8th Chennai International Documentary and Short Film Festival : International films

8th Chennai International Documentary and Short Film Festival 2020

International films : curated by Amudhan R.P.

1) Cuban Canvas
Dir: Kavery Kaul; 14 min; Spanish with English subtitles; Cuba, United States; Documentary

An intriguing intergenerational story of artists in Havana whose works hang in museums and galleries worldwide. They experiment with form, content, and bold vision. The documentary traces the enduring lines between art and life.

2) Deep Roots
Dir: Luc Godonou Dossou; 15 min; Swtizerland, Thailand, Phillipines, Guadeloupe; Documentary

Inside the cockfighting pits in Thailand, in Philippines and the ones in Guadeloupe, Aod, Edgar and Dolores are preparing their roosters for an upcoming fight in front of a public of bettors and aficionados.

3) Actually She is My Little Brother
Dir: Lena Lobers & Carina Nickel; 39 min; German with Eng subtitles; Germany; Documentary

"Actually she is my little brother" tells the journey of the young film student Lena. Because of her transsexual sister she meets three young people who are already on their way into the right body. The question of how Lena is able to support her eleven-year-old sister is omnipresent.

4) February 27th
Dir: Marie-Therese Jakoubek; 43 min; Hassaniya with Eng subtitles; Algeria, Democratic Arab Republic of Sahara; Documentary

For 42 years, around 2,10,000 Saharawi have been living in camps in the Algerian desert due to the occupation of the Western Sahara by Morocco. The film tells about their life in a temporary existence that evolved into a home against their will and to this day symbolizes their resistance and resilience.

5) Invisible
Dir: Shirin Barghnavard; 27 min; English, Farsi; Iran, Germany; Documentary

The Berlin Wall is a metaphor for the concept of separation in this film. While seeing the remnants of the Berlin Wall today, surrounded by excited tourists, taking photographs, we hear the voices of several artists from different backgrounds who talk about their bitter personal experiences imposed on them due to their nationalities.

6) The Little Death
Dir: Annie Gisler; 61 min; French, German, English; Switzerland; Documentary

«The little death» is a documentary about female orgasm. Women from various ages, experiences and sexual preferences talk about their orgasms in all sincerity. Poetical, abstract and metaphorical images take us into the heart of their sensations.

7) Never Give Up
Dir: Jonathan Schornig; 16 min; German, English; Malta; Documentary

Mekon had been making music as long as he could think. But in 2014, he has to flee Nigeria after his parents were murdered. He starts to work in Libya. But instead of making music, Mekon has to fight for his survival. In summer 2018, he decides to flee to Europe. He is saved from a rubber boat by a German NGO. Living in Malta now, he is singing again.

8) Olowe and I
Dir: Christina Ruloff; 14 min; Swiss German, Yoruba / English, German; Switzerland; Documentary

His first “Olowe" was a fake, but by then art dealer Jean David had already fallen in love with Yoruba artist Olowe of Ise (1875 - 1938). But how can one distinguish between „real“ and „fake“ art in African art? David takes us onto a journey into an unknown universe full of beautiful contradictions.

9) People of the Wasteland
Dir: Heba Khaled; 21 min; Arabic with English subtitles; Turkey; Documentary

People of the Wasteland is an experimental short-film in a first-person point of view depicting the clashes of Syrian fighters in the front line.

10) Starting with Fragments
Dir: Omar Shalash, Robert Dobe; 80 min; Arabic, German with English subtitles; Germany, Syria; Documentary

When Tamer Alawam was killed by a grenade in 2012, he left over 300 hours of film footage of the Syrian Revolution – images, which were meant to show Syria from inside. Overwhelmed by the flood of these images and driven by feelings of grief, responsibility and powerlessness, two young filmmakers and friends of Tamer in far away Germany start their own search for answers.

11) Stekenjokk and the Guardians of the Eggs
Dir: Per Bifrost, Alexander Rynéus; 29 min; Swedish with English subtitles; Sweden; Documentary

Every year during June, police officer Mimmi and nature guard Håkan patrol Sweden's windiest place, the valley of Stekenjokk. Eggs thieves’ ravages the area where rare bird eggs are laid during the breeding season. Thousands of eggs have been stolen over the years and sold between collectors and threatened several species to be extinct, a crime that has now been unfolded.

