11th Chennai International Documentary and Short Film Festival 2023
Filmmaker in Focus - Sunanda Bhatt
Sunanda’s interest in people’s lives as they intersect with layers in the landscape continue to shape her work. Her films have won several international and national awards and have featured at IDFA, Amsterdam; Planet in Focus and Female Eye Festivals in Toronto; Jean Rouch Ethnographic Festival and International Festival Signes de Nuit in Paris; International Film Festival of India Goa; MIFF, Mumbai; International Documentary & Short Film Festival, Kerala among several others. She was invited to participate in India Film Week at the art-house cinema house at Metropolis Kino in Germany and at NYU, and Harvard Design School in USA.
She was an artist-in-residence at Pepper House Residency, hosted by Kochi Muziris Biennale and is a trustee of Vikalp Bengaluru that screens the best in documentary films in the city. Sunanda lives and works in Bangalore
[www.songlinefilms.com]
List of films to be shown :
“Ningal aranayo kanda? | Have you seen the arana?
72 mins | 2012| Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi with English subtitles
SYNOPSIS:
In a world where diversity and differences make way for standardization and uniformity, the film explores the effects of a rapidly changing landscape on indigenous people’s lives and livelihoods. Set in Wayanad, part of the fragile ecosystem of the western mountain range in South India, the film takes you on a journey through a region that is witnessing drastic transformation in the name of ‘development’.
A woman’s concern over the disappearance of medicinal plants from the forest, a farmer’s commitment to growing traditional varieties of rice organically and a cash crop cultivator’s struggle to survive amidst farmers’ suicides, offer fresh insights into shifting relations between people, knowledge systems and environment.
Interwoven into contemporary narratives is an ancient tribal creation myth that traces the passage of their ancestors across this land, recalling past ways of reading and mapping the terrain.
As hills flatten, forests disappear and traditional knowledge systems are forgotten, the film reminds us that this diversity could disappear forever, to be replaced by monotonous and unsustainable alternatives.
Trailer
FILM FESTIVALS:
Mumbai International Film Festival, MIFF
International Film Festival of India, Goa.
Female Eye Film Festival, Toronto, Canada.
6th International Documentary and Short Film Festival, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. 23rd African, Asian and Latin American Film Festival, Milan, Italy.
Planet in Focus Environmental Film Festival, Toronto, Canada 32nd Jean Rouch International Film Festival, Paris, France. International Festival Signes de Nuit, Paris.
10th Salento Film Festival, Tricase, Italy.
TiNai Eco Film Festival, Goa.
Verzio Human Rights film Festival, Budapest, Hungary Madurai International Film Festival
IAWRT Asian Women's Film Festival, New Delhi. Dhaka International Film Festival
Jeevika Livelihood Film festival, New Delhi.
AWARDS:
Golden Conch for Best Documentary, Best Cinematography and Best Sound Awards, Mumbai International Film Festival, 2014.
“Monde en Regards” award, Jean Rouch International Film Festival, Paris.
Best Documentary Mark Haslam Award at Planet in Focus Film Festival, Toronto.
John Abraham National Award for Best Documentary, Signs Film Festival, Kerala
Honorable Mention, Documentary Feature, Int. Film Festival for Environment, Health and Culture, Jakarta.
Special Mention, International Documentary & Short Film Festival of Kerala.
Best Eco documentary Feature Award, Tinai Eco Film Festival.
Best Cinematography and Best Editing Awards, Jeevika Asia Livelihood Film Festival
Best Documentary, Professional, Dada Saheb Phalke Award.
Best Documentary & Best Director, National Short & Documentary Film Awards, Thrissur, Kerala. Best Documentary & Best Director, Kerala State Television Awards.
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“Bol Ayesha Bol” | Speak Ayesha Speak
45 mins | 1998 | Telugu with English subtitles
Synopsis:
The story of Ayesha, a 16-year-old girl, pregnant out of wedlock, shunned by her family, but supported by the women of the village, becomes the metaphor for change among the women in Bagepalli in South India.
This articulation of female opinion is just one facet of change brought about by the Coolie Sangha, a union of dry land, female agricultural labourers. Besides, the Sangha continues to fight against the pressures of powerful landlords, moneylenders, a male dominated culture and an unproductive landscape.
Bol Ayesha Bol attempts to document this process of change. Made for the people, the film celebrates the strength and resilience of the women of Bagepalli.
Trailer
The film premiered at International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, 1998
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“Nalai Nammadai” | Tomorrow is ours
20 minutes | Tamil with English subtitles
Synopsis:
This is the story of a young girl who benefits from the influence of her schoolteacher. He conveys the importance of savings and protecting their lives from uncertainties. This 20 minute short film using the popular form of song and drama has been extremely successful and was screened in several countries besides India.
