Friday, October 22, 2021, 4:00 pm
Welcome Address
Friday, October 22, 2021, 4:15 pm, followed by Q & A session
BITTERSWEET – Feature Film
Director: Ananth Mahadevan
Duration: 101 minutes
Language: Marathi (English subtitles)
Synopsis:
BITTERSWEET is the true story of Satya Bhama, the woman who condemned the ritual of having to remove her womb and compared it to the dark slave ages of America. The perpetrators and the victims do not realize that they are toying with the balance of nature and maybe wiping out an entire future civilization.
Friday, October 22, 2021, 6:15 pm
Opening Night Reception and Entertainment
Friday, October 22, 2021, 7:15 pm,
For Each Other – Short Film
Director: Rima Das
Duration: 23 minutes
Language: Assamese (English subtitles)
Synopsis:
‘For Each Other’ is part of a BRICS 5-film anthology from filmmakers of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa and is based on the ‘Neighbors’ theme. The ‘Neighbors’ anthology sheds light on not only spatial proximity but also interpersonal closeness. Rima’s film tells the story of Malti and Ramen. Malti is an earnest shop owner, whereas Raman is a flamboyant tempo driver and they bridge the quaint Assam neighborhood to the outside world. What will happen when the comfortable arrangement gets disrupted? Will they still hold their hands?
Friday, October 22, 2021, 8 pm
Ghar Ka Pata (Home Address) – Documentary Film
Director: Madhulika Jalali
Duration: 61 minutes
Language: Hindi, Kashmiri, English (English subtitles)
Synopsis:
This film is an autobiographical account of the Director’s enquiry into her identity as a Kashmiri Pandit Woman (Kashmiri Hindu Minority) in the absence of her own memory. Her family left Kashmir in the early 1990s as a part of the Pandit exodus due to the armed insurgency. She was 6 years old at that time and grew up remembering nothing of her home. 24 years later, she went to Kashmir for the first time with her family. That event acts as a catalyst to rediscover and retrace her roots with the help of her sisters and extended family. We hear oral accounts of a less documented event and time in the history of Kashmir which reveals the deep connections that go beyond religion and politics. At a personal level, it reveals the cruelty of exile and how it continues across generations.
Saturday, October 23, 2021, 4:00 pm
Welcome Address
Saturday, October 23, 2021, 4:15 pm,
Rickshawala – Feature Film
Director: Ram Kamal Mukherjee
Duration: 47 minutes
Language: Bengali, Bhojpuri (English subtitles)
Synopsis:
Rickshawala is a tribute to great master Bimol Roy’s masterpiece Do Bigha Zameen and Roland Joffe’s The City Of Joy. The hundred year old traditional vehicle of Kolkata that has been declared illegal by the Supreme Court is breathing its last breath in the by lanes of the city. The film depicts the pathos, love and human bond through the two wheeler that keeps the city alive.
Saturday, October 23, 2021, 5:05 pm
Coldfire – Short Film
Director: Riddhi Sen
Duration: 34 minutes
Language: Bengali (English subtitles)
Synopsis:
Dystopian dark comedy from one of the most prominent magic realist authors of Bengal, Nabarun Bhattacharya’s short story written in the 70s India “Coldfire”. In 2030, a salesman named G.B. comes to pitch a mysterious product to the real estate tycoon Mr. K.P. Sarkar which he believes will change the Hindu funeral system permanently for the elite classes of the society. He convinces Sarkar to live his death less ordinary by choosing Coldfire over a crematorium that burns the poor and rich classes alike. Sarkar gets on a race with the other elite people who have bought COLDFIRE to become the first user and win in life via his death. Sarkar races with himself in this race down the rabbit hole of consumerism as the story unfolds further.
Saturday, October 23, 2021, 5:35 pm
Reception and Entertainment
Saturday, October 23, 2021, 6:35 pm, followed by Q & A session
WOMB – Women Of My Billion – Documentary Film
Director: Ajitesh Sharma
Duration: 104 minutes
Language: Hindi (English subtitles)
Synopsis:
WOMB is a heart wrenching and heartwarming narrative of the plight, dreams, rights and fight against all forms of violence, that unify the women of today’s India. Where we share a common reality of living and navigating through an indefatigable patriarchal society. Through Srishti’s lens, we gain the privilege of discovering and understanding the WOMB, which deserves to be respected, empowered and protected. A perspective that stays at the fore of her on foot journey of 3800km over 240 days, from Kanyakumari (South India) to Kashmir (North India).