12) The Man who Looked Beyond the Horizon
Dir: Martijn Blekendaal; 28 min; Dutch with English subtitles; The Netherlands; Documentary

More than 40 years ago, Bas Jan Ader decided to go on an adventure. In a tiny sailing boat, the Dutchman set sail across the ocean. Nine months later the boat was found adrift at sea. There was no sign of Ader.

13) The Olden Heralds
Dir: Luis Alejandro Yero; 23 min; Spanish with English subtitles; Cuba; Documentary

Tatá and Esperanza witness the elections of the first Cuban president in more than half a century without the Castro surname. At almost 90 years old, they silently observe the end of one of their many lived cycles.

14) The Last of His Kind
Dir: Jánik von Wilmsdorff; 11 min; German with English subtitles; Germany; Documentary

This is the story of Paul, a broken man. A man who has lost everything. A man whose home is now like a ghost town, attracting rubberneckers every day, from all over the world.

15) The Quiet Rebel
Dir: Carole Cassier; 48 min; English, French and Spanish with with English subtitles; France; Documentary

The Quiet Rebel tells the controversial story of radical feminist artist Casey Jenkins: her rise to internet fame, and shame after a performance where she knitted with wool that she inserted in her vagina.

16) World Taxi
Dir: Philipp Majer; 82 min; English, German, Spanish, French, Wolof, Albanian, Thai with English subtitles; Germany; Documentary

This film features five charismatic taxi drivers and their passengers from five different cities: Bangkok, Pristina, Dakar, El Paso and Berlin. For 24 hours, we follow them through their city, their daily routine, their private life and are listening to their thoughts.


17) BREAKING BARRIERS : The Casteless Collective
Dir: Maja Meiners; 69 min;English/Tamil with English subtitles; Germany / India; Documentary

`The Casteless Collective´ is a protest music band from Chennai, South India. Founded in December 2018, the 15-piece band is now playing an exciting mix of the Folk Music form of `Gaana´, an art coming from North Chennai‘s slum areas, and the modern musical styles of Rap and Rock.
The film shows the young band’s powerful attempts of breaking cultural stigmas, and joins part of their journey towards an Indian future in which a free casteless mentality grows into a possibility.

18) Big Social Nomad
Dir:Anna Bohlmark; 25 min; English; 2019; Sweden / India ; Documentary

Big Social Nomad tells us the story of the Asian Elephant. In the sub-continent where human population has grown exponentially and development is exploding, India is home to half of the world's Asian Elephant population.  Co-existing is not an easy task.

Due to the British colonisation vast tracks of land were converted into tea plantations. Today in these regions human-elephant conflict is severe. Due to encroachment on forest lands, elephants are being forced to survive in shrinking habitats.

Due to their size and their life patterns as Big Social Nomads, they eat and then move to let the forest regenerate. When passing from one forest to another they follow certain paths which they have used for many millenia. These narrows strips, called corridors, are vital for elephants to pass from one forest to another. Same corridors are now occupied by people living on them.

19) Diary of an Outsider
Dir: Sandeep Ravindranath; 14 min; Hindi, English; USA and India; Short fiction

Contemplating issues of alienation and crisis of identity faced by immigrants in a milieu that is foreign to them, Diary of an Outsider is the story of an Indian immigrant student in the U.S., set against the backdrop of contemporary political narratives in those two countries.

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.

8th Chennai International Documentary and Short Film Festival 2020

8th Chennai International Documentary and Short Film Festival 2020

19-23 Feb; Goethe-Institut, Chennai; 10 am to 8 pm

Jointly organised by MARUPAKKAM & Goethe-Institut, Chennai

a still from 'Kaggantu' by Ujjwal Utkarsh

Film sections:

1) Contemporary German films

2) Films from Tamilnadu : curated by Ulaga Cinema Bhaskaran

3) Rest of India : curated by Amudhan R.P.

