Sticky post
Sheharnama n. Urdu: The Chronicle of the City Films Division and ActionAid India present Sheharnama – a three-day international film festival of documentary and short fiction films. This will feature over forty films that look within the nooks and crevices of the city to render a cinematic expression of the urban experience. Several such films made in recent years will be screened alongside older iconic … Continue reading About the Festival
Wasted Directed by: Anirban Datta Produced by: PSBT and Films Division Documentary/52min/2012/India/Bengali with English subtitles The uniqueness of documentary filmmaking is the possibility of recording events unfolding along the perimeter of the subject. That’s where this film was born. With tears and with the loss of a very dear friend, Wasted was conceived. Ancient agrarian India believed nothing is waste. No Indian vernaculars have a … Continue reading Wasted – by Anirban Datta – 52 mins
Olivier Meys and Zhang Yaxuan Documentary/85mins/2008/China/Mandarin with English subtitles A film about a popular neighbourhood in Beijing, and what happened there in relation to the 2008 Olympic Games. Qianmen is a popular neighbourhood in the very heart of Beijing, just south of the Tiananmen Square. In the perspective of the 2008 Olympic Games, the city decided that the six hundred years old neighbourhood has to … Continue reading A Disappearance Foretold – by Olivier Meys and Zhang Yaxuan – 85 mins
THE BURNING SUN English and Hindi, 21 min, B/W, 1973 Directed by SNS Sastry Produced by Films Division The Burning Sun is a scathing critique of the slum clearance and rehabilitation projects in Mumbai in the early 1970s. The film pits the top-down approach of state housing and sanitation programmes in the city against the voice of the angry resident. The candid interviews of … Continue reading THE BURNING SUN – by SNS Sastry – 21 mins
Lecture and presentation by photographer MS Gopal (Slogan Murugan) on imaging the city. 7 pm, 30th January. Continue reading Mumbai.Breaking Boundaries – Illustrated lecture by photographer MS Gopal
2010 | India | 35 mins | Bengali DebalinaMajumder | mdebalina@yahoo.co.uk Screening on 30th January 2014 ( Download Schedule PDF) The film explores the lives and outlooks of four characters in the context of a growing awareness about same-sex relationships in India. The film is interspersed with sometimes-humorous interviews of people belonging to various sections of society, who express their views on many related concerns and share their experience of humiliation, anxiety and joy. (Part … Continue reading MORE THAN A FRIEND – by Debalina Majumder – 35 mins
Cemetery State Filip de Boeck Documentary/72min/2010/Belgium and Congo/English and Lingala with English subtitles In Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, children and youngsters have taken over the management of death. The dead have become their ‘toy’, and the coffin has become like a football that one tosses up and plays around with. ‘Cemetery State’ observes how these young gravediggers, singers and drummers … Continue reading Cemetery State – by Filip de Boeck – 72 mins
A Dream called America’ is a documentary made on Shahbaz, a 15 year old boy from Ahmedabad. He is the third among five children of Aftab, who makes a living by repairing cycles on a footpath. Shahbaz had studied in the US for a year on a scholarship, where he was hosted by an American couple. The one year he spent in US changed his attitude, as he experienced … Continue reading A DREAM CALLED AMERICA – by Anoop Sathyan – 25 mins
2012 | India Bengali | 58 mins Director: Sankhajit Biswas Screening on 31st January 2014 ( Download Schedule PDF) This is a story of Chiranjit and Bubai – two young transgender friends from Kolkata. They drop out from school because of their feminine disposition. Hailing from poor and uneducated families, they confront social ostracisation from a tender age. However, it helps strengthen their bond as friends. Like … Continue reading IN BETWEEN DAYS – by Sankhajit Biswas – 58 mins
