8th Chennai Film Festival 2020 : Student films from Asian College of Journalism

8th Chennai International Documentary and Short Film Festival 2020

Student films from Asian College of Journalism

1) Woman Descending A Staircase
Dir: Greeshma Rai; 1 min; 2018; Doc

Access for the disabled doesn’t exist in India. Able bodied people don't even
realize this disparity in everyday life.

2) POSTER BOYS
Dir: Cibe Chakravarthy.T.S.; 1 min; 2019; Doc

Poster boys work in the dead of night with blazing speed, gluing
together lifesize portraits with home-made porridge gruel.

3) Thaayi (The Mother)
Dir:Nitin Krishna Padindala; 1 min; 2017; Doc

Even in her somnambulent state, the mother shields her child
during a rickety ride on the night bus.

4) PHOTOGRAPHERS
Dir: Jacob B Jacob, Jasmin Jose; 1 min; 2019; Doc

The moment is what it is all about, and the movement within the
moment describes what happens.

5) FOOTBOARD
Dir:Srijith R; 1 min; 2019; Doc

Footboard travel, in overcrowded trains and buses in India is not just a matter of grabbing a
foothold to get somewhere on time- it’s also a form of high adrenalin adventure-seeking for the young who battle high-winds, obstacles and extreme motion along the way.

8th Chennai Film Festival 2020 : Tamil films

8th Chennai International Documentary and Short Film Festival 2020

Tamil films : curated by Ulaga Cinema Bhaskaran

List of films

1) Legally Raped
Dir: Charulatha B Rangarajan; 14.56 min

LR revolves around a woman getting out of an abusive marriage & how she deals with it emotionally!

2) Chinnanchiru Kiliye
Dir: Na Ram; 6.48 min

3) Thedal
Dir:Vignesh Paramasivam; 14.28 min

Journey of photographer searching for a water ends up in finding Meaning of Life.

4) Pesaatha Pechellam
Dir: Jai Lakshmi; 7.38 min

Not every topic can be openly discussed. The film is about one of such stories.

5) Dreams
Dir: Athithya Kanagarajan; 10 min

Dilip, a paper boy of twelve wants to invite Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam to his

school Annual Day celebration. Kalam Sir accepts his invitation. What happens

then is the rest of the story.

6) Naandudami
Dir: SPP Bhaskaran; 27 min

The 2000 year old “Thirukkural” framed to structure the moral of the society

is also taught at these schools. Yet , why is this peculiar boy’s moral compass broken?

This short film travels by sowing this question.

7) Oruvanukku Oruthi
Dir: Vimal Santiagu: 17:37 min

A young man and woman, who are uninterested in the idea of arranged marriage are forced to

meet each other by their parents. They succumb to the pressure and meet hesitantly. While

they are both eagerly waiting to reject the other person, they surprisingly strike an engaging

conversation about life, love and themselves.

8) Sinam
Dir: Ananthamoorthy; 20 min

The call is unsuspecting and it piques the interest of a documentary

film-maker, when the caller identifies her as a prostitute.

9) Devaradiyar in Sadir : The Life and Art of Muthukannammal
Dir: S Shanmuganathan; 66:44 min; Documentary

8th Chennai Film Festival : Retrospective 2 - Ranjan Palit

8th Chennai International Documentary and Short Film Festival 2020
Retrospective # 2 : Ranjan Palit, cinematographer / filmmaker

Films to be screened :

In Camera
dir ranjan palit ,77 min produced by psbt ,2009

A long documentary where dir cameraman ranjan palit reflects on the ethics of shooting the documentary, after 25 years of shooting and directing the same

Main award at kerala 3rd int docu fest, best experimental film award in vibgyor, 2 national awards

Voices from baliapal
dir by vasudha joshi and ranjan palit, produced by vector productions, 40 min .1988

The film is about the nonviolent protest of 70000 farmers and fisher folk against the setting up of a missile base in baliapal, the most fertile part of coastal Orissa

