8th Chennai Film Festival 2020 : Indian films

8th Chennai International Documentary and Short Film Festival 2020

19-23 Feb, Goethe-Institut, Chennai

Jointly organised by MARUPAKKAM & Goethe-Institut, Chennai

Indian films : curated by Amudhan R.P.

1) The Outside In
Dir: Hansa Thapliyal; 25 min; English; 2019



Francoise Bosteels has worked as a nurse. Milan Khanolkar trained as an artist. What is about making and sharing dolls that has meant so much to each? What new paths have the dolls made and cleared? What ambiguities have they been able to express?

2) Are You Going to School Today?
Dir: Anupama Srinavasan; 60 min; Hindi with Eng subtitles; 2018



The film takes us to rural schools in the predominantly tribal district of Dungarpur in southern Rajasthan. Children come from difficult contexts with very limited material resources, absentee fathers and younger siblings to attend to. How do teachers respond to this situation? How do they bring children to school and create an environment in which they are motivated to learn?

3) Janani's Juliet
Dir: Pankaj Rishi Kumar; 53 min; Tamil with Eng subtitles; 2019



Kausalya lost her husband (Shankar), when they were attacked by her own family. They had married against their families wishes. Deeply disturbed by a spate of honour 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. What emerges in the process is a critical reflection and commentary of the contemporary Indian society where love struggles to survive.

4) Kaggantu
Dir: Ujjwal Utkarsh; 20 min; Kannada with Eng subtitles; 2019



The Bangalore garment industry which works as the outsourced factories for a lot of multinational brands hire around 5 lakh women workers. The film revolves around two such women's lives and the problems they face due to lack of adequate facilities at the factories.

5) Scratches on Stone
Dir: Amit Mahanti; 62 min; Ao, Chen, Nagamese, English; 2018



It has been cease - fire in Nagaland, Northeast India since 1997 after an almost 50 year war between India and militants fighting for independence. But the past lingers on, framed through photographs, casting shadows over the present.

6) The Last Run
Dir: Anirban Dutta; 37 min; Bangla with Eng subtitles; 2019



A glorious past withering away in a fast-changing world – The film is about a Postal Runner, a person who runs or walks from one place to another carrying mail bags. The runner used to be held in high regard with tales of his valour coming to life in the myths and folk forms of the land. With improvements in modes of communication, the runner's profession has become almost redundant. 

Kalipada Mura, one of the last surviving runners, lives in a small town in Purulia, West Bengal, India. Age has caught up with Kalipada, and he seems a mere spectator as the images from the past, present and future pass by. The film gently explores his metaphorical ‘Last Run’, imbuing it with resonances from history, myth, music and folklore.

7) Recasting Selves
Dir: Lalit Vachani; 80 min; English and Malayalam with English subtitles; 2019



Set at CREST (the Centre for Research and Education for Social Transformation) in Kozhikode, Kerala - the film documents the 'soft skills' training of Dalit and Adivasi post-graduate students in a sensitive and nurturing campus environment as preparation for their employment in the new Indian economy.

8) My Caste
Dir: Amudhan R.P.; 78 min; Tamil with English subtitles; 2019



When did I hear / see / observe / experience caste first time?
What have I gained because of my caste identity?
How do I relate with that identity?
Can I introspect?

9) Aayi Gayi
Dir: Anandana Kapur; 72 min; Hindi and English; 2019

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.

The film explores the complex relationships people have with the State through the lens of electricity. Is it a right? Or is it a commodity? In a country with limited resources, can it be a social right if the government needs funds to keep the grid functional? And if so, can the normalization of non-payment of bills be reversed? Is it possible to create an ideal citizenry?

10) A Place to Live
Dir: Sanjiv Shah; 92 min; 2019

Migration due to lack of opportunities, natural calamities, civil strife and forced displacement due to ‘development’ projects have made India a country with one of the largest homeless populations amongst all countries of the world. In spite of official estimates of 20 million in people in urban India alone not having a home, and constitutional affirmation of the right to live for all, there is no legal provision for assuring that.

The film is structured around conversations with people: their idea of a home, their struggles to find for themselves a place to live - those forced to the margins of society, as well as those within the system but unable to find/afford it. Presented within the larger context of the current economic and development the film argues for a multiplicity of approaches; diversity of imaginations of our villages, towns and cities; acknowledgement of the fundamental rights of people to shelter and food and a model of development that is rooted in the ecology of the land.

11) Neeli Raag (True Blue)
Dir: Swati Dandekar; 85 min; Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Hindi, Gujarati, English; Subtitled in English; 2018

Indigo is not just a colour, it never was... it was wealth, it was mystique, it was colonialism, tyranny and protest. It made history, but itself fell prey to the events and processes of time, until one day it seemed to disappear.
As the world begins to demand natural dyes once again, it is back in the spot light. The stubborn dreamers who refused to forget their craft feel vindicated, but the world that once nurtured this difficult and capricious colour is no more.
Traversing the verdant monsoon of Tamil Nadu, the earthy expanses of springtime Telangana, and the wintry desert of Kachchh, Neeli Raag is an attempt to tell the story of indigo as it is practised in India today.

12) Mannu : Sprouts of Endurance
Dir: Ramdas Kadavallur ; 113 min; Malayalam, Tamil; 2020

The documentary narrates the saga of encroachment of vast stretches of a hilly land, the eviction of its rightful owners, the blatant exploitation of the labourers and their struggle for existence. This examines the social milieu in which these unorganised labourers are living.

It does not confine itself in narrating the evolution and impact of a labour struggle, but also focuses on another important social aspect in India, the significance of caste, the strangle hold it exerts on the psyche of the nation. The documentary holds its mirror to the dichotomy of underlying neglect and discrimination meted out to the hapless people belonging to the lower echelons of society. It explores the ruthless impact of policies on the 'land' and 'soil', its lopsided distribution, the illegal encroachments carried out by the encroaches, the resultant irreparable and long standing damage it causes to the environment and fragile terrain, which is abound with precious flora and fauna.