Kriti Film Club Screenings Archive 2018-2022
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2018
- Shovana by Aparna Sanyal is a biography of Padmashri Shovana Narayan who brought classical dance into the lives of ordinary people, through over six decades of devotion to her art. (31st January 2018 at IHC, New Delhi – Film maker present).
- The Little Girls We Were....And The Women We Are directed by Vaishali Sood, script by Ashwini Ailawadi and produced by Anuja Gupta, RAHI Foundation is the journey of five Indian women survivors of incest and child sexual abuse from abuse to recovery. (17th February 2018 at IHC, New Delhi – Film makers and protagonists present).
- Raahi - Zindagi Rozana by Ankur Talkies is an anthology of seven short films by seven young women associated with the Ankur Collective in Delhi/ NCR. Each film is a glimpse into the lives of women from working class settlements, venturing into the city to take up livelihood opportunities that the fast-changing city is throwing up. (10th March 2018 at the Kriti Film Club homespace – Film makers present)
- The Books we Made by Anupama Chandra and Uma Tanuku is inspired by the work of Urvashi Butalia and Ritu Menon, who co-founded the first feminist publishing house in India: Kali for Women. (16th March 2018 at IHC, New Delhi – Film makers present).
- Taala Te Kunjee/ Lock and Key by Shilpi Gulati is a story about four recovering addicts at a rehabilitation centre in Punjab that is helping families recover from the rampant drug problem in the state. (6th April 2018 at IHC, New Delhi and 18th May 2018 Reboot Wellness, Gurugram – Film maker present).
- A Thin Wall by Mara Ahmed is a documentary about memory, history and the possibility of reconciliation. It focuses on the partition of India in 1947, but derives lessons that remain urgently relevant today. (10th April 2018 at Azim Premji University, Bangalore - Film maker present and 12th May 2018 at IHC, New Delhi - Film maker present and Delhi Premiere)
- Women and Religion in India by Disha Arora is a journey of one woman across the country, to create a dialogue about the weakening of women's rights under the guise of religion. (15th June 2018 at IHC - Filmmaker present, Panelists: Dr. Bulbul Dhar-James, Samina Mishra and the Film maker; Moderator: Veenu Kakkar)
- Naach Bhikhari Naach by Jainendra Dost & Shilpi Gulati celebrates 'Naach', the traditional folk theatre from Bihar, India. In this tradition, male artists often cross dress as women on stage and are referred to as ‘laundas’. The most legendary name in this tradition is Bhikari Thakur’s— who was an actor, playwright, and a social reformer popularly known as the ‘Shakespeare of Bhojpuri.’ (10 July 2018 at IHC - Filmmakers present)
- Exit Gate by History ki Mystery is a documentary on workers' rights in the context of a fire that took place in Bawana, Delhi. (30 August 2018 at IHC - Filmmakers present; Panelists: Mr. Siddheshwar Prasad Shukla, Asst. Professor Rajdhani college, University of Delhi and social worker; Prof. Prabhu Mohapatra, Labour historian, University of Delhi and Mr. Anurag Saxena, General Secretary, CITU, Delhi State)
- Untying Breastfeeding by Effath Yasmin investigates the narratives of mothers who navigate through significant breastfeeding challenges due to congenital birth anomalies. (7 September 2018 - Filmmaker present with Divya Deswal)
- Facing the Sun by Rajat Ghose presents personal reflections of young women who have migrated from the North East into the city of Delhi. (12 October 2018 at IHC - Filmmaker present and Panelists: Rajat Ghose, Ruth Chawngthu, Megha Kashyap, Leki Thungon and Prerona Saikia)
- Daughter Of Nepal by Surbhi Dewan is the story of Manushi Yami Bhattarai, the unassuming daughter of two formidable political leaders of Nepal. (28 November 2018 at IHC - Filmmaker present and the mother of the films' protagonist)
- India's Healing Forests by Nitin Das travels across some fascinating forests of India to explore the amazing ways in which nature affects our body, mind and spirit. (6 December 2018 - Filmmaker present)
