Tomorrow will Disappear | Katputli Colony

Children of the Pyre | Indian Documentary

More Documentaries scheduled for March and April via Enlighten Cinema.

THERE IS SOMETHING IN THE AIR.....

THERE IS SOMETHING IN THE AIR is a short film about many things – about longing and transgression, and fairies and djinns, to list a few. The mode of investigation is personal, and expression is non-ethnographic. The film blends documentary and fiction tropes to weave a narrative that is based on ‘hearsay’. There are no experts here, and no eyewitnesses. The narrators could also be unreliable.

The film begins with a psychiatric clinic, but the drama largely takes place in dream-scapes, and at a medieval Sufi shrine in Badayun (Uttar Pradesh, north India). It brings together accounts of women who claim to be ‘afflicted’ by something in the air – be it a spirit, demon, ghost, or djinn. In popular parlance, the condition is termed ‘hawai marz’ or ‘affliction of air’, while ‘hawa lag jana’ implies ‘a vagrant influence’… the documentary lies at the confluence of such influences and strange afflictions of air.

There Is Something In The Air, while being a film about women, who claim to be spiritually possessed, who would possibly be clinically mentally ill, is not a description of ‘insanity’… in fact it is a film that aims to make one think of the ‘possibilities’ of insanity… what does insanity allow?

The documentary escapes the biographical; it stars Muslim women, without labeling them so. It brings together accounts of insane, lunatic, mad, unapologetic women – who perhaps have ‘chosen’ to be so. Insanity can be acquired. One only needs to long enough… Longing for something, someplace that is evasive. The film is about women who want to bridge the distance between what is lived and what is desired, between what is experienced and what is longed for. The film searches for a language of this ‘longing’.

The shrine assumes the role of a hospital and a court of law. ‘Patient – petitioners’ come from all over the country and each ‘case’ is heard in the dead Saint’s ‘Court’ – twice a day. Sometimes it takes years before a patient is healed – if at all. The process begins with patients writing a ‘petition’ with the help of care-takers of the shrine, and putting in an ‘appearance’ before the Saint. The ‘patient – petitioners’ live in and around the shrine, making ‘appearances’ in the Court of the Saint everyday. They don’t need lawyers, witnesses or a body of proof. The truth claim of their speech-act under possession is unquestioned.

The film should not be read as a documentation of processes of alternate healing at a non- Wahabi, Sufi shrine in South Asia because there are no ‘native informants’ here. The film does not provide direct answers, illustrations, or explanations. It functions in the realm of fantasy, and poses questions to the ‘real’. This documentary is not a mere illustration of a cause-effect relationship between the pedagogic project of religion and the freedoms of transgressions through insanity. It looks at the ‘state of madness’ through other prisms besides those of health, women’s rights, affirmative action etc. It takes into account love, longing, desire, agency, and negotiation.


Source: http://tisita.wordpress.com/

GOA HIPPY TRIBE | Stories

Goa Hippy Tribe is proud to present an interview with Eight Finger Eddie, the godfather of the Goa scene. Eddy is credited with having created the beginnings of the Anjuna beach scene in the early 70s. At the age of 86, his profound insight into existence and his approach to life continues to be an inspiration to all those who cross his path.

I am Gurgaon. The new Urban India | Documentary

The shining facades of Gurgaon, a satellite city of New Delhi, are symbols of Indias unparalleled economic growth. Gurgaon was built at the turn of this century by the largest project developers in the world. A village 15 years ago, has now grown into a city of 1,4 million inhabitants, but with little or no infrastructure. How viable is this new type of city?

Residents of the gated communities of this privatized society offer insights in their hope, desires, and in the new self-confidence of the Indian middle class. Gradually it becomes clear what the consequences of the credit crisis and the growing gap between rich and poor are for the city and the psyche of its inhabitants.

Gurgaon: a Ponzi Scheme or the prototype for future mega cities as they will be found all over India within a few decennials?

Love In India | Indian Documentary

Love in India is a volatile story of love and sex, confusion, dichotomy and revelation portrayed through the lives of the couple Rii and Q, compared to the immortal couple of Radha and Krishna. A story of repressed moral values in a country with a timeless tradition of spiritual sexuality.

Notes from a Beautiful City | Delhi

Being hosted in India's capital city of Delhi, the Commonwealth Games 2010 has found the most expensive and grandest venue in its history.

While Delhi was being dressed up for this 12-day extravaganza, there were millions who were being quietly evicted and hidden behind the glitter of this mega-event.

'Notes from a Beautiful City' explores the many stories that remained untold as seen through the eyes of its invisible citizens...



