14th Madurai Film Festival: Final list of films, Rest of India, Short films!

14th Madurai International Documentary 

and Short Film Festival 2012

REST OF INDIA: SHORT FILMS

1) The Fakers

Dir: Ghanshyam Bhatt; Hindi; 13.35 min; 2012;

Rahul and Swati are going to meet as prospective match. Their

family tells them what all to do and how to behave. They meet

and do the same but it doesn’twork between them…Result lots of

grudges and misunderstanding. Then a co incidence happens.

bhatt.ghanshyam@gmail.com

2) As I Remember You

Dir: Gaurav Saluja; Hindi; 26 min; 2012;

It is a fi lm about ARNAV. He has lost his girlfriend in a car accident.

It is been a long time after her death, but ARNAV is still

not able to live a normal life. He is plagued by the memories of old

days and all his suffering leads to some other form of pain in his life.

er.gauravsaluja@yahoo.com

3) Swapno Satyakam

Dir: Som; Bengali; 21.38 min; 2012;

Satyakam is a young dwarf. His short height and unusual looks

constantly draw snide remarks and insulting comments from

people. In his mind, he constructs a dream world where there is no

hatred… where one doesn’t harm another… a world where there is

only love. His only wish is to lose himself in love.

somnath042000@yahoo.com

4) The Family

Dir: Zaman Habib; Hindi; 16.25 min; 2012;

Today when we are falling prey to social disintegration and becoming

too individualistic Jambert, a coffi n shop owner, believes in family, although

he fancies death to run his shop. This is a story of people around

the world who aren’t able to handle loneliness as in case of Jambert in

this fi lm who wants a family: some close people to be around, someone

to share his joys and sorrows with. And to have those people around he

doesn’t mind having a family of dead people.

zamanhabib@gmail.com

5) Bawdi

Dir: Vivek Soni; Hindi; 20 min; 2012;

Adding to the woes of a village facing acute shortage of water, a

Cola Company sets up base close to it. If wells drying up were not

enough, its operations have directly affected the lives and fortunes

of the farmers fi ghting for their survival. Women have to walk

miles to fetch water, which has made villagers prefer their

daughters getting married outside the village. A young couple

victimized by the circumstances struggles to get married.

vivek.sonni@gmail.com

6) Verge of Happiness

Dir: Harsha Setty GR; No dialogue; 18.45 min; 2012

Four friends ( Raj, Vicky, Mohan & Shaila) get high on drugs and

meet with an unfortunate accident on the outskirts of the city/ noman’s

land. Mohan and shaila die on the spot, Raj is on the verge

of dying and his life is in hanging preciously between life and

death, Vicky is badly injured. The story revolves around Vicky’s

struggle to escape the clutches of dependability on drugs and trying

to save his friend raj.

settyharsha@yahoo.co.in

7) Current

Dir: Dhanesh Krishna; Malayalam; 26 min; 2012

The story of the village girl who comes to act in a blue fi lm, fi rst

time.

vdhaneshkrishna@gmail.com

8) Nirnay

Dir: Dhananjay Bhawalekar; Marathi; 26.53; 2012

This is the story in the family of sanitary worker where a youth

named mahendra denies follow his traditional occupation which is

instigated or forced on him by social system . While taking this decision

he had to struggle with family like wise the burden of social

and political pressure. He also goes through many debates. To live

a pride and dignity is a fundamental right of everyone and oneself

comes to sense it because of education in his belief. There after he

starts his journey in that direction.

dhananjaybhawalkar@gmail.com

9) Chhoti Chhoti Baatein

Dir: Aashini Shah; Gujarati; 13.09; 2011

“Chhoti Chhoti Baatein” is a fi lm about four characters and their

desires, the desires that are affected by little things in life. For one

character it is independence and a desire to get back to the past.