‘Prakash Travelling Cinema’ attempts to capture the spirit of an age old medium of entertainment through a bioscope film projector owned by two friends who share a deep friendship, unceasing optimism and most of all, an undying passion for their travelling cinema. The documentary takes you through their lives on the street where they walk around the city lugging their antique travelling cinema and lure people into watching snatches of full-length … Continue reading PRAKASH TRAVELLING CINEMA – by Megha Lakhani – 13 mins
Portraits of Belonging: Bhai Mian Sameera Jain Documentary/30 min/1998/India/Hindi with English Subtitles Bhai Mian is a kite maker who lives in the last historic Delhi – Shahjahanabad, the city built by Mughal emperor Shahjahan in the 17th century. The film is a portrait of the man in his context, a man whose ordinariness barely conceals his imagination and resilience. Like many others of the Muslim … Continue reading Portraits of Belonging: Bhai Mian – by Sameera Jain – 30 mins
Presence Yashaswini Raghunandan and Ekta Mittal Documentary/17min/2012/India/Hindi with English subtitles Presence is part of film series called “Behind the Tin Sheets”. The film explores the haunting attributes of the transformation in the city against the ghost stories narrated by the workers. “The ghost is not simply a dead or a missing person, but a social figure, and investigating [that social figure]…lead[s] to that dense site … Continue reading Presence – by Yashaswini Raghunandan and Ekta Mittal – 17mins
Hamaare Ghar Kislay Fiction/31 min/2013/India/Hindi with English Subtitles Kamla works as a full time maid in Raj and Simran’s house. Simran is affectionate and regularly showers Kamla with gifts and old clothes. In this ‘modern’ home, there is no obvious violence and hierarchies but, as Kamla slowly realizes, it is hidden behind caring words and gestures of love. When Pihu, Kamla’s younger sister, arrives such … Continue reading Hamaare Ghar – by Kislay – 31 mins
The film starts off with a seemingly peaceful and tranquil morning, which suddenly gives way to an industrial landscape cluttered with heavy machinery and an eerie cacophony of mechanical, almost musical sound. We observe how raw metal goes through different stark processes of melting, bending and stacking, before it is ready to be sold. The film maker critiques safety issues in this film, as we see workers dealing with chunks of … Continue reading I sing the body electric – by Shalinee Ghosh – 6 mins
The Adventure of a Married Couple Keywan Karimi, Iran, 11 min Trapped in daily repetition, between the frenetic sound of a glass bottle factory and the guarding of a shed filled with naked mannequins, a young couple meets at evenings. They eat without looking at each other, not even speaking. The Adventure of the Married Couple (Based on a story written by Italo Calvino) is a … Continue reading The Adventure of a Married Couple – by Keywan Karimi, Iran, 11 mins
Mariyammal, a sanitary worker with Madurai Municipal Corporation shares her frustration and anger with the filmmaker while cleaning astreet near by a temple in Madurai which is full of shit. Manual scavenging is officially prohibited in India since 1996. But lakhs of such men and women are made to clean night soil in the cities, towns and villages here. Most of them do not even get proper salary as it … Continue reading Shit – by Amudhan RP – 26 mins
THIS BIT OF THAT INDIA English, 20 min, B/W, 1975 Directed by SNS Sastry Produced by Films Division “This Bit Of That India” is a layered refection on several things – youth, diversity, progress, education and technology. With an enormous undercurrent of adolescence and sexuality, the film weaves in and out of seemingly disjointed documentary moments of that are a celebration of individual freedom. These … Continue reading This Bit of That India – SNS Sastry – 21 min
VOICE OF THE PEOPLE Hindi and English, 18 min, B/W, 1974 Directed by S Sukhdev Produced by Films Division “On the 16th of April, I read a news item that there is going to be an all India railway strike. I got a little worried. We decided to take the camera out to the people and ask them a few questions.” Film maker S. Sukhdev … Continue reading Voice of the People – S Sukhdev – 18 Min
