13th Chennai International Documentary and Short Film Festival 2025
Category - Indian Documentary
Messi, Maradona & Tremenheere
Dir: Logesh S; 20:33 min; Documentary; India
Synopsis: In Vadakarai village of Tamil Nadu, Tremenheere Sports Academy, a budding football academy strives to set a stage for school going children to break the endless cycle of bonded agricultural labour.
Broken Cradles
Dir: Abhijit V; 17:50 min; Documentary; India
Synopsis: In a society where girls are not valued, a group of women in a small village band together to fight against the deep-rooted patriarchy and cultural norms that have long oppressed them. Through their struggles, we witness the daily lives of mothers and young girls, who are subjected to discrimination and violence simply for being female. As the women work to challenge the status quo, they inspire their community to confront the issue of gender-based violence head-on and work towards creating a more equitable future for all
Tumi Robe Nirobe
Dir: Benu Bina Banik; 14:05 min; Documentary; India
Synopsis: Present day, a small town in Bengal. The film charts the life of the women of a Bengali joint family, by following a day in their lives. They toil whole day to care for the family and run the household.
21-28 February; multiple venues, Chennai
Organised by MARUPAKKAM
Category - Indian Documentary
Messi, Maradona & Tremenheere
Dir: Logesh S; 20:33 min; Documentary; India
Synopsis: In Vadakarai village of Tamil Nadu, Tremenheere Sports Academy, a budding football academy strives to set a stage for school going children to break the endless cycle of bonded agricultural labour.
Broken Cradles
Dir: Abhijit V; 17:50 min; Documentary; India
Synopsis: In a society where girls are not valued, a group of women in a small village band together to fight against the deep-rooted patriarchy and cultural norms that have long oppressed them. Through their struggles, we witness the daily lives of mothers and young girls, who are subjected to discrimination and violence simply for being female. As the women work to challenge the status quo, they inspire their community to confront the issue of gender-based violence head-on and work towards creating a more equitable future for all
Tumi Robe Nirobe
Dir: Benu Bina Banik; 14:05 min; Documentary; India
Synopsis: Present day, a small town in Bengal. The film charts the life of the women of a Bengali joint family, by following a day in their lives. They toil whole day to care for the family and run the household.
Are they happy? Will they always remain faceless? Will they ever protest?
Threads in Tune - The Melodic Magic of Hand and Loom
Dir: Nakul Jain; 3:06 min; Documentary; India
Synopsis: Experience the enchantment of Indian craftsmanship and modern technology intertwine in the creation of Natural Rugs and Throws. Join us on a visual journey through two factories in India, where the magic of handicraft meets mechanization, resulting in timeless products that transcend borders. In this Film, witness the harmonious collaboration of artisans and machines, set to a backdrop of melodious harpsichord music. Just as the harpsichord combines keys and strings, the products showcased here blend machine precision with human touch. It's a true fusion, where each element complements the other, creating a symphony of creativity and innovation. (Music Purchased with License)
Name: Only if the Baby Cries...
Dir: Shadab Farooq; 14:58 min; Documentary; India
Synopsis: In the world's only deaf-mute village where silence reigns, tension mounts as Misra Khatoon approaches childbirth. The villagers surround her home and beat drums seeking a response from the newborn.
Behind The Ears
Dir: Namya Chadha; 44:27 min; Documentary; India
Synopsis: Behind the Ears” is an intimate and conversational documentary exploring the lives of Janhavi and Lavannya, two individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing. Janhavi shares her journey of self- discovery through her work and connecting with others, while Lavannya offers a contrasting narrative of accepting her disability and redefining her identity.
As the documentary unfolds, it reveals how societal assumptions about disabilities profoundly impact the self- concepts of Janhavi and Lavannya. It delves into their struggles and perspectives, showing how their views of themselves have evolved beyond their disabilities. However, amidst these challenges, Janhavi and Lavanya’s narratives showcase resilience, growth, and the transformative power of self-acceptance.