Won the golden conch BIFF 1990 audience award, freiburg int film festival and national award for best film on social issues

A Night of Prophecy
dir by amar kanwar, cam ranjan palit.

produced by documenta and amar kanwar films, 2002 ,77 min

a documentary on protest songs and poetry across the indian subcontinent

FOR MAYA
dir vasudha joshi cam ranjan palit 1997 40 min .produced by the foundation for universal responsibility of his holiness the dalai llama

a film where vasudha joshi turns the camera on 4 generations of her family..

anandalok award 1998

The Lord of the Orphans

dir by ranjan palit and produced by ranjan palit and jar pictures and presented by vishal bhardwaj-150 min; 2019

my debut fiction feature film is a kind of autobiopic where in the first half, i follow the story of a family(mine) reeling under a 100 year old curse, and in the 2nd half ,tell the story of my own life as a loser in love, being healed by the documentary

8th Chennai Film Festival 2020 : Retro 01 - Andres Veiel

8th Chennai International Documentary and Short Film Festival 2020

Retrospective : 01 - Andres Veiel



Andres Veiel was born in Stuttgart in 1959. In addition to his psychology studies, he completed directorial and dramaturgy training at the KünstlerhausBethanien under the Polish director Krzysztof Kieslowskiat the end of the 1980s. His play Der Kick was shown at the Maxim Gorki Theater in Berlin and at the Theater Basel.

Films to be screened:

BLACK BOX BRD
Director: Andres Veiel, colour, 100 min., 2000

An exploration of two contrarian, but equally radical lives that both found violent endings: Alfred Herrhausen, CEO of Deutsche Bank, died in 1989 in a bomb attack apparently carried out by the RAF (Rote ArmeeFraktion). Four years later, the presumed RAF terrorist Wolfgang Grams was supposed to be arrested on the Bad Kleinen train station; he died after a shoot-out under circumstances that have never been finally ascertained.

THE KICK
Dir: Andres Veiel, colour, 82 min., 2006 

On the night of 13 July 2000 brothers Marco and Marcel Schönfeld, together with their friend Sebastian Fink, violently attacked and killed 16-year-old MarinusSchöberl. Documentary maker Andres Veiel carried out extensive research for the play he wrote about the case which took place in Uckermark, a district of Berlin. The film is based on and takes its name from the play.

BEUYS
Dir.: Andres Veiel;107 min; 2017



Few 20th century German creative artists were as controversial as performance artist, sculptor, graphic artist, art theorist and occasional Professor Joseph Beuys (1921 – 1986). His work addressed a new, expanded concept of art, including the political shaping of society. Andres Veiel’s documentary embarks upon an extensive hunt for clues, bringing to light a host of unknown archive material and allowing contemporary witnesses like Klaus Staeck the opportunity to talk. What emerges is a collage of visual and audio documents providing viewers with access to Beuys’ complex work.

8th Chennai Film Festival 2020 : Homage - Manjira Datta

8th Chennai International Documentary and Short Film Festival 2020

19-23 Feb, Goethe-Institut, Chennai

Homage : Manjira Datta





Manjira Datta, an independent documentary filmmaker from Delhi passed away on 26 Aug 2019.

Manjira's award winning films focus on environment, rural and industrial labour, labour in the entertainment sector, politics, agrarian technology, and discrimination against women among others. She also conceptualized and was a line producer for a twenty-six-part drama serial on Adult Education for UNICEF and Directorate of Adult Education. She was a director and producer for BBC2, Channel 4 (UK), ARD Germany, One World Broadcasting Group, UNDP & TVE, Mayavision (London), MacArthur Foundation (Chicago), Commonwealth of Learning (Canada), UNIFEM and Tata Steel and other State Government Departments in India.