Research and Edit:
Rintu Thomas

Photography and Sound:
Sushmit Ghosh

Produced by:
Open Space & Black Ticket Films

Renukaji in Delhi's taps | Documentary

Director: Kurush Canteenwala
Duration: 32 minutes

Kurush Canteenwalla’s documentary made as part of the Infochange Media Fellowship 2009 starts in thirsty Delhi and travels to the lush, green Renuka valley in Himachal Pradesh where families in 17 panchayats will be thrown off their fertile picture-postcard land to make way for the Renuka dam that will supply water to Delhi. Those living in the area –mostly farmers - point to the many crops they grow and from which they make a decent living, and ask what they can do and where they can go when their land is taken away. The documentary highlights the powerlessness of ordinary people in a democracy and skewed city development that has destroyed Delhi’s own water resources and causes it to prey on the resources of people 300 miles away.

Terror In Mumbai HBO Documentary | तेर्रोर इन मुंबई डॉक्युमेंटरी

On the evening of November 26, 2008, ten young Pakistani men reached Mumbai in a small hijacked fishing boat, having slaughtered its captain and crew, and glided unnoticed into the teeming Indian port city. Over the next three days, armed with cell phones, machine guns, and fruit and nuts to sustain them, they unleashed coordinated attacks across the city that left at least 170 people dead and more than 300 wounded, sending shockwaves of fear around the world. Narrated by Mumbai-born Fareed Zakaria, CNN host and Newsweek International editor, and directed by award-winning filmmaker Dan Reed (HBO's "Terror in Moscow"), TERROR IN MUMBAI provides a 360-degree view of a terrorist act, recounting in harrowing detail the bloody events of that 60-hour period. Premieres Thursday, November 19 at 8pm (ET/PT).

Dhruv Dhawan | Documentary & Commercial Filmmaker

Directing Showreel - Dhruv Dhawan - Documentary & Commercial Films from Dhruv on Vimeo.

Dhruv dhavan nurtured his passion for documentary filmmaking, studying cultural anthropology at Duke University and film direction at the new york film academy.

Dhruv employs his skills as a documentary film maker to replicate a credible and emotive fabric in the advertising and corporate work. He has also harnessed the prowess of internet video to create interactive marketing and recruitment tools for his clients website.

His documentary work has garnered critical acclaim from the International Press, Human Rights Groups and the Film Festival Circuit. He is two time nominee for the best international documentary award in New York and Toronto and the recipient of the MIPDOC Co-Pro Challenge Award at the Cannes.

South Asian International Film Festival

The South Asian International Film Festival came to a close with a bang last night. Featuring the North American premiere of India’s official entry to the Oscars for 2010 ‘Harishchandrachi Factory’ — a beautiful Marathi film which chronicles the struggles of the man who made India’s first motion picture in 1913 — the evening started with the momentous awards ceremony. The event sparkled with the presence of such stars as filmmakers Rajat Kapoor and Saurabh Shukla, producer Anadil Hossain, composer Simon Taufique, actor Samrat Chakrabarti and rhythm queen DJ Rekha.

The night started with a brief but powerful red carpet, which introduced the director responsible for the evening’s feature presentation, Paresh Mokashi, and shined the interview lights on personal favorite director/actor/writer and producer Rajat Kapoor. You will have a chance to watch AVS’ own Jitin Hingorani chat with these two personalities, as well as Saurabh Shukla, ‘Kavi’ filmmaker Gregg Helvey and many, many more on this weekend’s edition of AVS TV.

Rajat Kapoor had not one but two films in the festival — ‘Fatso’, his funny, yet truly poignant, at times sad and always romantic directorial effort and ‘Raat Gayi, Baat Gayi?’ directed by Saurabh Shukla and starring a dashing Kapoor in a role that will leave you re-evaluating the meaning of true love… The film, produced and co-written by Kapoor, took home the Audience Choice Award for Favorite Feature which is, in my view, the only vote that counts. The kind and unbelievably humble Saurabh Shukla accepted the award by saying “The biggest award for me is that I got to see my film with an audience”. I personally believe that making films is about satisfying that audience, allowing them to walk away from the picture inspired and fulfilled by what they saw on the screen. The audience of the jam-packed SVA theater witnessing the World Premiere of ‘Raat Gayi, Baat Gayi?’ on Monday evening obviously felt like their lives had been changed by their viewing experience. I certainly did.