2019
- Traversing Sexualities and Spaces - Three short films: I’m Not There by Ajita Banerjie explores the relationship between migration and one’s gender. Zara Nazar Utha Ke Dekho by Anindya Shankar Das juxtaposes personal narratives of cruising from the LGBTQ community, against diverse visuals of Indian public spaces. Please Mind the Gap by Mitali Trivedi and Gagandeep Singh travels on the Delhi Metro with co-traveller Anshuman, a transman. His is the story of reclaiming public space and one’s own self. (23 January 2019 at IHC - Filmmakers present)
- Two Flags by Pankaj Rishi Kumar chronicles the life and politics of a quaint French town: Pondicherry (South India). (12 February 2019 at IHC - Filmmaker present)
- S.D: Saroj Dutta and His Times by Kasturi Basu and Mitali Biswas tells the story of the slain revolutionary S.D. tracing turns and twists of the communist movement in India over three decades. (13 February 2019 at IHC - Filmmaker present)·
- Ho Gayi Hai Pir Parvat Si (The Mountains Agonised) by Subrat Kumar Sahu - This documentary films the impacts of hydropower development in the Satluj Valley (2nd March 2019 at IHC - Filmmaker present)
- Jasoosni by Anandana Kapur - Jasoosni is a frank and intimate reflection on women in the business of intelligence. How, even though the profession is illegal in India, love for adventure and economic mobility draw women across social mileux to it. (13th March 2019 at IHC - Filmmaker present)
- Turup by Ektara Collective - Chess 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. (30th March 2019 at the Kriti team workplace in Tara Apartments, New Delhi)
- Gender and Sexuality series
- Breathe and Ishq Dosti & All That (8th April 2019 at Miranda House, Delhi University)
- My Sacred Bowl, Breathe and Please Mind the Gap (17th April 2019 at Me Time Art Café, Mumbai)
- I Remember... by Geeta Lal Sahai - Based on true cases, the film narrates the experience of a woman and her family as they come to terms with the early onset of Alzheimer's. Hopes, ambitions and dreams often fade away as their lives get disrupted in the absence of adequate institutional, social and emotional support. (22nd April 2019 at IHC – Filmmaker present)
- One Mustard Seed by Aparna Sanyal is a film that wonders if the process of dying can become meaningful; and if embracing our own mortality may be the key to a more fulfilling life. (11th May 2019 at IHC – Filmmaker present)
- Turup by Ektara Collective (17th April 2019 at Me Time Art Café, Mumbai)
- SuryaGanga by Valli Bindana - When the Ganges riverbed dries up in the Himalayas due to intensified damming, curious 6 yr old, Anu who has been hearing wonderful mythological stories about the river, asks "if the river is not there, why read stories about it?" Mom Valli decides to get some answers. (1st June 2019 at IHC – Filmmaker present)
- Gender and Sexuality series by PSBT РZara Nazar Utha ke Dekho, Breathe and Please Mind the Gap (8th June at Kunzum Travel Caf̩, Gurgaon)
- Accsex by Shweta Ghosh explores notions of beauty, the ‘ideal body’ and sexuality through four storytellers - women who happen to be persons with disability. The film traces their journeys as they reclaim agency and the right to unapologetic confidence, sexual expression and happiness. (15th June 2019 at the Kriti team workplace, Tara Apartment, New Delhi)
- Laboring Under An Illusion by Vicki Elson explores media-generated myths about childbirth in this documentary. As a childbirth educator, for nearly 30 years, the filmmaker observes daily how our culture affects our birth experiences. In this film, she contrasts fiction with reality. The result is hilarious, engaging, and enlightening (29th June at Kunzum Travel Café, Hauz Khas, New Delhi)
- Accsex by Shweta Ghosh (16th June 2019 at Me Time Art Café, Mumbai)