4) International films : curated by Amudhan R.P.

5) Retrospective 01  : Andres Veiel

6)  Retrospective 02 : Ranjan Palit

7) Filmmaker in Focus : Rajula Shah

8) Homage : Manjira Datta

a still from 'Recasting Selves' by Lalit Vachani

We welcome you all!

7th Chennai International Documentary and Short Film Festival 2019 : We welcome you!

7th Chennai International Documentary and Short Film Festival 2019

Jointly organised by MARUPAKKAM and Goethe-Institut, Chennai

Dates: 6-10 Feb 2019


A still from "In the Forest Hangs a Bridge"
Dir : Sanjay Kak; edited by Reena Mohan
Section : Reena Mohan Retrospective

Highlights :

a) Around 50 documentaries and short films will be screened under the following 10 sections :

1) Indian films
2) International films
3) Films from Tamilnadu
4) Contemporary German films
5) Retrospective of Werner Herzog, internationally acclaimed filmmaker from Germany
6) Retrospective of Reena Mohan, veteran and award winning editor / filmmaker / curator from Delhi 7) Filmmaker in Focus - Supriyo Sen, award winning filmmaker from Kolkata
8) 9 Pen Cinemackal - films by women filmmakers : curated and presented by Archana Padmini, actor / filmmaker / curator from Kochi
9) Artists' Cinema - curated and presented by C S Venkiteswaran, critic / curator / filmmaker
10) Gandhi, Gandhiness and Cinema Vimarshaa - curated and presented by Amrit Gangar, critic / curator / teacher from Mumbai

b) Screenings will be held in 3 streams. (Schedule)

1) Curtain Raiser Screenings at multiple venues on 3-5 Feb across Chennai (entry free)

2) Screenings at Goethe- Institut, Chennai (Rs.100 per person per day) on 6-10 Feb; 10 am to 8 pm.

3) Parallel Screenings on 6-10 Feb across Chennai at multiple venues (entry free)

c) Anand Patwardhan, award winning renowned filmmaker from Mumbai will formally inaugurate the film festival on 6 Feb at 10 am at Goethe-Institut, Chennai.

d) Master Class on documentary editing will be conducted by Reena Mohan at Department of Communication, University of Madras on 8th February at 10 am to 4 pm. Entry free.


A still from "Death of Us"
Dir: Vani Subramanian
Section : Indian films

e) Following filmmakers will present their films during the film festival :

1) Anand Patwardhan (Mumbai) 2) Reena Mohan (New Delhi) 3) Supriyo Sen (Kolkata) 4) Priya Thuvassery (New Delhi) 5) Vani Subramanian (New Delhi) 6) Ajay TG (Raipur) 7) Sandeep Ravindranath (Chicago) 8) Dhamayanthi (Chennai) 9) SP Mani (Chennai) 10) Arumozhi

f) Following curators will present their packages :

1) Archana Padmini (Kochi) 2) C S Venkiteswaran (Trivandrum) 3) Amrit Gangar (Mumbai)


We welcome you all!

Amudhan R.P.
Festival Director
7th Chennai International Documentary and Short Film Festival 2019

7th Chennai Film Festival 2019 : Screening Schedule

7th Chennai International Documentary and Short Film Festival 2019
6-10 Feb; jointly organised by MARUPAKKAM & Goethe-Institut, Chennai

Screening Schedule

A still from "Small Scale Societies"

 Dir: Vipin Vijay

Section : Artists' Cinema

1) Curtain Raiser Screenings

4 Feb:  5:30 pm at Discovery Book Palace 

Humans Display (Dir: Lam Can-Zhao; 59 min; China)

Madman's Conspiracy (Dir:Algis Arlauskas; 50 min; Spain)

Second Income (Dir: Gal Kedem; 54 min; Israel)

5 Feb : 3 pm at Dept of Social Work, Loyola College

Nimble Fingers (Dir: Parsifal Reparato; 52 min; Vietnam / Italy)

Bakurov (Dir: Yuliya Kiseloyova; 55 min; Russia)