DILLY DALLYING English, 10 min, B/W, 1957 Directed by KL Khandpur Produced by Films Division A short-fiction film set in the city of Mumbai, focusing on the importance of punctuality in the life of the individual towards the service of the nation. The message of the film is that the habit of procrastination and vacillation can ruin a man and harm society at large. Part … Continue reading Dilly Dallying – KL Khandpur – 10 min
STINKING STORY Hindi and English, 16 min, B/W, 1980 Directed by Loksen Lalvani Produced by Films Division In large cities, there are sky-scrapers, cinema houses, five-star hotels, race courses and petrol pumps but very few public urinals and latrines. It is an uncivilized and unhygienic act to urinate or defecate anywhere and everywhere. A hybrid film that combines comic fictional and stylised documentary elements urging … Continue reading Stinking Story – Loksen Lalvani – 10 min
Night Hawks Directed by: Uma Tanuku Produced by: PSBT and Films Division Observational/52min/2012/India/Hindi with English Subtitles The Film observes life as it unravels during the night in the metropolis of Delhi – a patrolling unit on the expressway, bandwallahs at a wedding, inmates of a night shelter as they dine and retire for the night, a vegetable mandi, night outreach group setting out for the … Continue reading Night Hawks – by Uma Tanuku – 52 mins
At My Doorstep Nishtha Jain Documentary/ 70 min/2009/ India/Hindi with English Subtitles A closer look at those who come to the filmmaker’s door becomes a way of entering a parallel world of garbage collectors, domestic workers, delivery boys, watchmen—all those who labour long hours in difficult conditions to make middle and upper class lives in the city of Bombay more comfortable. These providers of services … Continue reading At My Doorstep – by Nishtha Jain – 70 mins
El Olvido Heddy Honigmann Documentary/93 min/2008/Peru/Spanish with English subtitles If the city of Lima were covered in dust, nobody would see it. It is not, really, but all the same hardly anybody sees it or thinks about it, about its people cheated century after century and neglected by its rulers. In order to come out of oblivion, there needs to be an earthquake grade 8 on … Continue reading El Olvido – by Heddy Honigmann – 93 min
Please Vote for Me Weijun Chen Documentary/58min/2007/China/Mandarin with English subtitles A grade 3 class at Evergreen Primary School has their first encounter with democracy by holding an election to select a Class Monitor. Eight-year olds compete against each other for the coveted position, abetted and egged on by teachers and doting parents. The three candidates, two boys and a girl, are chosen by the teachers, … Continue reading Please Vote for Me – by Weijun Chen – 58 mins
Majma Rahul Roy Documentary/54 min/2001/India/Hindi with English Subtitles Aslam sells medicines for sexual problems on the pavements of Meena Bazaar in near Jama Masjid in Delhi… Khalifa Barkat presides over an akhara (wrestling gym) in the adjacent park and puts a group of young men through the moral and physical grind of wrestling… Through the park and the market pass hundreds of men every day… … Continue reading Majma – by Rahul Roy – 54 mins
Breakin’ Mumbai Aakriti Kohli, Gin Khan Siam, Sandeep K Singh, Shweta Ghosh, Sumit Singh Documentary/33 min/2012/India/Hindi with English subtitles Gani, a 21-year-old, has done many things for a living: bag-making, embroidery work and working at a call center. 18-year-old Aman studies in school. He loves eating mangoes and chenna-murgi. He sketches and plays cricket. The two of them very little in common, but there is … Continue reading Breakin’ Mumbai – by Aakriti Kohli, Gin Khan Siam, Sandeep K Singh, Shweta Ghosh, Sumit Singh – 33 mins
Boy in the Branch Lalit Vachani Documentary/30min/1993/India/Hindi with English Subtitles “The Branch is the Life of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh” (Mohan Bhagwat, RSS leader) Set at the RSS headquarters in Nagpur, India, ‘The Boy in the Branch’ is a film about the indoctrination of young Hindu boys by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (the RSS), India’s foremost Hindu fundamentalist organization. Juxtaposing the activities of two different … Continue reading Boy in the Branch – by Lalit Vachani – 30 mins