- Qissa-e-Parsi by Shilpi Gulati explores the history of the Parsi community, its relationship to the Indian state and association with the city of Mumbai. (20th July 2019 at the Kriti team workplace, Tara Apartments, New Delhi)
- ABU by Arshad Khan is a journey to the centre of a fragmented family while they grapple with religion, sexuality, colonialism and migration. (27th July 2019 at IHC – Filmmaker present through Skype)
- Breaking All The Way by Sunita Malpani explores the underground Hip Hop culture in India with a focus on bboys. (20th August 2019 at Me Time Art Caf̩, Mumbai РFilmmaker present)
- The Monks Who Won the Grammy by Aparna Sanyal travels through time and legend to weave together a tale of kings and nations, teachers and tantra, mahasiddhas and scholars. (24th August 2019 at the Kriti team workplace in Tara Apartments, New Delhi)
- Breaking All The Way by Sunita Malpani (31st August 2019 at IHC –Filmmaker present)
- Private Screening of SuryaGanga by Valli Bindana (7th September 2019 at INTACH, Lodhi Estate, New Delhi)
- Uniting Minds and Hearts Mental Health Festival: Exploring Madness by Parvez Imam brings together a variety of issues related to mental illness in Indian society. Bhalo Basar Jonye, Bhalo Basar Songe (For Love, with Love) by Manav Kaushik - As we hear poetic expression of an ailing father who was once very creative, we witness the worldly voyage of the main protagonist (a married daughter) seriously and sincerely taking care of him and his mental health. (12th September 2019 at IHC – Filmmaker present)
- Gender and Sexuality series
- Please Mind the Gap, Zara Nazar Utha ke Dekho and Accsex (14th September 2019, at Shiv Nadar University, Noida)
- Breathe, A safe person to Talk to and Ishq, Dosti and All That (19th September 2019, at Hansraj College, Delhi University)
- Pichla Varka by Priyanka Chhabra - Dadi and her friends share a common history; of being Partition refugees who came to India after the state of Pakistan was created and eventually settled in the capital of Delhi. They also remain the last generation of people who can ever tell us again what the partition of Punjab was like, or what even pre-partition India was like. (1st October 2019 at IHC – Filmmaker present)
- Exploring Madness by Parvez Iman @MindReels 2019, a festival of psychological wellbeing (12th October 2019 at Kriti team workplace, New Delhi)
- Notes on Marital Violence by Bindu Nair - An intimate, intense portrait of the shadow cast by marital violence, through complicated personal stories of the filmmaker's mother, and her own marriage.(29th November 2019 at IHC - Filmmaker present)
- Agar Wo Desh Banati (If She Built A Country) by Maheen Mirza - Rural, Adivasi women from the villages of Raigarh, Chhattisgarh critique the grand plan of development of the country. As they grapple with all this, they seek justice for themselves and their communities and share their thoughts about how the development of a country should be. (14th December 2019 at IHC)
2020
- Aayi Gayi by Anandana Kapur Producer: Tata Centre for Development at University of Chicago - In Bihar, where “Sarkar mera bada bhai hai…” (The government is my older brother) is the righteous response to why one may illegally acquire electricity connections or not pay bills, a team of academics work on the ground to activate RLSS- the Revenue Linked Supply Scheme- and are met with various degrees of opposition and success. (30th January 2021 at IHC)
- Boxed by Sumit Raina and Sameeksha - The film focuses on the subject of gender being something more than a binary. It explores how the current society is pushing gender minorities to margins due to misinformation and lack of understanding about gender fluidity. The film also discusses the Trans Bill passes on 26th November 2019 and awaiting the signature of the President of India. (28th February 2020 at IHC)
- Desire by Garima Kaul (14th February 2020 at DCAC, University of Delhi)
- Stalking Chernobyl: Exploration After Apocalypse by iara Lee and other partners (16th April 2020, Online)