5 Feb: 5:30 pm at Periyar Thidal 

We Have Not Come Here to Die 

(Dir: Deepa Dhanraj; 110 min; India)

Interaction with Navroz Contractor, cinematographer 

A still from "Land of Silences and Darkness" 

Dir: Werner Herzog

Section : Retrospective

2) Screenings at Goethe-Institut, Chennai

Day 01; 6 Feb

10 am to Inauguration

11:00 The Wild Blue Yonder
(Dir: Werner Herzong; 81 min.; Retro)

2 pm Work in Progress

Reason (Dir: Anand Patwardhan; 261 min; India)

Interaction with Anand Patwardhan

7 pm Happy (Dir: Carolin Genreith,  85 min., German films)

Day 02; 7 Feb

9:30 Land of Silence and Darkness  (Dir: Werner Herzog; 87 min)

11 am 9 Pen Cinemackal (Minimal Cinema)

Catharsis (Dir: Indira; 35 min)

Inside (Dir: Sreedevi; 13 min)

Indu (Dir: Anagha Anand; 29 min)

12:15 Interaction with Archana Padmini

12 :30 Reena Mohan Retrospective

Kamlabai (Dir: Reena Mohan; 47 min)

2 pm Reena Mohan Retrospective

Mati Manas (Dir: Mani Kaul; 92 min)

Tales from Planet Kolkata (Dir: Ruchir Joshi; 38 min)

In the Forest Hangs a Bridge (Dir: Sanjay Kak; 39 min; Retro)

Interaction with Reena Mohan

5:30 pm Coral Woman (Dir: Priya Thuvassery; 52 min; India)

6:25 Interaction with Priya Thuvassery

6:45 My Wonderful West Berlin (Dir: Jochen Hick; 98 min., German films)

Day 03; 8 Feb

9:30 am Little Dieter Needs to Fly (Dir: Werner Herzog; 80 min., Retro)

11:00 The Color of My Home (Dir: Sanjay Barnala & Farah Naqvi; 48 min; India)

12 pm The Slave Genesis (Dir: Aneez K Mappilla; 64 min; India)

2 pm Two Flags (Dir: Pankaj Rishikumar; 86 min; India)

3:30 Squeeze Lime in Your Eyes (Dir: Avijit Mukul Kishore; 55 min; India)

4:30  Koothu (Dir: Sandhya Kumar; 52 min; India)

5:45 pm God’s Angry Man (Dir: Werner Herzog; 44 min; Retro)

6:15 Friedland (Dir: Frauke Sandig, 85 min; German films)

A still from "Wagah"

Dir: Supriyo Sen

Section : Filmmaker in Focus

Day 04; 9 Feb

9:30  A Film Unfinished

(Dir:: Yael Hersonski; 89 min.; German films)

11 am Way Back Home

(Dir: Supriyo Sen; 120 min; 2003; Filmmaker in Focus)

Interaction with Supriyo Sen

2:00 pm Artists' Cinema : presented by CS Venkiteswaran

Gigi Scaria : Disclaimer; 9 min 

Lata Mani / Nicholas Grandi : 

De Sidere7; 38 min

Nocturne I  & Nocturne II ; 5 min

Vipin Vijay: Small Scale Societies; 27 min

Aman Wadhan; Letter From Korlai; 22 min

Parvathi Nayar : 

Bubble; 3.08 min

By the Mouth of the River; 12.49 min

Ice Boil; 6.00 min

Order; 3.30 mins

Murali Cheeroth : Pledge; 3.30 min
Sahej Rahel: Barricada; 28 min

5:15  Gandhi, Gandhiness and Cinema Vimarshaa :

presented by Amrit Gangar

Day 05; 10 Feb

9:30 am If I Think of Germany at Night

(Dir: Romuald Karmakar, 105 min.; German films)

Swimming Through The Darkness

(Dir: Supriyo Sen; 76 min; Filmmaker in Focus)

Interaction with Supriyo Sen

12:45  Santhana Gopala (Dir: Sandeep Ravindranath; 8 min; short fiction; India)