For the other it is a new sofa and for the other two it is the lifestyle

that they lead. They all make efforts to fulfi ll their desires and

in the process of doing so go through certain experiences, which

brings them to self-realization. It is on the lines of “Grass is greener

on the other side.”

aashini.s@nid.edu

10) Back water

Dir: Arun karthick; Malayalam; 14mins; 2011

A lonely island, a traumatic traveler, a story that mirrors the waters;

a brutal rape, and her return to the waters. Set in the midst of

the island. The Back waters is a haunting boat journey into the life

of a secluded girl.

cinemaobscurak@gmail.com

14th Madurai Film Festival : Final list of films; Rest of India Documentaries

14th Madurai International Documentary

 and Short Film Festival 2012

6,7,8 December 2012

Section: FILMS FROM REST OF INDIA

DOCUMENTARIES

1) Bharat Mata Ki Jai

Dir: Avadhoot Khanolkar, Shweta Radhakrishnan, Amol Ranjan, Arpita

Chakroborty, Anurag Mazumdar

At the heart of Mumbai’s mill country, Lalbaug-Parel, stands

Bharatmata Cinema, one of the remaining single screen theatres

showing Marathi fi lms exclusively. The theatre is an iconic reminder

of a fast disappearing working class culture in Mumbai.

Through the lives of Kapil Bhopatkar, the owner, and Baban, one

of the oldest employees of the theatre, the fi lm explores the history

and development of Bharatmata as a space for articulating the

cultural identity of Mumbai’s working class and raises important

questions about its existence and survival. The characters, widely

disparate through their socio-economic class, come together

through their passionate love for cinema and their celebration of

the main character in the fi lm – Bharatmata Cinema itself.

anuragmazu@gmail.com

2) Indelible

Dir: Pavitra Chalam; 16 min; 2012; English

It is an introduction to a feature length documentary created

specifi cally for the world Down syndrome congress (2012), south

Africa and is the offi cial fi lm for the down syndrome federation of

India (Dsfi ).

pavithra.chalam@curleystreet.com

3) Dere tun Dilli

Dir: Divya Cowasji & Shilpi Gulati; 26 min; 2012; Siraiki, English, Hindi

‘Dere tun Dilli’ is a fi lm about storytellers who weave history in the

everyday. Storytellers, who tell tales of a divided country, of struggles

across borders and of lost and found homes. Storytellers, who

try to remember, keep a collective memory alive and who often

forget. ‘Dere tun Dilli’ is a journey through time, through Dera

Ismail Khan and Delhi, through memory, living and forgetting.

shilpi.gulati1@gmail.com

4) Nirnay

Dir: Pushpa Rawat; 56 min; 2012; Hindi, Garhwali

By following the lives of the women over three years, the fi lm documents

the changes in their lives and tries to capture the essence of

their existence, sometimes through conversations, and sometimes

by simply observing their seemingly innocuous every day routine.

srinivasan@hotmail.com

5) Night Hawks

Dir: Umadevi Tanuku; 52 min; 2012; Hindi

This documentary tries to look at Delhi from the perspective of

people who work at night, and reveals multiple stories that often

go unnoticed.

umafti@hmail.com

6) Diamond Band

Dir: Samridhi Dasot; 17 min; 2012; Gujarati, Hindi

The fi lm revolves around an Ahmedabad Wedding Brass Band

called Dimond Band. It explores their profession, the personal lives

and background of members and their equation as a team.

Dasotsamridhi@gmail.com

7) In Rags

Dir: Abhishek Chandra; 13 min; 2012; Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati

The fi lm is about the biggest dump yard in Ahemedabad.

abishek.c@nid.edu

8) Pennadi / My Mirror is the Door

Dir: Leena Manimekalai; 52 min; 2012; Tamil

Tamil, a World Classic Language, has a long history of culture and its

literature dates back to even before Common Era. The ten anthologies

and eight long poems of Sangam age from 100 B.C to 250 A.D are the

oldest and most distinguished body of secular poetry extant in India.

Women poets were a strong presence in Sangam literature of yesteryears

and their scholarship is proved that total of 154 of the 2831

poems carry women’s signatures, The legacy include the much

quoted Aavaiyar, Kaakai Padiniyar, Aadhi manthiyaar, Kuramagal

Ilaveyini, Veri paadiya kaamakkanniyar, Kavarpendu, Nakkannaiyaar,

Nappasalaiyar, Paari Magalir, to include the important.

Leena Manimekalai, the contemporary Tamil woman poet enters

the cavern of her own mind and fi nds there the scattered leaves not

only of her own power but of the tradition of her foremothers that

might have generated that power.