- ecoReels - annual environment day film festival (5th-7th June 2020, Online)
- My Caste by Amudhan RP and Kamlabai by Reena Mohan (15th June 2020, Online)
- The Saroj Khan Story by Nidhi Tuli, produced by PSBT - This documentary film is a story of Saroj Khan, one of the most prominent and legendary dance guru of Bollywood.(3rd July 2020, a screening in tribute on her death, Online)
- Weekend Watch Series (July-August 2020, Online) Two Flags by Pankaj Rishi Kumar - This film chronicles the life and politics of a quaint French town: Pondicherry (India). As the 4600 Tamil French people belonging to the Tamil ethnic community, gear up for the French Presidential elections (2017) the film explores the idea of identity, citizenship and home in the post colonial era. (14th July 2020, a special online screening to mark National France Day)
Daughter of Nepal by Surbhi Dewan - The film takes a poetic look at a rarely seen side of a revolutionary movement. It is the story of Manushi Yami Bhattarai, the unassuming daughter of two formidable political leaders of Nepal. (17th July 2020, Online)
Varsha Tujhe Bara Mahine by Suyash Barve - This film is a portrait of Ajji, an 85-year old author of children’s books, which transforms into a tale of the tender relationship between an estranged grandmother and her grandson. (24th July, Online)
Sikhirini Mwsanai (Dance of the Butterfly) by Subasri Krishnan - This film traces the journey of "Sifung Harimu Afad" a cultural troupe of young adult Bodos as they rediscover those rhythms in their efforts to revive live music and dance performance in Chirang district, Assam (31st July - 2nd August 2020, Online)
A Thin Wall by Mara Ahmed and Co-produced by Surbhi Dewan - This documentary focuses on the Partition of India in 1947, but derives lessons that remain urgently relevant today. (14th-17th August, Independence Day special screening, Online)
Abu by Arshad Khan - This film is a journey to the center of a fragmented family while they grapple with religion, sexuality, colonialism and migration. (21st-24th Aug 2020, Online with Filmmaker conversation)
2021
- South Asian Feminist Film Festival and Conversations - 29 Films, 32 Filmmakers, 15 countries, 9 languages, curated and organised by Kriti Film Club in collaboration with Sangat and One Billion Rising South Asia, to make South Asian Women's Day (27th-30th November, Online on www.doculive.in)
- Rising Gardens Film Festival organised by One Billion Rising South Asia, Sangat and Kriti Film Club (15th January 2021 onwards, one weekend a month upto 19th April 2021)
- ecoReels - annual environment day film festival (5th-13th June 2021, Online)
- Saving Mr. Green by Shivani Monga and Ankush Gupta - When little Piyali finds out that her best friend, the tree outside her window, is going to be cut down for car parking space, she decides to do whatever she can to save him. But will she be able to convince her neighbours to save the tree? (5th June 2021, Online screening and conversation, in collaboration with HIC, Bhuj)
- Janani's Juliet by Pankaj Rishi Kumar - Deeply disturbed by a spate of honor killings in India, Indianostrum, a Pondicherry based theatre group sets out to introspect the implications of caste, class and gender. They adapt Shakespeare's ‘Romeo and Juliet’. (17-26th July 2021, Online screening and conversation)
- Aarohan: A Climate Change Story, by The Hunger Project and the Environmental Defense Fund - Kajri is a young Dalit (low caste) Sarpanch of Manihari Gram Panchayat. Dedicated and committed to her new position as a leader of her local self-government (Gram Panchayat), she struggles to deal with issues of hunger, poverty and famine in her Panchayat. (24th July 2021, Online screening and conversation, in collaboration with HIC, Bhuj)
- The Story of Stuff (Hindi version) by Anne Leonard - This is a short animated documentary about the lifecycle of material goods. The documentary is critical of excessive consumerism and promotes sustainability. (28th August 2021, Online screening and conversation with Rohit Prajapathi in collaboration with HIC, Bhuj)