Interaction with Sandeep Ravindranath

2 pm Short films from Tamilnadu

Arunagiri (Dir: Ambani Shankar; 10 min)

Mounkia(Dir: Nelson Vasudevan; 9 min)

Marupiravi MGR (Dir: Kumar Rajaraman; 16 min)

Kathaiyin Nayagi(Dir: Charulatha; 16 min)

Peranpudan(Dir: SP Mani; 26 min)

Ranam (Dir: Shalini Charles; 3 min)

Kurumpadam(Dir: M. Saravanakumar; 17 min)

Yendro Oru Naal (Dir: Kishore; 13 min)

Chennai Tamizh (Dir: Arunmozhi; 8 min; documentary)

4 pm : Thadayam

(Dir: Dhamayanthi; 55 min; fiction)

Interaction with Dhamayanthi

5:15 The Death of Us

(Dir: Vani Subramanian; 76 min; India)

Interaction with Vani Subramanian

6:45 pm Closing Ceremony

7:30 Wheel of Time (Dir: Werner Herzog; 80 min; Retro)

A still from "We Have Not Come Here to Die"

Dir: Deepa Dhanraj

Section: Indian films

3) Parallel Screenings

7 Feb 2019

Department of Visual Communication, Loyola College; 2 pm 

9 Pen Cinemackal (Minimal Cinema)

Njaval Pazhangal (Dir: Jeeva KJ ; 23 min)

Ruchibhedham (Dir: Theertha Mythry; 10:20 min)

Ore Udal (Dir: Asha Achy Joseph; 14 min)

Rhythm (Dir : Sivaranjini ; 28 min)

Gi' (Dir : Kunjila Mascillamani; 30 min)

Eye Test (Dir: Sudha Padmaja Francis; 15:30 min)

Interaction with Archana Padmini

8 Feb

University of Madras; 10 am to 4 pm 
Master Class by Reena Mohan

On An Express Highway (Dir: Reena Mohan; 30 min; Retro)

Velvet Revolution (Dir: Nupur Basu; 57 min; Retro)

8 Feb
Dept of Journalism, Ethiraj College; 11 am to 5 pm

The Tribal Scoop (Dir: Beeswaranjan Pradhan; 53 min; India)

There is No Moon (Dir: Ajay TG; 26 min; India)

Tin Satyi (Dir: Debalina; 51 min; India)

Those Stars in the Sky (Dir: Debaranjan; 58 min; India)

9 Feb

5:30 pm at LV Prasad Film & TV Academy

Wagah (Dir: Supriyo Sen; 13 min; Filmmaker in Focus)

Hope Dies Last in War (Dir: Supriyo Sen; 80 min; Filmmaker in Focus)

7th Chennai Film Festival 2019 : International films

7th Chennai International Documentary and Short Film Festival 2019

International Films

1) Nimble Fingers (Dir: Parsifal Reparato; 52 min; Vietnam / Italy)

The film brings out the living and working conditions of migrant women from the rural districts of Vietnam, in Hanoi working at one of the biggest industrial production sites in the world, through their eyes, dreams and fear, and also by their drawings that become animations.

2) Second Income (Dir: Gal Kedem; 54 min; Israel)

M, a 40-year-old divorcee and a mother of a 9-year-old girl, works by day as a sales manager while at night she chooses to supplement her income through sexual encounters with men in order to make it through the month.

We accompany her for a year as she ponders about her life and face an important decision. At a time when women's rights in general and sexual harassment, in particular, are on the international agenda every week, this film is more relevant than ever.

3) Bakurov (Dir: Yuliya Kiseloyova; 55 min; Russia)

He went through the war from Leningrad to Germany. He was awarded two medals of valor and the Order of The Patriotic War of the 2-nd Class. Vladimir lives in a small village of the Irkutsk region. Sometimes he goes to the city to his son, grandson and great-grandchildren by the train. But sometimes there are the moments of silence to sit and remember all the living and the dead. And the more silence, the more the memories, the ghosts of war.

4) Madman's Conspiracy (Dir:Algis Arlauskas; 50 min; Spain)

He wants to build a theatre with his own hands using no machine in a far-away village in Spain. His family, friends and well-wishers believe him. He achieves it finally and has a grant inauguration too.