Trailer
Filmmaker in Focus - Sunanda Bhatt
Sunanda’s interest in people’s lives as they intersect with layers in the landscape continue to shape her work. Her films have won several international and national awards and have featured at IDFA, Amsterdam; Planet in Focus and Female Eye Festivals in Toronto; Jean Rouch Ethnographic Festival and International Festival Signes de Nuit in Paris; International Film Festival of India Goa; MIFF, Mumbai; International Documentary & Short Film Festival, Kerala among several others. She was invited to participate in India Film Week at the art-house cinema house at Metropolis Kino in Germany and at NYU, and Harvard Design School in USA.
She was an artist-in-residence at Pepper House Residency, hosted by Kochi Muziris Biennale and is a trustee of Vikalp Bengaluru that screens the best in documentary films in the city. Sunanda lives and works in Bangalore
[www.songlinefilms.com]
List of films to be shown :
“Ningal aranayo kanda? | Have you seen the arana?
72 mins | 2012| Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi with English subtitles
SYNOPSIS:
In a world where diversity and differences make way for standardization and uniformity, the film explores the effects of a rapidly changing landscape on indigenous people’s lives and livelihoods. Set in Wayanad, part of the fragile ecosystem of the western mountain range in South India, the film takes you on a journey through a region that is witnessing drastic transformation in the name of ‘development’.
A woman’s concern over the disappearance of medicinal plants from the forest, a farmer’s commitment to growing traditional varieties of rice organically and a cash crop cultivator’s struggle to survive amidst farmers’ suicides, offer fresh insights into shifting relations between people, knowledge systems and environment.
Interwoven into contemporary narratives is an ancient tribal creation myth that traces the passage of their ancestors across this land, recalling past ways of reading and mapping the terrain.
As hills flatten, forests disappear and traditional knowledge systems are forgotten, the film reminds us that this diversity could disappear forever, to be replaced by monotonous and unsustainable alternatives.
Trailer
FILM FESTIVALS:
Mumbai International Film Festival, MIFF
International Film Festival of India, Goa.
Female Eye Film Festival, Toronto, Canada.
6th International Documentary and Short Film Festival, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. 23rd African, Asian and Latin American Film Festival, Milan, Italy.
Planet in Focus Environmental Film Festival, Toronto, Canada 32nd Jean Rouch International Film Festival, Paris, France. International Festival Signes de Nuit, Paris.
10th Salento Film Festival, Tricase, Italy.
TiNai Eco Film Festival, Goa.
Verzio Human Rights film Festival, Budapest, Hungary Madurai International Film Festival
IAWRT Asian Women's Film Festival, New Delhi. Dhaka International Film Festival
Jeevika Livelihood Film festival, New Delhi.
AWARDS:
Golden Conch for Best Documentary, Best Cinematography and Best Sound Awards, Mumbai International Film Festival, 2014.
“Monde en Regards” award, Jean Rouch International Film Festival, Paris.
Best Documentary Mark Haslam Award at Planet in Focus Film Festival, Toronto.
John Abraham National Award for Best Documentary, Signs Film Festival, Kerala
Honorable Mention, Documentary Feature, Int. Film Festival for Environment, Health and Culture, Jakarta.
Special Mention, International Documentary & Short Film Festival of Kerala.
Best Eco documentary Feature Award, Tinai Eco Film Festival.
Best Cinematography and Best Editing Awards, Jeevika Asia Livelihood Film Festival
Best Documentary, Professional, Dada Saheb Phalke Award.
Best Documentary & Best Director, National Short & Documentary Film Awards, Thrissur, Kerala. Best Documentary & Best Director, Kerala State Television Awards.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Bol Ayesha Bol” | Speak Ayesha Speak
45 mins | 1998 | Telugu with English subtitles
Synopsis:
The story of Ayesha, a 16-year-old girl, pregnant out of wedlock, shunned by her family, but supported by the women of the village, becomes the metaphor for change among the women in Bagepalli in South India.
This articulation of female opinion is just one facet of change brought about by the Coolie Sangha, a union of dry land, female agricultural labourers. Besides, the Sangha continues to fight against the pressures of powerful landlords, moneylenders, a male dominated culture and an unproductive landscape.
Bol Ayesha Bol attempts to document this process of change. Made for the people, the film celebrates the strength and resilience of the women of Bagepalli.
Trailer
The film premiered at International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, 1998
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Nalai Nammadai” | Tomorrow is ours
20 minutes | Tamil with English subtitles
Synopsis:
This is the story of a young girl who benefits from the influence of her schoolteacher. He conveys the importance of savings and protecting their lives from uncertainties. This 20 minute short film using the popular form of song and drama has been extremely successful and was screened in several countries besides India.
Trailer
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