2022
- JACARANDA TALES A film festival on ‘Women and Nature’. A film festival showcasing 24 films that celebrate the courage and resilience of women in protecting the environment. (23-26 March, 2022 @Gandhi Bhavan, Bengaluru)
- Online Jacaranda Tales Film Festival on Women and Nature (09-18 April 2022 @Doculive.in)
- Earth Day Feminist Reels, in collaboration with One Billion Rising India and Jagori Grameen (22-24 April 2022 @IHC, New Delhi)
EARTH CRUSADER (55 mins./ English/ 2016/ India/ Documentary) Dir.Shabnam Sukhdev. Prod. Films Division.STRENGTH IN DIVERSITY, STRESS TOLERANT CROPS OF NAGALAND (15 mins./ Nagamese with English subtitles/ 2019/ Documentary) Dir. Chentei Lam Khiamniungan)BAMBOO BALLADS (15 mins./ Malayalam with English subtitles/ 2020/ Documentary) Dir. Sajeed Naduthody.THE GRASSHOPPERS SLEEP HERE (8 mins./ Malayalam with English subtitles/ 2021/ Short fiction) Dir. Balaram J.SHEPHERDESS OF THE GLACIERS (74 mins./ Tibetan with English subtitles/ 2016/ India, France/ Documentary) Dirs. Stanzin Dorjai Gya and Christiane Mordele
- Kriti Film Club package at Habitat International Film Festival 2022 (7th May 2022 @IHC
- Labour Reels (1-31 May 2022 @Doculive)
EcoReels including Villages Of Garo Hills by Abhishek Udaykumar and Moving Upstream: Ganga by Shridhar Sudhir and Siddharth Agarwal (4-5 June 2022 @IHC, New Delhi)
- Environment Day Screenings in Bhuj, Gujarat and Mumbai (5 Jun 2022 @Bhuj and Mumbai)
- ecoReels (10-30 Jun 2022 @Doculive)
- OBR Travelling Film Festival (May-June 2022)
- Trans Kashmir by S. A. Hanan & Surbhi Dewan is a film about the extreme hardships, resilience and beauty of Kashmir’s Hijra (transgender) community and their growing movement for basic human rights. (2 July. 2022 @IHC, New Delhi - filmmaker present in-person)
- Monsoon Reels (13-31 Jul. 2022 @Doculive)
- Disability, Accessibility and Filmmaking: Screenings and Discussion including We Make Film by Dr. Shweta Ghosh and I Didn’t See You There by Reid Davenport (23 July @New Delhi and Mumbai - via zoom and in-person)
- Freedom Reels (1-31 Aug 2022 @Doculive)
- Speaking In Forgotten Tongues: Films and Conversations on 75 years of Partition, including Taangh by Bani Singh; Ruuposh by Mohd. Fehmeed, Zeeshan Amir Khan; and Iqraar-Naama (The Agreement).by Priyanka Chhabra (23-25 Aug. 2022 @IHC, New Delhi)
- Peace Reels, including Lyari Notes by Maheen Zia & Miriam Chandy Menacherry;
- Dreaming Taj Mahal by Nirmal Chander ((21-30 Sept. 2022 @Doculive)
- Three Sisters by Putul Mahmood revolves around Shikha, Rupashi and Seema who were forcibly admitted by their family to a public mental hospital in Calcutta, twenty years ago. (16 Oct. @IHC, New Delhi)
- Borderlands by Samarth Mahajan is an intimate exploration of how everyday lives intertwine with personal and political borders in the Indian subcontinent. (29 Oct. 2022 @IHC, New Delhi - filmmaker present in-person)
- Speaking In Forgotten Tongues: Films and Conversations on 75 years since the Partition including Ruuposh and Iqraar-Naama (28 Oct. 2022 @Bangalore International Centre, Bengaluru)
- Short Fiction films including Looking through the Fence by Akanksha Gupta & Vasuki Chandak; After Word by Mallika Visvanathan; Maadhyam by Daksh Punj; We came here to make God by Debankon Singh Solanky (4 Nov. @Art and Charlie, Mumbai - filmmaker conversations via zoom)
- From the Shadows #missinggirls by Miriam Chandy Menacherry introduces us to an artist who relentlessly sprays silhouettes on public walls tagged #missing, an activist who accompanies rescued girls across international borders. (30 Nov. 2022 @IHC, New Delhi)
- 3rd Beyond Borders Feminist Film Festival including 16 documentary and fiction films (1-5 Dec. 2022 @IHC, New Delhi - filmmakers present in-person and via zoom)
- Online edition, 3rd Beyond Borders Feminist Film Festival(10-31 Dec. 2022 @Doculive)
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