9) Ballad of Resistance

Dir: Leena Manimekalai; 35 min; 2012; Hindi

Balladof Resistance is a video portrait of indigenous tribal journalist

and activist Dayamani Barla, her perseverance and tireless fi ght

against corporations and the state machinery. The fi lm follows

how she, from a humble background became one of the pioneering

adivasi journalists of India and later a writer-activist. Her current

leadership in the Anti Displacement Movement with Nagari villagers

against land acquisition of 35 villages by State in the name of

“development” is the very impetus of Ballad of Resistance.

10) Please Don’t Beat Me, Sir!

Dir: Shashwati Talukdar & P.Kerim Friedman; 75 min; 2011; Hindi,

Bhantu, Gujarati

Over 60 million Indians belong to communities imprisoned by the

British as “criminals by birth”. The chaara of Ahmedabad, in

western India, are one of 198 such “criminal tribes”. Declaring

that they are “born actors”, not born criminals a group of chhara

youth turned to street theatre in their fi ght against police brutality,

corruption and the stigma of criminality—a stigma internalized

by their own grandparents “please don’t beat me sir!” follows the

lives of these young actors and their families as they take their

struggle to streets , hoping their plays will spark a revolution.

info@fourindiandhalf.com

11) 3D Stereo Caste

Dir: A.S. Ajith kumar; 23mins; 2012; Malayalam

3D Stereo Caste is the fi rst part of the documentary series on caste

in music. It tries to explore how caste plays a keyrole in determining

the practices in music, listening habits, performance, classifi

cations and how musicians experience caste in their fi eld. This

introductory chapter focuses on the fi eld of chenda( a percussion

instrument),Cinematic dance and the folk music performances in

kerala.

asajithkumar@gmail.com

12) Jai Bhim Comrade

Directed by Anand Patwardhan, 180 min; 2012; Marathi with Tamil

Subtitles

For thousands of years India’s Dalits were abhorred as “untouchables”

denied education and treated as bonded labour. By 1923

BhimraoAmbedkar broke the taboo, won doctorates abroad and

fought for the emancipation of his people. He drafted India’s Constitution,

led his followers to discard Hinduism for Buddhism. His

legend still spreads through poetry and song.

In 1997 a statue of Dr. Ambedkar in a Dalit colony in Mumbai was

desecrated with footwear. As angry residents gathered, police

opened fi re killing 10. Vilas Ghogre, a leftist poet, hung himself in

protest.

‘Jai Bhim Comrade’ shot over 14 years, follows the poetry and music

of people like Vilas marks a subaltern tradition of reason that

from the days of the Buddha, has fought superstition and religious

bigotry.

13) Get up Stand up

Directed by Sreemith, 34 min; 2012; Tamil, Malayalam with English

subtitles

The documentary, Get up Stand up is in some ways, an answer to

many of the myths surrounding the nuclear power projects, the

world over. Though this fi lm is set particularly in the back drop of

the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project and the people’s struggle

against it, the fi lm raises almost all the questions regarding the

nuclear plants.

14) Song of the Coastal Lilies

Directed by Sreemith, 7 min; 2012; Tamil, English with English subtitles;

music video

A music video on the people’s resistance against the Koodankulam

nuclear project

14th Madurai Film Festival : Final list of films; Retrospective Section

14th Madurai International Documentary 

and Short Film Festival 2012

6,7,8 December 2012

RETROSPECTIVE Section

ANJALI MONTEIRO & K. P. JAYASANKAR

Anjali Monteiro and K. P. Jayasankar are Professors at the Centre

for Media and Cultural Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences,

Mumbai. Both of them are involved in media production, teaching

and research. Jointly they have won twenty-one national and international

awards for their Films, including the Prix Futura Berlin

1995 Asia Prize for Identity, Best Documentary Award at the Three

Continents International Festival of Documentaries, Venezuela.

Their work has also been screened widely, at fi lm festivals, on

Indian and overseas television networks and at Universities and

institutions across the world. They are both recipients of the Howard

Thomas Memorial Fellowship in Media Studies, and have been

attached to Goldsmith’s College, London, and the University of

Western Sydney.