India Cabaret Mira Nair Documentary/60min/1985/India/English India Cabaret (1985) is a documentary by Mira Nair exploring the “respectable” and “immoral” stereotypes of women in Indian society told from the point of view of 2 strip-tease dancers in a cabaret house in Bombay. There are no voice-overs by either the cabaret dancers nor the men who were interviewed who frequented the cabaret club. Nair explores the marginalized … Continue reading India Cabaret – by Mira Nair – 60 mins
Kya Hua Shahar Ko? Deepa Dhanraj Documentary/95min/1986/India/Telegu-Hindi with English subtitles A pioneering political work of contemporary relevance: Communal violence between Hindus and Muslims in 1984 forms the starting point for this film, whose complexity lends it immense political force. The film’s historical perspective is provided by a thorough commentary, which gives the camera’s particular presence the necessary depth and complexity. The mechanisms of political power … Continue reading Kya Hua Shahar Ko? – by Deepa Dhanraj – 95 mins
My Mother India Safina Uberoi Documentary/52min/2001/India/English “My Mother India’ is a passionate film told by the child of a mixed marriage and set against the tumultuous backdrop of modern Indian history. With an Indian father who collects kitch calendars, an Australian mother who hangs her knickers out to dry in front of the horrified Indian neighbours, a grandfather who was a self-styled Guru and a … Continue reading My Mother India – by Safina Uberoi – 52mins
Tondo, Beloved Jewel Maranan Documentary /76 mins/ 2012/Philippines/Filipino with English Subtitles Tondo, Beloved: To What Are the Poor Born? is a geopolitical exploration of life before birth in the smallest home in the seams of Manila’s premier international port. Virgie’s family feeds on the fishes that lurk under the industrial ships of North Harbor. Their alternatives are packs of tasteless gelatin found in the same waters. Their entertainment … Continue reading Tondo, Beloved – by Jewel Maranan – 76 mins
Cities on Speed – Bogota Change Andreas Dalsgaard Documentary/52min/2009/Colombia/ English In the ten-year period between 1995 and 2005, Colombia’s capital city, Bogotá, experienced a virtual miracle. Once a city characterized by terror, crime and one of the highest murder rates in the world, Bogotá became a role model for urban planners around the world. Behind this transformation were two visionary and forward-thinking mayors, Antanas Mockus … Continue reading Cities on Speed – Bogota Change – by Andreas Dalsgaard – 52 mins
Kankaria is the largest public lake in the city of Ahmedabad. It always found many loyal plebeian visitors who sought refuge in its peaceful cool environs, All of this was brought to a halt when the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation launched its Kankaria Lake Front Development project. Besides cleaning and the beautification of the lake, this project brought with it a gate, which only allowed those in who could pay the … Continue reading VIKAS CHALU CHHE – by Prachee Bajania – 15 Mins
2000 | Lebanon | Arabic | 11min | AkramZaatari Screening on 1st February 2014 ( Download Schedule PDF) This erotic short is a love poem of sorts as one man recalls meeting another in an alley fifteen years earlier. There, alone in the alley together, they avidly watch a young street vendor chew his gum. One particular piece of gum stands out in the poet’s memory because of its color. (Part of … Continue reading RED CHEWING GUM – by Akram Zaatari – 11 mins
2012 | Philippines / Germany Thagalog / English 1 hr 15 mins Director: Khavn de la Cruz Screening on 1st February 2014 ( Download Schedule PDF) Tony de Guzman is an anti-hero. Life, according to him, is short, brutal. It’s never on your side. Grab what you can, when you can. Settle scores. Be randy. Defy the rules. Cheat the system. Toughen it out. Tony knows … Continue reading MONDOMANILA – by Khavn de la Cruz – 75 mins
Sheharnama 