Films :

Sacrifice of Babulal Bhuiya
Dir :Manjira Datta; 64 min; 1988




A thousand Indians drag a meager living from the black swamp where ash and fumes from the power station corrupt the air as surely as the coal dirt blights the land. Nothing grows in Mailagora which means the place of dirt.
Manjira Datta's painful and poetic film is a portrait of the undead and an investigation of the murder of local martyr...Babulal, who was shot dead by industrial security guards employed by owners of the coal washery. The guards are accused of running a protection racket among the slurry-sifters, of harassing the women and attacking the men... Explanations of the incident differ....Babulal was killed...
So, Babulal becomes a hero, his ashes scattered on the coal black river. His concrete monument painted a blood red...

Rishte
Dir: Manjira Datta; 25 min; 1994

In India the fate of a woman is often determined by the size of the dowry she brings to her marital home. A woman is considered worthless if she does not bear a male child. Female foeticide is a common practice in India. A daughter is viewed as a socio-economic burden as she leaves her parental home with capital (dowry). She seldom has the option to return to her parental home if she is tortured in her marital home. Society prefers a woman's death to her divorce.

The film unpeels layers of the many-headed evil patriarchy in Indian society as it explores the factors that lead to the death of Lali Devi, an educated and capable woman, and her two girls.

8th Chennai Film Festival 2020 : Filmmaker in Focus - Rajula Shah

8th Chennai International Documentary and Short Film Festival 2020

Filmmaker in Focus - Rajula Shah 

Rajula Shah is a Visual Artist, Poet and Filmmaker.

She grew up listening to stories and working with tribal and folk artisans from all over the subcontinent and considers it her first school. 

A sustained dialogue with the ancient knowledge systems and the changing practices thereof form the core of her study and her practice thus emerges from a close collaboration with people, their histories and environments. 

For two decades, she has been producing/ directing films exploring boundaries of Fiction/Documentary, Experimental, Digital art, New Media et al. She is enriched through her close collaborates with fellow practitioners/ artists in various capacities as Researcher, Scriptwriter, Production designer, Cinematographer & Editor. 

The need to develop film teaching methodologies in the Asian/Indian context is a serious concern with her. She designs and directs innovative short courses at various institutes including the Film & TV Institute of India (FTII).

Films to be screened:

1) Sabad Nirantar/ Word within the word a film on resonances on mystic poet Kabir in contemporary Malwa, India.

Dir : RAJULA SHAH / 74 min / Malwi, Hindi / 2008 / India

2) Katha Loknath/ reTold by Loknath Experimental fiction with potter Loknath Rana & a city kid Tana growing up listening to his stories.

Dir: RAJULA SHAH / 43 min / Oriya, Hindi, Bhili / 2013 / India

3) Aisa nahin hua tha Tahera/ Jumbled Cans short film

Dir:RAJULA SHAH / 23 min / Hindi, Urdu, English / 2014/ India
_________

4) Neend se lambi raat/ Night longer than sleep poetry video

Dir: ARGHYA BASU / 6 min / Hindi / 2013 / India

Production Design and Poetry recitation by Rajula

5) Of Exiles and Kingdom short doc on Tibetan Opera

Dir: ARGHYA BASU / 26 min / ENGLISH/ TIBETAN / 2016 / India

Cinematography, Co-Script & Narration by Rajula

Filmography/ Publications

• 2019 Direction, Chalo Sakha us des mein/ At Home Walking (114 min, DV, Col, B&W) Feature Experimental Doc Producer: Shampa Shah 
• 
  
• 2016 Cinematography & Narration, Of Exiles & Kingdom 26 min HDV col, B&W, Short Doc Producer: Films Division 
• 
  