1) Our Family

Directed by Anjali Monteiro and K.P. Jayasankar

56 mins, Tamil with English subtitles, 2007

What does it mean to cross that line which sharply divides us on

the basis of gender? To free oneself of the socially imposed onus

of being male, to liberate the female that lies within? In this film,

scenes from Nirvanam, a one person performance in Tamil which

explores these questions, are juxtaposed with an intimate portrait

of three generations of trans-gendered female subjects, who are all

bound together by ties of adoption. In the process, the fi lm questions

notions of normality and fixed gender identities.

2) SheWrite

Directed by Anjali Monteiro and K.P. Jayasankar

55 mins, English and Tamil versions, 2005

SheWrite weaves together the narratives and work of four Tamil

women poets. Salma negotiates subversive expression within the

tightly circumscribed space allotted to a woman in a small town.

For Kuttirevathi, solitude is a crucial creative space from where

her work resonates. Her anthology entitled Breasts (2003) elicited

hate mail, obscene calls and threats. The fact that women poets are

exploring themes such as desire and sexuality been opposed by

some Tamil film lyricists, who have gone on record with threats of

death and violence.

This has been resisted by a collective of poets and artists called

Anangu (Woman). MalathyMaitri is a founder member of Anangu.

Her poems explore feminine power and spaces. Sukirtharani

writes of desire and longing, celebrating the body and feminine

empowerment. The fi lm traverses these diverse modes of resistance,

through images and sounds that evoke the universal experiences

of pain, anger, desire and transcendence.

3) YCP 1997

43 Mins., English,1997

Directed by K.P. Jayasankar and Anjali Monteiro

Built between 1865 and 1876, Yerwada Central Prison (YCP), Pune,

is one of the oldest prisons in India, with over 2500 inmates. In

this video, six poets and artistes of the YCP share their work, their

lives... Through their poems and musings, the film explores the

modes in which they creatively cope with the pain and stigma of

incarceration, in the process questioning their selfhood and the

socially constructed divides between ‘us’ and ‘them’, between the

‘normal’ and the ‘deviant’.

4) Naata (The Bond)

45 mins., English and Hindi versions, 2003

Directed by K.P. Jayasankar and Anjali Monteiro

Naata is about BhauKorde and Waqar Khan, two activists and

friends, who have been involved in confl ict resolution, working

with neighbourhood peace committees in Dharavi, reputedly, the

largest ‘slum’ in Asia. This film explores their work, which has

included the collective production and use of visual media for

ethnic amity. Naata is also about us; among other things, it is an attempt

to reflect on how we relate to spaces of the other, spaces like

Dharavi. It is, above all, about Mumbai, the city that encompasses

Bhau, Waqar and us.

5) So Heddan So Hoddan 

A Film by Anjali Monteiro and KP Jayasankar

52 mins, Sindhi, Kachchhi and Hindustani with English subtitles, 2011,

A Public Service Broadcasting Trust Production

Before the Partition the Maldhari (pastoralist) Jatts moved freely

across the Rann, between Sindh (now in Pakistan) and Kutch. As

pastoral ways of living have given way to settlement, borders

and industrialisation, the older generation struggles to keep alive

the rich syncretic legacy of Shah Bhitai, that celebrates diversity

and non-difference, suffering and transcendence, transience and

survival.

These marginal visions of negotiating difference in creative ways

resist cultural politics based on tight notions of nation-state and

national culture; they open up the windows of India’s national imaginary.

Madurai Film Festival 2012: INVITATION

14^th Madurai International Documentary 

and Short Film Festival 2012

6,7,8 Dec 2012; Madurai

Organized by MARUPAKKAM

In association with

Visual Art Centre, Madura College; Vellaichami Nadar College, Department of Folklore, Madurai Kamaraj University; Mannar Thirumalai Nayakkar College; Yadhava College, Madurai

Inauguration

6 Dec 2012; 10 am

Hotel Premnivas, Melaperumal Mestry Veedhi, Town Hall Raod, Madurai

Chief Guests: 

Anjali Monteiro and K.P.Jayasankar (filmmakers), Mumbai

Inaugural film:

Yuban

Dir: Yaasib Vazquez

Mexico; 29 min; 2011; Documentary; Spanish with English subtitles

Retrospective: Anjali Monteiro & K.P.Jayasankar

14th Madurai International Documentary and Short Film Festival 2012
6,7,8 December 2012, Madurai

We are happy to have the retrospective of veteran filmmakers Anjali Monteiro and K.P.Jayasankar at our 14th edition of Madurai Film Festival.