5) Humans Display (Dir: Lam Can-Zhao; 59 min; China)

There are many animals in the zoo, most of them are human. This documentary pointing camera at humans in the zoo, tries to re-examine the relationship between human and other animals from a new perspective

Contemporary German Films : presented by Goethe-Institute, Chennai

1) Happy

(Dir: Carolin Genreith, colour, 85 min., 2017)

Since separating from his wife, Dieter Genreith has escaped his loneliness once a year by going from the Eifel to Thailand. There, he got to know Tukta, who is about the same age as his own daughter, Carolin. Carolin has serious problems with the relationship: What differentiates her over-60-year-old father from the countless German sex tourists? In an attempt to understand her father, his longings and his fears, she has made a very personal documentary in which both sides are open, honest and tolerant enough to learn from each other. In Thailand, Carolin ends up as her father's maid of honor – whether the marriage can survive all the existing differences and preconditions remains to be seen.

2) Mein Wunderbares West-berlin

(My Wonderful West Berlin)

Dir: Jochen Hick, colour and b/w, 98 min., 2016/17

Germany's infamous Paragraph 175, which had made sexual acts between men a criminal offence since 1872, was only officially repealed in 1994. However, since the 1960s - with West Berlin being the only place were men could at least dance with other men - there had been public locales there, which became a refuge for young gay men from the Federal Republic. Using hitherto unpublished and often provocative archive material, and with support from many contemporary witnesses, Jochen Hick in this documentary film is researching the historical development of the gay scene from its antecedents until today.

3) Friedland

Dir: Frauke Sandig, colour, 85 min., 2015

Friedland is an idyllic town in Lower Saxony. Its claim to fame goes back to 1945, when the British military occupation administration established a camp for internally displaced persons and war returnees here. It has welcomed people ever since, from Hungary, Chile, Vietnam and the former east German GDR. Today it is a reception camp for asylum seekers mainly from Syria, Eritrea und Afghanistan. Documentarist Frauke Sandig lets former German inmates narrate their experiences of fleeing and of life in the immediate post-War era, and she confronts their memories with the experiences of today's refugees. The result is a moving document of hardship, hope and humanity.

4) Geheimsache Ghettofilm

(A Film Unfinished)

Dir: Yael Hersonski, colour and b/w, 89 min., 2010

Secretly filmed extracts from the Warsaw ghettos are critically revisited by witnesses from the era.

During the month of May in 1942, a few weeks before deportations to the extermination camp Treblinka began, secret films were ordered to be shot in the ghettos of Warsaw, on the orders of the SS. The barely touched original footage survived the war, to then emerge from the film archives of the GDR. Up to now, the material has provided detailed insight into the everyday life of the ghettos. The images show the gatherings of the Jewish security services set up by the SS, the work of the Jewish Ghetto Police, the kosher butchering of a hen, death on the streets and burials in mass graves. The filmmaker Yael Hersonski, granddaughter of a survivor of the Warsaw ghetto, sets the 60-minute long, silent, black and white images in the context of comments from witnesses of the era.

5) Denk ich an Deutschland in der Nacht

(If I Think of Germany at Night)

Dir: Romuald Karmakar, colour, 105 min., 2015-17

Impressions and reflections of a music scene that is probably only truly familiar to insiders, but which nevertheless enjoys international regard: German techno music. Karmakar observes and interviews five prominent DJs: Ricardo Villalobos, Sonja Moonear, Ata, Roman Flügel and David Moufang. The focus is on the fluid evolution of former "disc jockeys" into sovereign, experimental musicians whose activities keep them moving between seemingly makeshift studios full of barely recognisable electronic equipment and glamorous gigs at diverse clubs.