The film also captures the filmmaker’s emotional journey to connect with Janhavi and Lavannya, offering viewers a profound exploration of self-image and understanding invisible disability.
Name: Seeking Buchen
Dir: Taha Anwer; 12:53 min; Documentary; India
Synopsis: Two Clowns from Uruguay and Their Clowning Student (the filmmaker) set out in the higher villages of Spiti Valley in search of the Clowning traditions and practices of the Tibetan community taking refuge there since 2 generations.
Name: P for Paparazzi
Dir: Divya Hemant Kharnare; 26:40 min; Documentary; India
Synopsis: Amidst the chaos of flashing lights and crazy crowds, Manoj, an established Paparazzi from Nepal, faces off against fellow photographers in a high-stakes race to capture the most sensational photos. Despite his years of experience and connections with celebrities, Manoj confronts the harsh reality of his brother's deteriorating health.
Will the connections be enough to secure the funds needed for his brother's treatment, or will he find himself facing a solitary battle for survival?
Slow Wave
Dir: Pooja Kadam; 9:22 min; Documentary; India
Synopsis: Living in the current times often leaves me questioning “existence.” With existence comes the fear of its absence. The film is a documentation of such an experience and an attempt to pen down fear and loss. It helped me share a dialogue with my parents around unexpressed fears and sorrows hidden deep down, thus opening a channel of accepting the inevitable, death!
In the month of October 2021, parts of Pune city witnessed flash floods. With many houses flooded, some in the low-lying areas washed away. My elderly parents were by themselves, trying to save all they could. I lost most of my family photographs, keepsakes saved since childhood and my cameras. My mother was coping with the receding second wave of Covid to which she had lost her brother. I was trying to cope up with life, in general. This inability to bargain with the fear of loss and death encouraged me to create what I could as a way of dealing with it.
This personal essayist film acts as a turning point in my adulthood. With my cameras drowned and dead, I tried creating the sensation that I felt using my phone camera, an old point and shoot that died in the process of shooting this film, recovered family photographs, watercolor and with whatever was left of the loss.
Name: Beyond Ratings
Dir: Aprajita Gupta; 37:30 min; Documentary; India
Synopsis: Three women share their experience of navigating the app-world in the metro city. The sharings reveal gendered battles as platform workers and the tiresome reality of gig-workers' identities against the absent bosses, masked behind their apps. Filmed in the streets of New Delhi, the protagonists share about their door-to-door gigs, the surveillance at their workplaces and the absence of accountability in the urban landscape.
Dreams Awaken (Jaagte Khwaab)
Dir: Aprajita Gupta; 18:54 min; Documentary; India
Synopsis: If dreams had eyes of their own, would they see reality for what it is? A queer desire transcends from a night's dream to the day's reality when the filmmaker starts filming her everyday. The camera becomes the 'I' and travels through spaces to seek an understanding of its puzzled sense of being. The film is a jumbled self-expression.
Herd Walk
Dir: Ankit Pogula; 01:02:53 min; Documentary; India
Synopsis: After 70 years of herding, Neelkanth Mama's walk is coming to a cruel halt. Meanwhile, Vajir’s attempt to keep walking his sheep is getting thwarted within his home. ‘No girl wants to marry a shepherd’, says his youngest son. Set on the Deccan plateau, Bhed Chal follows the gritty journey of the two Kurba shepherds as they negotiate through new aspirations, barricaded commons and a changing climate. All this to preserve what they call is the last connection between the civil and the wild.
Salvation Dream
Dir: Ritam Chakraborty; 25:00 min; Documentary; India
Synopsis: An old man counting his last days of life.
The First is Farce
Dir: Shrikant Balkrishna Agawane; 18:25 min; Documentary; India
Synopsis: This film is a comment on a current political scenario, where history is in Flux.
In a documentary disguise, this film tries to revive faded memories of bygone public figures like Kartar Singh Thatte and other right-wing hardliners... and through the collective memoir, draws a trajectory of a political narrative to understand the 'paradox of tolerance'.
Cinema Pe Cinema
Dir: Vani Subramanian; 01:02:39 min; Documentary; India
Synopsis: An act of resistance against forgetting single screen cinema theatres as they shutter down across India. An effort to keep the memories of some films alive through traces of their audio and visual ephemera. A shared cinematic space in which diverse audiences speak of complex single screen theatre-going experiences.
6500 Days
Dir: Dhruti Rathod; 01:24:00 min; Documentary; India
Synopsis: A 23-year-old filmmaker lands in one of the most militarized conflict zones Kashmir - where she finds a Kashmiri lawyer, Subreen, fighting for victims affected by domestic violence, one of which is a British lady Tia(71), who has been trapped in the region for over 6500 days as she awaits a miracle, alone.
This documentary further explores the dynamics of marriage & parenting as Subreen and her husband are faced with an unforeseeable reality.
Study
Dir: Abhilash Sunkesula; 17:00 min; Documentary; India
Synopsis: The documentary explores the education system in Andhra Pradesh & Telangana, focusing on why students primarily choose careers as engineers or doctors. It delves into the reason behind this trend and features interviews with students, educators and parents. The film aims to uncover the underlying issues and shed light on the realities of the educational system.
A Flaming Forest
Dir: Salman Javeed, Vivek Singh Sangwan, Satya Ambasta; 48:21 min; Documentary; India
Synopsis: The Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple (BRT) Tiger Reserve in Karnataka, India is home to the Soliga adivasis. This film traverses the rich tapestry of the BRT forest and the intricate relationships that the Soligas hold with it. Since 1974, exclusionary conservation policy by the Indian state has led to large scale evictions and denial of rights for Soligas. Drawing upon ethnographic work and interdisciplinary collaborations between researchers and filmmakers over 20 years, this film traces Soliga resistance to exclusionary policy. Their articulations challenge dominant approaches of a conservation model that relies on forced evictions, and emphasises their customary and legal rights to the forest. With restrictions placed on customary Soliga practices such as swidden agriculture and forest fires, the forest is now ravaged by invasive plants such as Lantana camara, leading to ecological imbalance. Examining these realities through multiple mediums- cinema, research and archival footage, this film centres the situated knowledge of the Soligas. Documenting stories of contestation and loss - both social and ecological - it calls for an alternative vision for conservation.
Crafting the future
Dir: Vivek Sangwan, Srishti Chowdhary; 8:27 min; Documentary; India
Synopsis: The revival of craft, food and agriculture traditions in Nagaland, spearheaded by North East Network, is leading to stronger livelihoods, women's empowerment, and conservation of biodiversity. An inspiring example of community-led, intersectional transformation that helps meet the objectives of social justice and ecological sustainability.
Devotion in the age of instaRam
Dir: Harshwardhan Singh Chauhan; 10:32 min; Documentary; India
Synopsis: A documentation of 22nd january 2024 , India,
briefly underlining the absurdity and disparity of the times.
Mayalou (My Beloved)
Dir: Pratishtha Chhetri; 01:22:17 min; Documentary; India
Synopsis: This documentary film is a personal journey into the lives of my elderly aunts, exploring the impact of family separation. Raised differently because their father could only afford education for one, one sister went to boarding school while the other stayed home to care for the family. The film champions women's independence, showing their right to live fully even as they age alone, far from their children.
It's a story about the value of community, seen through the eyes of these sisters as they face old age, memories of love, and the challenges of living apart from their children. As they come together again in their later years for support, the film shows the anxiety older people feel and how important community is at this stage of life.
Through songs and memories, we see one sister's philosophical outlook and the other's practical approach. It's about two very different people finding common ground in their shared fears and the need for companionship now that their husbands are gone.
Hanna
Dir: Vinu Janardanan; 17:07 min; Documentary; India
Synopsis: Amid her work away from home, Hanna, a lactating working mother and staff member of Ernakulam General Hospital, Kerala, India discovers solace in alleviating her pain by donating her breast milk. This is the story of her transformation from considering sharing her baby's milk to wholeheartedly embracing it. With unwavering support from her family and the hospital staff, who makes the journey easier. Hanna's little one also becomes a symbol of sharing through her mother's act. In a scenario like an infant loses its life every minute, and early breastfeeding stands as a crucial preventive measure against infant mortality, Hanna's story transcends her personal journey, becoming a narrative larger than herself.
Is he there?
Dir: Aman Thangellapally; 20:54 min; Documentary; India
Synopsis: "Is he there?" is a sincere exploration of faith and doubt in my Hindu upbringing. As the director of this film, I invite viewers into the intimate space of my family, where contrasting beliefs form the backdrop for introspection
Set against the backdrop of Telangana in India, the documentary follows me as I confront my atheism in the Hinduism practiced by my parents. Through candid dialogue and everyday moments, the film captures the tension between science and theology that shapes my worldview.
As I visit the Holy Shrine with my parents, I silently observe the rituals and intense devotions that are an integral part of our family life. As we embark on our road trip to the revered temple, our journey meets an obstacle unexpected—a flooded road. In this time of vulnerability, amidst the forces of nature, our family finds comfort in modified prayer, which prompts me to face my deepest doubts about the divine.
"Is he there?" provides a thoughtful insight into the complexity of faith and the search for universal meaning. Through the lens of my own journey, the documentary invites viewers to reflect on their beliefs and engage with the enduring question: Is he there?
Hues & Blues
Dir: Vinayakram C; 45:24 min; Documentary; India
Synopsis: Prasanna, Prasenjit, Ayushi and Vivek are individuals living separate lives and having distinct careers in different cities of the world. Being queer is a common thread they have and united by chance, they come together to throw a camping festival for the queer community in India. The festival is named "URU" meaning "VILLAGE" in the southern languages of India.
"Hues & Blues" documentary captures these individual’s journey as they design and build the space for India’s first queer camping festival. Their aim is to build a safe space where there is no judgement and all voices can be heard.
The film tries to explore what queerness means for these individuals in the lead up to the festival as they work togther to bring their vision to life.
Once the festival begins, the film's perspective shifts to the festival attendees who take part in various workshops and share their stories about sexuality, gender, society.
The stories that come out drive the point that queerness is a human emotion and discrimination against it is invalid.
The film captures the tender moments of individuals who get an opportunity to be authentically themselves without fear of judgement or prosecution for those 3 days during the festival and leaves us with a sense of hope that this safe space could one day extend beyond the festival setting. The people in the film can be seen calling for a change in the way queer community is perceived in India - the first step in progressing towards acceptance.
Risk Takers
Dir: Siddhesh Pandey; 01:00:00 min; Documentary; India
Synopsis: Risk Takers is a five segment story which follows the lives of Mumbai’s lowest but most essential citizens. They face danger working in brutal conditions, often ignored by the government and urban society. Their bravery ensures a safer city for others.
Threads in Tune - The Melodic Magic of Hand and Loom
Dir: Nakul Jain; 3:06 min; Documentary; India
Synopsis: Experience the enchantment of Indian craftsmanship and modern technology intertwine in the creation of Natural Rugs and Throws. Join us on a visual journey through two factories in India, where the magic of handicraft meets mechanization, resulting in timeless products that transcend borders. In this Film, witness the harmonious collaboration of artisans and machines, set to a backdrop of melodious harpsichord music. Just as the harpsichord combines keys and strings, the products showcased here blend machine precision with human touch. It's a true fusion, where each element complements the other, creating a symphony of creativity and innovation. (Music Purchased with License)
Name: Only if the Baby Cries...
Dir: Shadab Farooq; 14:58 min; Documentary; India
Synopsis: In the world's only deaf-mute village where silence reigns, tension mounts as Misra Khatoon approaches childbirth. The villagers surround her home and beat drums seeking a response from the newborn.
Behind The Ears
Dir: Namya Chadha; 44:27 min; Documentary; India
Synopsis: Behind the Ears” is an intimate and conversational documentary exploring the lives of Janhavi and Lavannya, two individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing. Janhavi shares her journey of self- discovery through her work and connecting with others, while Lavannya offers a contrasting narrative of accepting her disability and redefining her identity.
As the documentary unfolds, it reveals how societal assumptions about disabilities profoundly impact the self- concepts of Janhavi and Lavannya. It delves into their struggles and perspectives, showing how their views of themselves have evolved beyond their disabilities. However, amidst these challenges, Janhavi and Lavanya’s narratives showcase resilience, growth, and the transformative power of self-acceptance.
The film also captures the filmmaker’s emotional journey to connect with Janhavi and Lavannya, offering viewers a profound exploration of self-image and understanding invisible disability.
Name: Seeking Buchen
Dir: Taha Anwer; 12:53 min; Documentary; India
Synopsis: Two Clowns from Uruguay and Their Clowning Student (the filmmaker) set out in the higher villages of Spiti Valley in search of the Clowning traditions and practices of the Tibetan community taking refuge there since 2 generations.
Name: P for Paparazzi
Dir: Divya Hemant Kharnare; 26:40 min; Documentary; India
Synopsis: Amidst the chaos of flashing lights and crazy crowds, Manoj, an established Paparazzi from Nepal, faces off against fellow photographers in a high-stakes race to capture the most sensational photos. Despite his years of experience and connections with celebrities, Manoj confronts the harsh reality of his brother's deteriorating health.
Will the connections be enough to secure the funds needed for his brother's treatment, or will he find himself facing a solitary battle for survival?
Slow Wave
Dir: Pooja Kadam; 9:22 min; Documentary; India
Synopsis: Living in the current times often leaves me questioning “existence.” With existence comes the fear of its absence. The film is a documentation of such an experience and an attempt to pen down fear and loss. It helped me share a dialogue with my parents around unexpressed fears and sorrows hidden deep down, thus opening a channel of accepting the inevitable, death!
In the month of October 2021, parts of Pune city witnessed flash floods. With many houses flooded, some in the low-lying areas washed away. My elderly parents were by themselves, trying to save all they could. I lost most of my family photographs, keepsakes saved since childhood and my cameras. My mother was coping with the receding second wave of Covid to which she had lost her brother. I was trying to cope up with life, in general. This inability to bargain with the fear of loss and death encouraged me to create what I could as a way of dealing with it.
This personal essayist film acts as a turning point in my adulthood. With my cameras drowned and dead, I tried creating the sensation that I felt using my phone camera, an old point and shoot that died in the process of shooting this film, recovered family photographs, watercolor and with whatever was left of the loss.
Name: Beyond Ratings
Dir: Aprajita Gupta; 37:30 min; Documentary; India
Synopsis: Three women share their experience of navigating the app-world in the metro city. The sharings reveal gendered battles as platform workers and the tiresome reality of gig-workers' identities against the absent bosses, masked behind their apps. Filmed in the streets of New Delhi, the protagonists share about their door-to-door gigs, the surveillance at their workplaces and the absence of accountability in the urban landscape.
Dreams Awaken (Jaagte Khwaab)
Dir: Aprajita Gupta; 18:54 min; Documentary; India
Synopsis: If dreams had eyes of their own, would they see reality for what it is? A queer desire transcends from a night's dream to the day's reality when the filmmaker starts filming her everyday. The camera becomes the 'I' and travels through spaces to seek an understanding of its puzzled sense of being. The film is a jumbled self-expression.