We will screen their following films:
YCP 1997
NAATA
SHEWRITE
OUR FAMILY
SO HEDDAN SO HODDAN

SHORTS:
A Short Film on Rain
Irani Restaurant Instructions
Memory.Space

The filmmakers will present their films and take part in the discussions.

Amudhan R.P.
Festival Director

14th Madurai Film Festival: Selection List 01

14th Madurai International Documentary and Short Film Festival 2012: Selected films*

International films: Short Films

1) Amanecer
Dir: Erick Garcia; Mexico; 21 min; 2010
2) Desierto
Dir: Christian Rivera; Mexico; 15:30 min; 2010
3) Munecas
Dir: Miguel Salgado; Mexico; 25 min; 2010
4) Stella Maris
Dir: Marie Benito; Mexico; 10 min; 2010
5) De Este Mundo
Dir: Fernanda Valadez; Mexico; 18:30; 2010
6) The Voice of God
Dir: Bernd Lutzeler; Germany; 9 min; 2011
7) Miruna
Dir: Piotr Sulkowski; Poland; 20 min; 2012
8) Tirastan Sonra
Dir: Nail Pelivan; Turkey; 17 min; 2012
9) Two Journalists
Dir: Vladimic Sakhov; Russia; 17 min; 2012
10) Accident
Dir: Kivill Pletnev; Russia; 25 min; 2012
11) We are not slaves
Dir: Anyr Askarov; Russia; 15 min; 2012
12) The Encounter
Dir: Georgiy Soldatov; Russia; 8 min; 2011
13) One Minute
Dir: Elena Golyanima; Russia; 15 min; 2012
14) When a woman is happy
Dir: Tatina Budistskaya; Russia; 26 min; 2011
15) Away
Dir: Anna Sarukhanova; Russia; 17 min; 2012
16) Seven Days
Dir: Margarita Magdesieva; Russia; 30 min; 2012
17) Haikus for Karaoke
Roberto Santaguida; Italy; 4.30 min; 2012
18) A Parideira
Dir: Jose Miguel Moreira; Portugal; 20 min; 2010
19)Noite Gelida Em Castelo Branco
Dir: Luis Diogo; Portugal; 15 min; 2011
20) Prescricao
Dir: Marco Miranda; Portugal; 14 min; 2012

International Films: Animation

1) Mulher Sombra
Dir: Joana Imaginario; Portugal; 7.39 min; 2011
2) Lagrimas De Um Palhaco
Dir: Claudio Sa; Portugal; 6 min; 2012
3) Conto Do Vento
Dir: Claudio Jordao & Nelson Martins; Portugal; 12 min; 2010

International Films: Documentaries

1) Ameer Got His Gun
Dir: Naomi Levari; Israel; 58 min; 2011
2) Haiti, Tierra De Esperanza
Dir: Asier Reino; Spain; 54 min; 2012
3) Doll - Why would you dance Naked?
Dir: Zohar Wagner; Israel; 58 min; 2012
4) Orania
Dir: Tobias Lindner; Germany; 94 min; 2012
5) Scorpions
Dir: Simo Hakalisto; Finland; 74 min; 2012
6) Floreria y edecanes
Dir: Jaizel Hernandez; Mexico; 43 min; 2012
7) Tres rocas
Dir: Emiliano Fernandez; Mexico; 66 min; 2011
8) The Wild Ones
Dir: Lucy Kaye; UK; 30 min; 2012
9) Her Name is Vivienne
Dir: Mustafa Boga; UK; 7 min; 2012
10) Rosario
Dir: Anshul Tiwari; Singapore; 6 min; 2012
11) Apash, Outsiders
Dir: Cora Pena; Spain; 88 min; 2011
12) Masi's Law
Dir: Aaro Hazak & Adam Jacobi Moller; South Africa; 14 min; 2012
13) Los nueve infiernos
Dir: Abril Schmucler; Mexico; 25 min; 2010
14) Hermeneutics
Dir: Alexei Dmitriev; Russia; 3.15 min; 2012
15) Ancestral Delicatessen
Dir: Gabriel Folgado; Spain; 15 min; 2012
16) Yuban
Dir: Yaasib Vazquez; Mexico; 29 min; 2011
17)  Dear Mandela
Dir: Dara Kell & Christopher Nizza; South Africa/USA; 90 min; 2012