7th Chennai Film Festival 2019: 9 Pencimackal - Curated by Archana Padmini

7th Chennai International Documentary and Short Film Festival 2019
6-10 Feb; jointly organised by MARUPAKKAM & Goethe-Institut, Chennai 

‘9 Pencinemakal’ : A Package of Nine Visual Experiences from Women 

Curated by Archana Padmini
Minimal Cinema

Screening Schedule

Every single film in this package of nine Malayalam short fictions is a different experimental attempt in the language of cinema. In the realm of cinematic visual language, they are a step ahead in their craft and narratives. Though, independent expressions of Malayali women from various socio-cultural backgrounds, every bit of this package do demonstrate an honest approach towards cinema as an art form. Regardless of their differences in storytelling, content, craft and inherent politics, all of them drew me to them as a viewer, owing to their genuineness in expression. Appreciating and celebrating gender equality is as important as discussing it. Thus, here we are creating a space for woman filmmakers and thereby bringing gender sensitivity in to the semantics of filmmaking.

Archana Padmini is an actor,  curator,  selector,  director,  film society activist,  film festival organiser and a researcher from Kochi,  Kerala.

1. Catharsis  Dir: Indira; 35 min The film is mapping out the malady of political vendetta in Kerala which rips through the ethos of democracy. As the orgy of violence, fanned to ogreish flames by political parties, is unleashed with impunity, the existential angst of a common man breeds pity and fear. The victims, caught in ideological cross-fire, are ironically hailed as martyrs who slide into oblivion waving the flag of hatred, animosity and vengeance. Those left behind, the grief-stricken families, are consigned to eternal suffering and anguish.

A film committed to stirring the political conscience of our time, Catharsis is a plea for sanity.

2. INSIDE 

Dir: Sreedevi; 13 min

An old woman is living her past in her present. Memories are still fresh and kept her always at the past days. Nowadays she keeps playing with those memories and keeps getting in touch with them. 

It is a journey for the answers for her questions and memories.

3. INDU

Dir: Anagha Anand; 29 min

'INDU’ is a short fiction film set in a small town in Kerala, INDIA. A nineteen year old girl, Indu, attends a girl’s college and majors in English. Here, she meets Balachandran, her English Literature professor. The film is about the romance that she develops for him and the consequences she faces after she feels the intensity of unrequited love.

4. Njaval Pazhangal  Dir: Jeeva KJ ; 23 min Childhood is always like that, they approach everything without any prejudices until they are intervened by external influences. Appu and Ammu were also under this nature's law. They had a childhood that mingled with the tremulous black fishes, nostalgic days awakened by the soaring sourness of black Janine, monsoon that warmed by the softness of black kitties.. But the society grew them up in such a way that people are judged by the external appearance  and complexion as they are the markers of class, cast and creed. Everyone keeps that hierarchy everywhere. Everyone praises the nobility of fair complexion. 5. Ruchibhedham Dir: Theertha Mythry; 10:20 min The film is a slice of life drama between two sisters who find themselves at odds with each other whilst making their mother's recipe of mambazha pullissery. 6. Ore Udal  Dir: Asha Achy Joseph; 14 min Traumatised and unable to face life after a physical assault a nun looks into herself for answers. Her body and mind are dejected. Her faith, spirituality and being are at stake. The film is a sojourn of a woman through her own hallucinations and despair for hope after the harrowing violence of a life time. 7. Rhythm Dir : Sivaranjini ; 28 min Every film is an autobiography. Everyone has that one story; You run away from it but it chases you down. Rhythm is one such story. It's the same story of life which has been repeating over and again.The past and the future looks one and the same when you are here.Time freezes and space stay motionless. The only truth is this very moment and us. 8. Gi' Dir : Kunjila Mascillamani; 30 min Gi and her grandfather who are originally from Kerala live in Kolkata, West Bengal. They are dealing with different planes of memory, abuse and pain while trying to make peace with the city and its people. 9. Eye Test Dir: Sudha Padmaja Francis; 15:30 min Eye Test is a short fiction film which explores the affective atmosphere of a mother-daughter relationship, death and bereavment through the realm of memory, following her own mother’s death a few years back. The narrative delves into the mindscape of the 27 year old Nivedita when she visits an eye clinic. The eye clinic territory transforms into a sensorial one for her, invoking memories of her single mother and her own lonely childhood.