors outside, the spilling out
tigers are coming into constant conflict with humans, causing alarming
consequences for both. (12th May 2017 at IHC, New Delhi – Film maker
present)
- The Plastic Cow by Kunal Vohra looks at the impact of our almost
complete dependence on plastic bags, which we use and discard carelessly
every day, often to dispose our garbage and kitchen waste. (23rd June 2017
at IHC, New Delhi - Film maker present)
- Turup by Ektara
Collective is based on chess, which is a popular pastime in this
neighbourhood in Bhopal, with roadside games bringing together men to
challenge each other in friendly and sometimes unfriendly matches. But for
some, the pawns include morality and religion, causing tensions to erupt
when a tournament gets underway. (13th July 2017 at IHC, New Delhi – Film
makers present)
- The Hunt by Biju
Toppo explores the condition of human rights in the Naxal
affected areas of Jharkhand, Chattisgarh and Orissa. It questions the
thoughtless rapid development model of the Government where lives of
millions of people in these areas are severely affected. (4th August 2017
at IHC, New Delhi)
- Daslakhiya by Rishika
Namdev and Vineeth Menon reflects that fences are often built to
create boundaries, to determine ownership and create a partition. One such
fence has been built in Kanha National Park of India. (4th August 2017 at
IHC, New Delhi – Film makers present).
- Durrell’s Underhogs by Daniel Craven is about the critically
endangered Pygmy Hog and the relentless efforts, initiated by the
legendary author and pioneer of conservation- Gerald Durrell for saving
it. (8th October 2017 at IHC, New Delhi – Shaz, cameraperson
present).
- Cecilia by Pankaj
Johar is the story of struggle for justice of Cecilia Hasda, a
tribal woman from West Bengal-India, whose 14 year old daughter Mati is
trafficked and found dead in New Delhi. (28th November 2017 at IHC, New
Delhi – Film maker present).
- YAYA (The Mother) by Saumya Sharma is an ethnographic film on the Gonds of
Bastar, one of the largest indigenous groups of South Asia. (27th December
2017 at IHC, New Delhi – Film maker present).
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