• 2013 Writing, Analog as part of the project KEYwording by ARSENAL, Berlin Germany, Booklet 
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• 2013 Production Design Neend se Lambi Raat 6 min Poetry music video, Producer, FTII 
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• 2013 Direction Aisa Nahin Hua tha Tahira/ Jumbled Cans (23 min/ 35mm/ Col) Short fiction Producer: Film and Television Institute of India, Pune 
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• 2011 Direction, reTold by Loknath (45 min/ DV/ Col & B/W) Experimental Fiction Producer: Rajula Shah for Seasongray 
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• 2011 Translation & Editing Mujh Par Bharosa Rakhna, Select letters of Vincent Van Gogh to his brother Theo, Book Publisher: Rajula Shah for Seasongray 
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• 2009 Direction, short videos on Gond & Bhil tribal artists of Madhya Pradesh, web publishing, IGNCA 2008 Direction, Sabad Nirantar/ Word within the word (74 min/ dv/ col) Feature Documentary Producer: Jyotsna Milan 
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• 2006 Writing on cinema Blank Screen, published in the Journal of Indian Council of Philosophical Research Essay 
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• 2006 Translations selected poetry of Iranian poet Forough Farrokhzad Booklet Publisher: TANAAV 
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• 2006 Translation of We Are Poor But So Many By Ela. R. Bhatt, Publisher: Vagdevi February Book 
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• 2005 Direction, Beyond The Wheel (59 min/ dv/ col) Documentary 
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• 2005 Writing Parchhain ki Khirki se, Hindi Poetry collection, Bhartiya Gyanpeeth, Book 
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• 2000 Direction, Do Hafte Guzrate / Takes 2 weeks for 2 weeks to pass (22 min /35mm/col) Short Fiction Producer: Film & T.V. Institute of India, Pune Marketed by Moserbaer with world classics

Awards 

• 2004 Best New Writing, Bharatiya Gyanpeeth for Poetry collection Parchhain ki Khirki se 
• 2005 Signs jury award for the film Beyond the wheel 
• 2008 Horizonte Preis at Dokfest Munich Germany for the film Word within the word 
• 2013 John Abraham National Award for best Video Experimenta for ReTold by Loknath 
• 2014 John Abraham National Award for best Experimental fiction for Jumbled Cans

Select Screenings 

• 2019 World Premiere of At Home Walking at YIDFF, Yamagata Japan 
• 2019 European Premeiere of At Home Walking at Jihlava, Czechoslovakia 
• 2011 World Premiere of Word within the word at DOKFEST Munich 
• 2011 DOC Leipzig Germany 2010 Guggenheim Museum, Berlin 
• 2009 Parnu Ethnographic Film Festival, Estonia 
• 2009 Doxa Film Festival Vancouver, Canada 
• 2009 Kerala International Video Festival, India 
• 2010 Mumbai International Film Festival, India 
• 2008 Cinema Verite Iran International Documentary Festival, Tehran 
• 2008 FA course NFAI, Pune 
• 2006 SIGNS Film Festival, Thiruvananthapuram

Select Talks/ Courses/ Jury

• 2019 Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver: Talk on 'Camera Consciousness: Mirroring the other' 2019 Course director, Film Criticism & Art of Review, FTII & IIMC, Delhi 
• 2017 Juror: International Documentary and Film Festival of Kerala 
• 2017 Course director: Winter Film Appreciation course on Asian/Indian Aesthetics at FTII, Pune 2016 Course director: Film Appreciation course for Theatre students of National School of Drama 2016 Fellowship: Krishna Baldev Vaid Fellowship for young writers in Hindi 
• 2011 Juror: National Film Awards 
• 2009 Film seminar: on the Real in Cinema Film & T.V. Institute, Pune 
• 2008 Gerrit Rietweld Akademie, Netherlands: talk on making of the film 'Beyond the wheel' 
• 2006 Writer-in-residence: Literature Haus Hamburg, for Goethe Institut, Germany 
• 2006 Readings: World Book Fair Frankfurt, Germany 
• 2006 Readings: Akshar writers for Goethe Institute & Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi: 
• 2005 Readings: Sahitya Akademi's Golden Jubilee ‘New Voices’ 
• 1999 Participation: International students film festival Munich

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.