Other awards included Audience Choice for Favorite Short, which went to Gregg Helvey and his film on modern slavery in India ‘Kavi’. The award was presented by Anadil Hossain. Audience Choice for Favorite Documentary went to ‘Made in Pakistan’ and was accepted by the film’s co-producer Ayesha Khan. The film was recently shown to a sold-out audience at the Mumbai Film Festival, which is quite a step in the right direction towards the mutual understanding India and Pakistan must achieve in order to bring the semblance of peace to their interaction. Producer Amelia Hanibelsz presented the Award for Best Documentary to‘Project Kashmir’ while writer Grady Hendrix awarded the Best Narrative Short prize to ‘Boond’.

The Best Music Award went to ‘The Last Thakur’ and Samrat Chakrabarti awarded the Best Acting Performance prize to Suniel Shetty for his role in‘Red Alert: The War Within’. Note to self, must watch the film as I never thought of Shetty as an award-worthy actor, but do admire him as a hunk…

The most — in terms of numbers — awards went to Anjali Menon’s directorial debut‘Manjadikuru’ AKA ‘Lucky Red Seeds’ which took home the Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Narrative Feature - Jury Award - and Best Emerging Talent award - this for the young Vyjayanthi. A film to add to the must-watch list also, I guess…

All in all, everyone present at SAIFF was a winner. From festival founder and director Shilen Amin, who managed great attendances and wonderful world premieres at this year’s edition, to the filmmakers who presented their latest and greatest, to the audiences, who were privy to some fantastic films and got a chance to rub elbows with a few true Indian cinema superstars. If you missed SAIFF this year, don’t worry. There are plenty of great films coming up in the next few weeks, so stay tuned to AVS for all that. And, the South Asian International Film Festival will be back next year, same time, same place, for more fab films and stellar appearances.

Source: AVS TV

Sari Soldiers

Synopsis

Filmed over three years during the most historic and pivotal time in Nepal’s modern history, The Sari Soldiers is an extraordinary story of six women’s courageous efforts to shape Nepal’s future in the midst of an escalating civil war against Maoist insurgents, and the King’s crackdown on civil liberties. When Devi, mother of a 15-year-old girl, witnesses her niece being tortured and murdered by the Royal Nepal Army, she speaks publicly about the atrocity. The army abducts her daughter in retaliation, and Devi embarks on a three-year struggle to uncover her daughter’s fate and see justice done.

The Sari Soldiers follows her and five other brave women, including Maoist Commander Kranti; Royal Nepal Army Officer Rajani; Krishna, a monarchist from a rural community who leads a rebellion against the Maoists; Mandira, a human rights lawyer; and Ram Kumari, a young student activist shaping the protests to reclaim democracy. The Sari Soldiers intimately delves into the extraordinary journey of these women on opposing sides of the conflict, through the democratic revolution that reshapes the country’s future.

More: The Sari Soldiers

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Project Kashmir | प्रोजेक्ट कश्मीर

Most Indians and Pakistanis cant agree where Kashmir is on a map. But ask them who started the war, and they will have an answer.


From directors Senain Kheshgi and Geeta V. Patel comes PROJECT KASHMIR--a feature documentary in which the directors, two American friends from opposite sides of the divide, investigate the war in Kashmir and find their friendship tested over deeply rooted political, cultural and religious biases they never had to face in the U.S. PROJECT KASHMIR explores war between countries and war within oneself by delving into the fraught lives of young people caught in the social/political conflict of one of the most beautiful, and most deadly, places on earth--Kashmir.

Beautifully lensed by Academy Award® winner, Ross Kauffman, the film captures the stunning beauty of Kashmir, while expertly interweaving deeply moving personal stories of Kashmiris with those of the two American women, who strive to reconcile their ethnic and religious heritage with the violence that haunts their homeland.

Source: Project Kashmir

Air India 182

One of my aunts who lives in Canada told me about this blast which occurred in 1985 and how it changed the lives of many Canadian-Indians forever. I researched about it over the internet and found that there has been a movie produced based on this true story of Air India flight 182.

Movie Synopsis

"On June 22, 1985, Air India 182 left Montreal, bound for Delhi via London Heathrow. It never made it. Four hours after takeoff, 200 miles off the Irish coast, a bomb ripped through the baggage compartment and the plane disintegrated at 30,000 feet, killing all 329 people on board.

It was the most deadly act of air terrorism in history before 9/11. The bombing was the result of a Vancouver-based conspiracy whose members were under investigation by Canadian Intelligence in the months leading up to the explosion.

Air India 182 is a first-person account of that conspiracy and the lives that were altered by it, as told by those who were directly involved. Intimate, direct-to-camera testimony is interwoven with reconstructions of key moments in the conspiracy, based entirely on court documents, de-classified intelligence reports and wiretaps. The film counts down the final weeks and hours before Air India 182 disappeared off Irish radar screens and we sleepwalked into the era of international terrorism."

See the trailer here: