Workers Film Festivals 2025, Chennai

Workers Film Festivals 2025

9-11 May, Chennai

Curated by Amudhan RP

Jointly organised by

Periyar Self Respect Media

Discovery Book Palace

Thinkers Forum 

Agaram Foundation

MARUPAKKAM

Schedule :

9 May; 11 am to 5 pm; Periyar Thidal

10 May; 11 am to 5 pm; Discovery Book Palace

11 May; 11 amto 1 pm; Agaram Foundation

Detailed Schedule :

Festival 01 

9 May, Periyar Thidal

11 am to 5 pm 

11 am to 1 pm 

Harvest of Light

Dir: Esin Özalp Özturk; 52:00 min; Documentary; Turkey

Synopsis: Turkish capital Ankara’s district Evren is home to a community of seasonal workers. The workers, who come to Evren with their families to harvest onions, are trying to cope with various difficulties while trying to hold on to life.

The documentary "Harvest of Light" is centered around the generator, used as a metaphorical beacon of hope in the film, and operates for only 2 hours a day. In this short time, the workers tell their stories amidst the chaos of labor, perseverance, and the struggle to catch up with life.

Miles Away

Dir : Megha Acharya; 50 min; Documentary; India 

The everyday-lives of three female labourers working in a brick kiln in India takes an upsetting turn after an unexpected rainfall halts their work. What unfolds is a threatening tale of unorganized labour and economic debts in a rapidly urbanizing India.

2 pm to 5 pm 

Working Women Series : Part 01 - Valli

Dir : Amudhan RP; 70 min; Tamil; 2025

A day in the life Valli, a domestic worker in Thirukazhukundram near Chennai.

Interaction with Amudhan RP, filmmaker 

4 pm 

Boramey - Ghosts in the Factory

Dir: Tammaso Facchin, Ivan Franceschini; 60 min; Italy / Cambodia; Documentary

Sreyra, Ponler, and Sreyven are three young garment workers in Cambodia. Day after day, they produce clothes for the most important global brands, until something exceptional disrupts their routine: suddenly they pass out in the workplace, an event that is followed by their colleagues fainting en masse. Episodes of mass fainting like these are not uncommon in Cambodia, where labour conditions remain harsh.

Festival 02

10 May, Discovery Book Palace

11 am to 5 pm 

11 am to 1 pm 

Under The Scorching Sun

Dir: Prathap Ramamurthy, Jagannath Radhakrishnan; 17:08 min; Documentary; United States

Synopsis: A short documentary that shows the toil of everyday workers in Chennai, India, under extreme heat.

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. 

extraORDINARY WOMEN 

Dir: Mrdu Pankaj; 17:21 min; Documentary; India 

Synopsis: A documentary film on women migrant laborers who work as house help in Mumbai. These women leave their family behind to nurture the family they serve. Though they may not be educated or empowered, that doesn't stop them from dreaming big. 

Part of Life

Dir : Ezequiel Romero; 19.20 min; Documentary; Spain

A group of working class colleagues decide to form a cooperative in 80s Spain to manufacture cork caps and capsules in Jerez, home of Sherry wine. 38 years later the remaining partners are about to retire and they reflect on the adventure of a lifetime and what it meant to be an entrepreneur then vs today. This part of their lives is over and a new one begins.

Taanaa-baanaa 

Dir : Shubhangi Bansai; 19.25 min; Documentary; India 

Set in one of the last surviving weavers’ colonies of Delhi, the film follows the journey of a thread while intricately weaving the rhythms of the space with the conversations of the people who inhabit it. 

2 pm to 5 pm

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.

Sacrifice of Babulal Bhuiya 

Dir : Manjira Dutta; 62 min; Documentary; India 

In a community of Coal Slurry Workers from the adjoining coal washery in the Mailagora coalfields, a casual worker-Babulal Bhuiya- was killed by CISF in 1981, it’s a film about the state of workers’ living conditions at the time and about the awareness that his "sacrifice"raised in them.

4 pm : Interaction and closing remarks

Festival 03

11 May; Agaram Foundation

11 am to 1 pm 

Glass

Dir : Bert Haanstra; 11 min; Documentary; Netherlands 

A classical film on glass making artisans and workers

Kutty Japanin Kuzhanthaigal

Dir : Chalam Bennurkar; 58 min; Documentary; India

An award winning, critically acclaimed film on child labourers in the match and fire crackers factories in and around Sivakasi in 1990s. 

We welcome you!

For registration : 9940642044