Herd Walk
Dir: Ankit Pogula; 01:02:53 min; Documentary; India
Synopsis: After 70 years of herding, Neelkanth Mama's walk is coming to a cruel halt. Meanwhile, Vajir’s attempt to keep walking his sheep is getting thwarted within his home. ‘No girl wants to marry a shepherd’, says his youngest son. Set on the Deccan plateau, Bhed Chal follows the gritty journey of the two Kurba shepherds as they negotiate through new aspirations, barricaded commons and a changing climate. All this to preserve what they call is the last connection between the civil and the wild.
Salvation Dream
Dir: Ritam Chakraborty; 25:00 min; Documentary; India
Synopsis: An old man counting his last days of life.
The First is Farce
Dir: Shrikant Balkrishna Agawane; 18:25 min; Documentary; India
Synopsis: This film is a comment on a current political scenario, where history is in Flux.
In a documentary disguise, this film tries to revive faded memories of bygone public figures like Kartar Singh Thatte and other right-wing hardliners... and through the collective memoir, draws a trajectory of a political narrative to understand the 'paradox of tolerance'.
Cinema Pe Cinema
Dir: Vani Subramanian; 01:02:39 min; Documentary; India
Synopsis: An act of resistance against forgetting single screen cinema theatres as they shutter down across India. An effort to keep the memories of some films alive through traces of their audio and visual ephemera. A shared cinematic space in which diverse audiences speak of complex single screen theatre-going experiences.
6500 Days
Dir: Dhruti Rathod; 01:24:00 min; Documentary; India
Synopsis: A 23-year-old filmmaker lands in one of the most militarized conflict zones Kashmir - where she finds a Kashmiri lawyer, Subreen, fighting for victims affected by domestic violence, one of which is a British lady Tia(71), who has been trapped in the region for over 6500 days as she awaits a miracle, alone.
This documentary further explores the dynamics of marriage & parenting as Subreen and her husband are faced with an unforeseeable reality.
Study
Dir: Abhilash Sunkesula; 17:00 min; Documentary; India
Synopsis: The documentary explores the education system in Andhra Pradesh & Telangana, focusing on why students primarily choose careers as engineers or doctors. It delves into the reason behind this trend and features interviews with students, educators and parents. The film aims to uncover the underlying issues and shed light on the realities of the educational system.
A Flaming Forest
Dir: Salman Javeed, Vivek Singh Sangwan, Satya Ambasta; 48:21 min; Documentary; India
Synopsis: The Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple (BRT) Tiger Reserve in Karnataka, India is home to the Soliga adivasis. This film traverses the rich tapestry of the BRT forest and the intricate relationships that the Soligas hold with it. Since 1974, exclusionary conservation policy by the Indian state has led to large scale evictions and denial of rights for Soligas. Drawing upon ethnographic work and interdisciplinary collaborations between researchers and filmmakers over 20 years, this film traces Soliga resistance to exclusionary policy. Their articulations challenge dominant approaches of a conservation model that relies on forced evictions, and emphasises their customary and legal rights to the forest. With restrictions placed on customary Soliga practices such as swidden agriculture and forest fires, the forest is now ravaged by invasive plants such as Lantana camara, leading to ecological imbalance. Examining these realities through multiple mediums- cinema, research and archival footage, this film centres the situated knowledge of the Soligas. Documenting stories of contestation and loss - both social and ecological - it calls for an alternative vision for conservation.
Crafting the future
Dir: Vivek Sangwan, Srishti Chowdhary; 8:27 min; Documentary; India
Synopsis: The revival of craft, food and agriculture traditions in Nagaland, spearheaded by North East Network, is leading to stronger livelihoods, women's empowerment, and conservation of biodiversity. An inspiring example of community-led, intersectional transformation that helps meet the objectives of social justice and ecological sustainability.
Devotion in the age of instaRam
Dir: Harshwardhan Singh Chauhan; 10:32 min; Documentary; India
Synopsis: A documentation of 22nd january 2024 , India,
briefly underlining the absurdity and disparity of the times.