Rest of India : Documentaries

1) Bharat Mata Ki Jai
Dir: Avadhoot Khanolkar, Shweta Radhakrishnan, Amol Ranjan, Arpita Chakroborty, Anurag Mazumda
55 min; 2012
2) Indelible
Dir: Pavitra Chalam; 16 min; 2012
3) Dere tun Dilli
Dir: Divya Cowasji & Shilpi Gulati; 26 min; 2012
4) Nirnay
Dir: Pushpa Rawat; 56 min; 2012
5) Night Hawks
Dir: Umadevi Tanuku; 52 min; 2012
6) Diamond Band
Dir: Samridhi Dasot; 17 min; 2012
7) In Rags
Dir: Abhishek Chandra; 13 min; 2012
8) Pennadi, My Mirror is the Door
Dir: Leena Manimekalai; 52 min; 2012
9) Ballad of Resistance
Dir: Leena Manimekalai; 35 min; 2012
10) Please Don't Beat Me, Sir!
Dir: Shashwati Talukdar & P.Kerim Friedman; 75 min; 2011

Rest of India: Short Films

1) The Fake'rs
Dir: Ghanshyam Bhatt; Hindi; 13.35 min; 2012
2) As I Remember You
Dir: Gaurav Saluja; Hindi; 26 min; 2012
3) Swapno Satyakam
Dir: Som; Bengali; 21.38 min; 2012
4) The Family
Dir: Zaman Habib; Hindi; 16.25 min; 2012
5) Bawdi
Dir: Vivek Soni; Hindi; 20 min; 2012
6) Verge of Happiness
Dir: Harsha Setty GR; No dialogue; 18.45 min; 2012
7) Current
Dir: Dhanesh Krishna; Malayalam; 26 min; 2012
8) Nirnay
Dir: Dhananjay Bhawalekar; Marathi; 26.53; 2012
9) Chhoti Chhoti Baatein
Dir: Aashini Shah; Gujarati; 13.09; 2011

*Selected by the selection committee:

1) Arun Mozhi
2) R.R.Srinivasan
3) Mini Hari
4) Ajayan Bala
5) Prema Revathi
6) Dhayalan
7) Amudhan R.P.
8) Hameed Aslam

14th Madurai Film Festival 2012

14th Madurai International Documentary and Short Film Festival 2012
6,7,8 December 2012, Madurai

Organised by MARUPAKKAM

Films will be screened under the following sections:

1) International Films
2) Rest of India
3) Films from Tamilnadu
4) Retrospective: Anjali Monteiro and K.P. Jayasankar
5) Country package: Contemporary short films and documentary films from Trinidad and Tobago; curated by Paul Lee, Canada
6) Under Construction: films distributed by Magic Lantern Foundation, New Delhi

Entries are invited for the first 3 sections. The Last date to send the entries: 6 October 2012.

Rules and regulations:

1) The film festival is a non competitive festival
2) No entry fee
3) Selection committee will select the final list of films to be screened. Final list will be announced on 1 November 2012
4) The entries should accompany a filled and signed entry form
5) DVDs will not be sent back
6) Films under the section 1 should intimate that 'IT IS FOR CULTURAL PURPOSE ONLY; NO COMMERCIAL VALUE' on the envelope.
7) One entry form should be used for one film only.

Check List (The following things should be sent along with every entry):

1) Filled and signed entry form
2) DVD copies of the film: 2
3) DVD containing press kit: synopsis of the film, info about the filmmaker/s, stills, posters
4) Press kit in printed form (hard copy)

Films to be sent to the following address:

Marupakkam
14th Madurai International Documentary and Short Film Festival
First floor, 33, Scheme Road
3rd Cross St, Ellai Amman Colony, Teynampet
Chennai 600086, India
ph: 91 86952 79353
email: maduraifilmfest@gmail.com

ENTRY FORM is available at www.marupakkamfilms.blogspot.com

Amudhan R.P.
Festival Director
Madurai Film Festival