Freedom Film Festival, Chennai

Freedom Film Festival, Chennai 

16,17 August 2025

Curated by Amudhan RP

Jointly organised by

MARUPAKKAM

Discovery Book Palace

Periyar Self Respect Media 

Schedule (yet to be finalised):

16 August, Discovery Book Palace

11 am to 5 pm 

11 am to 1 pm 

Teens of 1942
Dir : Samiran Deka; 42 min; Documentary; India 

In 1942, Sri Bholanath Nagaria (now 96 Years) , Sri Golapi Chetiya( 95 Years), Sri Radha Bora (102 Years), Sri Jitendra Nath Sarma (98 Years), Sri Punneswar Duwara (97 Years), Sri Khargeswar Chetiya Phukan (92 Years), Sri Krishna Kanta Lahkar (95 Years), Sri Tanka Bora( 102Years), Sri Golak Hazarika (97 Years) were teenagers who had shown utmost patriotism. “Teens of 1942” is an attempt to recall and remember the struggle of some of the valiant freedom fighters, our unsung heroes, many of whom are unknown to the new generation. 

We Saw Fire
Dir: Santiago D. Risco; 48:00 min; Documentary; Spain

Synopsis: Vitória and her children were forced to flee after their village was violently attacked. They reunite with her son Momade and his family in a camp for displaced people in Cabo Delgado, northern Mozambique. The little they had was left behind in the flight. Through perseverance, song and love they try to overcome the consequences of years of conflict, psicological trauma and harsh living conditions. Now they have to build a new home together. 

Under Surveillance
Dir: Joao Paulo Vicente; 22:30 min; Documentary; Brazil

Synopsis: A college professor, a journalist, a trans politician and a group of indigenous women activists. Four different stories on how technology can become a weapon of oppression and authoritarianism. 

2 pm to 5 pm 

On Hold

Dir: Machiel van den Heuvel; 50:03 min; Documentary; Netherlands 

Synopsis: This documentary is about a refugee who is stuck in an asylum procedure. The film especially zooms in on the waiting process with images that express the atmosphere and the state of mind. 

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.

Our Film

Dir: Dakxin Chhara; 49:00; India; Documentary; Competition

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a collective of indigenous artists belonging to India’s ‘ex-criminal’ De-notified Tribes and associated with Budhan Theatre, decided to produce video-podcasts of the impact of the pandemic on the margins. This process was an effort to generate memory against processes of collective amnesia; and to usher indigenous communities to the digital space in a post-pandemic context, where the digital has become an essential component of our cultural and economic life. This film tells the story of the makers, who did not stop recording despite losing members of their own family along the way.

17 August, Periyar Thidal, Chennai

11 am to 5 pm 

11 am 

Cuando llegue la neblina
Dir: Laurentia Genske; 23:23 min; Documentary; Germany

Synopsis: The short film "Cuando llegue la neblina" (When the Fog Comes) portrays the lives of people from the Mexican border city of Tijuana. Through a combination of photographs, animations, and audio recordings, the film delves into the daily realities of four individuals who have different connections to the Mexican-American border. 

When Pomegranate Turns Grey
Dir: Thoufeeq K, Khurrram Muraad Siddiquie; 37:02 min; Documentary; India 

Synopsis: The documentary follows Muraad's journey to uncover the traumatic memories of Hyderabad's annexation (Police Action) in 1948. Through his grandmother, Gulnar, a living repository of time, he connects to a violent past, forging a link to a history he only knew through hearsay. As she slowly recollects the indelible patches of a forsaken chapter in the history of the subcontinent, the past, present, and future are interwoven. As an auto-ethnographic work, the film juxtaposes personal anecdotes with historical context, providing a critical understanding of past events often absent in official accounts. Gulnar's storytelling not only brings to light the emotional and psychological scars left by the annexation but also embodies the resilience and continuity of cultural memory. 

Insides and Outsides
Dir: Arbab Ahmad; 53 min; Documentary; India 

Insides and Outsides starts its journey from the end of 2019, when the government approved discriminatory citizenship laws and a Nazi Germany-esque registry, the combination of which threatened violent disenfranchisement of India's Muslim community. In response to brutal state crackdown against Muslim students protesting the laws, massive gatherings led by Muslim women, sat vigil at neighbourhood-run, self-sustaining 24-hour sit-ins. Arbab's sense of identity as a Muslim and his responsibility towards the community were jolted awake. 

2 pm to 5 pm

A Winter That Burned Delhi: Silent Screams and Broken Promises of 1984 

Dir; Rahul Milind; 59:36 min; Documentary; India 

Synopsis: Four decades after the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, how are the tumultuous events of 1984 in Punjab and Delhi remembered today, where post-1984 generations still navigate grief, pain, and a sense of loss? Taking an ethnographic approach and interlinking themes such as state violence against minorities and identity formation through the lens of collective memory and generational trauma, A Winter that Burned Delhi: Silent Screams and Broken Promises of 1984 is the debut documentary film of Rahul Milind, an incoming Master's student at The University of Chicago and a history undergraduate from Krea University. 

Drifting

Dir: Somnur Vardar; 01:07:00; Documentary; Turkey

Synopsis: Covered in dust, a city by the sea loses its identity and memories while drifting apart from sea and sky. The notable daytime “silhouettes” on construction sites become real characters at night with their longing for home, anxieties for unclear future and their young burned-out bodies. While watching the dramatic changes in urban texture, we meet two young Kurdish cousins working in constructions, just like their fathers and grandfathers did for decades. Ferhat is a teacher, waiting to be assigned while working in constructions. His cousin Emrah plans going to university also to become a teacher. They both dream of a different life, wanting to break the vicious cycle of construction work

Prisoner No. 626710 is Present 
Dir : Lalit Vachani; 60 min; Documentary; India  

Prisoner No. 626710 waits interminably for a bail hearing in court. 
Meanwhile, two friends who await his release, reminisce and discuss the events and the 
circumstances that led to his arrest… 

5.30 pm 

Reason
Dir: Anand Patwardhan; 104 min; Documentary; India

Reason takes us to a macrocosm – India, the world’s largest democracy. Its eight chapters are a chilling account of how murder and mind control are being applied to systematically dismantle secular democracy in a country which once aspired not just to Liberty, Egalite and Fraternity, but to lead the post-war world out of its mindless spiral of violence and greed.