Mayalou (My Beloved)
Dir: Pratishtha Chhetri; 01:22:17 min; Documentary; India
Synopsis: This documentary film is a personal journey into the lives of my elderly aunts, exploring the impact of family separation. Raised differently because their father could only afford education for one, one sister went to boarding school while the other stayed home to care for the family. The film champions women's independence, showing their right to live fully even as they age alone, far from their children.
It's a story about the value of community, seen through the eyes of these sisters as they face old age, memories of love, and the challenges of living apart from their children. As they come together again in their later years for support, the film shows the anxiety older people feel and how important community is at this stage of life.
Through songs and memories, we see one sister's philosophical outlook and the other's practical approach. It's about two very different people finding common ground in their shared fears and the need for companionship now that their husbands are gone.
Hanna
Dir: Vinu Janardanan; 17:07 min; Documentary; India
Synopsis: Amid her work away from home, Hanna, a lactating working mother and staff member of Ernakulam General Hospital, Kerala, India discovers solace in alleviating her pain by donating her breast milk. This is the story of her transformation from considering sharing her baby's milk to wholeheartedly embracing it. With unwavering support from her family and the hospital staff, who makes the journey easier. Hanna's little one also becomes a symbol of sharing through her mother's act. In a scenario like an infant loses its life every minute, and early breastfeeding stands as a crucial preventive measure against infant mortality, Hanna's story transcends her personal journey, becoming a narrative larger than herself.
Is he there?
Dir: Aman Thangellapally; 20:54 min; Documentary; India
Synopsis: "Is he there?" is a sincere exploration of faith and doubt in my Hindu upbringing. As the director of this film, I invite viewers into the intimate space of my family, where contrasting beliefs form the backdrop for introspection
Set against the backdrop of Telangana in India, the documentary follows me as I confront my atheism in the Hinduism practiced by my parents. Through candid dialogue and everyday moments, the film captures the tension between science and theology that shapes my worldview.
As I visit the Holy Shrine with my parents, I silently observe the rituals and intense devotions that are an integral part of our family life. As we embark on our road trip to the revered temple, our journey meets an obstacle unexpected—a flooded road. In this time of vulnerability, amidst the forces of nature, our family finds comfort in modified prayer, which prompts me to face my deepest doubts about the divine.
"Is he there?" provides a thoughtful insight into the complexity of faith and the search for universal meaning. Through the lens of my own journey, the documentary invites viewers to reflect on their beliefs and engage with the enduring question: Is he there?
Hues & Blues
Dir: Vinayakram C; 45:24 min; Documentary; India
Synopsis: Prasanna, Prasenjit, Ayushi and Vivek are individuals living separate lives and having distinct careers in different cities of the world. Being queer is a common thread they have and united by chance, they come together to throw a camping festival for the queer community in India. The festival is named "URU" meaning "VILLAGE" in the southern languages of India.
"Hues & Blues" documentary captures these individual’s journey as they design and build the space for India’s first queer camping festival. Their aim is to build a safe space where there is no judgement and all voices can be heard.
The film tries to explore what queerness means for these individuals in the lead up to the festival as they work togther to bring their vision to life.
Once the festival begins, the film's perspective shifts to the festival attendees who take part in various workshops and share their stories about sexuality, gender, society.
The stories that come out drive the point that queerness is a human emotion and discrimination against it is invalid.
The film captures the tender moments of individuals who get an opportunity to be authentically themselves without fear of judgement or prosecution for those 3 days during the festival and leaves us with a sense of hope that this safe space could one day extend beyond the festival setting. The people in the film can be seen calling for a change in the way queer community is perceived in India - the first step in progressing towards acceptance.
Risk Takers
Dir: Siddhesh Pandey; 01:00:00 min; Documentary; India
Synopsis: Risk Takers is a five segment story which follows the lives of Mumbai’s lowest but most essential citizens. They face danger working in brutal conditions, often ignored by the government and urban society. Their bravery ensures a safer city for others.
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