11th Chennai International Documentary and Short Film Festival 2023
Director's Cut - Curated by Amudhan R.P.
List of films
Ghar se Beghar (From Home to Homeless)
Dir :Musthujab Makkolath; 39:34 min; India
The film documents the lives of Van Gujjar community in Uttarakhand. Van Gujjars living in the Terai-Bhabhar tract of the Nainital district and Shivalik range of Garhwal and Dehradun districts of Uttarakhand are a transhumant pastoral community who are dependent on their cattle for their livelihood. Their pastoral production from their animals is dependent on their ecological setting of the mountains and the forest. They have faced the challenge of displacement due to the vilification of the community with respect to the conservation of the forest and wildlife. However the Van Gujjar have a different story to say.
Boundaries (Simayein)
Dir :Arun Mohan; 47.04 min; India
This film looks at the 3 decade old issue of arrest of Indian and Pakistani fishermen for crossing the maritime boundaries of each other. Over the years the number of arrests have increased and it reflects the relations between the nations at any given point of time. The fishworkers are released as good-will gestures and kept back due to bureaucratic hurdles. This documentary attempts to raise some questions - What are the reasons for this situation ? What are the attempts at resolutions? What do the fishworkers and their families loose ?
Those Seven Steps
Dir : Pavitra Verma; 16.55 min; United States; Short Fiction
Wronged by her family and forced into an arranged marriage, a despondent Indian bride carries out her dangerous escape on the eve of her wedding in an attempt to return to her former life in India.
A Little Someone
Dir : Ramya Ankilla; 6.40 min; India; Animation
Chotu is a kid with oversized shoes, carrying them around in the hope of growing into them someday. The film A Little Someone shows the contrast between the dreams and reality of 10 million Indian child laborers through the story of the protagonist Chotu.
Life
Dir : Saurav Mookherji; 4.27 min; India; Experimental
The cinema depicts the aspects of life as a whole in a mere frying pan accompanied by a fish bowl. It shows the differentiation of life which is framed by the portrayal of a "Fish". The main moto of making this cinema is to make a visualization of the two sides of the coin of life and how life is been treated by thee society.
Tanked Fish (Thotti Meengal)
Dir : Nadaraja Manivannan; 10.16 min; Sri Lanka; Short fiction
The story line revolves around a 8 year old girl Hashini – who finds herself in the confines of her home, barred from talking to her neighbors, friends; watching TV, subsequently prevented from using the phone. She feels she is a prisoner in her own home, imprisoned by jail guards – her own parents.
Kumu
Dir : Akanshya Bhagabati; 19.12 min; India; Short fiction
The short film “Kumu- The song of a wingless bird” is set against the backdrop of the lush tea estates of Assam. The film explores the life of a 12 year old Adivasi girl who had to abandon her school and care free life due to her familial circumstances.
Super Power
Dir : Vikram Bolegave; 19.34 min; India; Short fiction
This short movie depicts the stroy of Ramu and his family, a group of people works hard to meet their daily expenditure, who faces an unexpected danger in village that is barely developing.
Ripples Under the Skin
Dir : Farha Khatun; 29 min; India; Documentary
‘Ripples of water’ tells the story of this man and this city – it tells the story of the Calcutta that lurks behind the glitz and glamour of today’s Calcutta, it tells the story of a community of migrant workers who had come to this city to make a living, a city that never invited them yet somehow they made home, a city that they built with their blood and sweat, yet ‘home’ remained elusive, a city that nourishes, waters itself through the toils of people like Nazim kaka, yet conveniently forgets, casts them away when it chooses to walk towards the future.
In Search of Gold - a portrait of Kolar Gold Fields
Dir : Basav Biradar; 34.43 min; India; Documentary
Set in the once thriving colonial gold mining township of Kolar Gold Fields (KGF), IN SEARCH OF GOLD attempts to understand the different lived and remembered histories of people who built this highly profitable enterprise. Aided by the grim imagery of now defunct mining operations, the film brings together narratives of collective socio-political struggles of the past, nostalgia for lost privilege, and the anxiety of an uncertain future, of a fragmented society.
White Slam - a documentary and Carrom
Dir Satish Ganapathy; 31.35 min; India; Documentary
While the game of carrom is global, the world champions of this game extraordinarily come from one single slum community in North Madras! This small area North of Chennai holds the record for the most number of World Champions in carrom. White Slam explores this unique distinction of this community.
City Girls
Dir : Priya Thuvassery; 28.14 min; India; Documentary
City Girls' is an intimate portrayal of two young girls from small towns of India now living in Delhi. The film attempts to deconstruct the image of ‘the city’ and what it means for a young woman brought up in an 'elsewhere' she's longed to escape from all her life.
Paravai Kaalam : Karakuruchi Arunachalam Nayana Isai
Dir : RR Srinivasan, Kutty Revathy; 155 min; India; Documentary
Karukurichi Arunachalam is a Symbol of South Indian Classical Music. He is a descendant of an ancient 3000 years old Tamil Music “Panar Traditions” This documentary aims to present his life interwoven with music.
The film presents the history of the unique Tamil Musical Instrument, namely, NAGASWARAM. The narration covers his life as presented by the lovers of his music and those who intimately moved with him. The viewers can well appreciate that his music was loved by not only those who are musically knowledgeable but also the common people.
Pandit Rajeev Taranath : a life in music
Dir : Amshan Kumar; 40 min; India; Documentary
The documentary is a tribute to the musical genius of saord player Pandit Rajeev Taranath. He is a disciple of the illustrious sarod player Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and hailed as the chief exponent of Maihar Senia Allauddin gharana that traces its origin to Saraswathi, daughter of Tansen. As a child prodigy he sang in public and on AIR. Rajeevj Taranath who got a doctorate in English Literature gave up his teaching career and devoted himself to full time music. In his long music career he has given innumerable concerts all over the world and taught music at California Institute of the Performing Arts, Los Angeles. He has also composed music to offbeat films including Samskara, Kanchana Sita, Pokku Veyil and Kadavu.
At 90, Rajeev Taranath, is active playing sarod in concerts and gives music lessons. Pandit Tarnath Foundation in Mysore, founded by him, perpetuates the tradition of his gharana. It has emerged as a major institution of advancing Hindustani Classical music in Karnataka.
Yours Is Not To Reason Why
Dir :Lijin Jose; 4.13 min; India; Music Video
In 2018 Sudeesh Yezhuvath had visited the Memorial and Museum and these are photographs taken from there, which remind us of the horrors that happened in the not too distant past when a people were blinded by religious / racial fanaticism. On the one hand, Auschwitz reminds us of what happened, while at the same time throwing a question at us on where we would stand when such things occur. The music video brings up this question, which is becoming more and more relevant by the day, in the India that we live in.
Anthem for Kashmir
Dir : Sandeep Ravindranath; 9.14 min; India; Music Video
A collective punishment of a whole population for an unknown crime.
Thaainilam - தாய் நிலம்
Dir : Someetharan; 55 min; India; Documentary
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