Tuesday, April 12, 2005

A documentary by Rakesh Sharma

Screening and discussion at Georgetown University

This screening was organized by the DC Collective for South Asians (DCCSA) and 3rd I DC with the generous support of the Women's Studies Program of Georgetown University, Prof. Sonalde Desai of University of Maryland, and other individual donors. Rakesh Sharma was here as part of a US tour sponsored by the Singh Foundation of New York City. For more information on the filmmaker, please see below.

About the film:

Final Solution is a study of the politics of hate. Set in Gujarat, India, the film graphically documents the changing face of right-wing politics in India through a study of the 2002 genocide of Muslims in Gujarat. The film examines the aftermath of the deadly violence that followed the burning of 58 Hindus on the Sabarmati Express train at Godhra on February 27 2002. In “reaction” to that incident, some 2,500 Muslims were brutally murdered, hundreds of women raped, and more than 200,000 families driven from their homes. Borrowing its reference from the history of Nazism, the title of the film exposes what the film director calls 'Indian Fascism' and seeks to remind that “those who forget history are condemned to relive it."

Final Solution was banned in India by the Censor Board for several months. The ban was recently lifted after a sustained campaign (an online petition, hundreds of protest screenings countrywide, multi-city signature campaigns and dozens of letters to the Government sent by audiences directly). Final Solution was also rejected by the government-run Mumbai International Film Festival, but was screened at Vikalp: Films for Freedom (http://www.freedomfilmsindia.org), organised by the Campaign Against Censorship. Rakesh Sharma has been an active member of the Campaign since its inception.

His last film Aftershocks: The Rough Guide to Democracy won the Best documentary film award at Fribourg, Big Mini-DV and at Big Muddy and won 7 other awards (including the Robert Flaherty prize) at various festivals in USA and Europe during 2002-03. It has been screened at over 90 international film festivals. Aftershocks was also rejected by the government-run Mumbai International film festival in 2002.

For more information about Mr. Sharma, please see http://www.rakeshfilm.com.

November 8, 2003

(Sandstorm)

Directed by Jagmohan Mundhra

A joint presentation by ASHA Inc. and 3rd I DC at the Montgomery County Executive Office Building, Rockville, Maryland

This event was a benefit for ASHA, Inc. ASHA, Inc., is a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering women of South Asian descent living in the Washington, DC metro area. ASHA has provided support, information and guidance to South Asian women for 13 years, and offers culturally relevant responses to abuse in the South Asian community.

Based on a true story, Bawandar depicts a rural low-caste woman social worker in India who is gang-raped by upper-caste men in her village in front of her husband, when she speaks up against the prevalent custom of child marriage. Instead of hanging her head in shame, as she was expected to do, she decides to knock the doors of justice. Her real rape begins when she is made to run from pillar to post in a judicial system corrupted by sexism, chauvinism, feudalism and political opportunism. Against all odds, she maintains her dignity and courage as a woman and from a rape victim becomes a rape activist. (120 minutes, Hindi with English subtitles)

Starring Nandita Das (Fire), Raghuvir Yadav, Deepti Naval, Gulshan Grover, and Rahul Khanna and directed by Jagmohan Mundhra, Bawandar has been the recipient of numerous international awards- Nandita Das, Best Actress, Santa Monica Intl. Film Festival Audience Choice; Best Picture, San Jose Intl. Film Festival Audience Choice; Best Foreign Language Film, Houston Intl. Film Festival.

Shorts from Bangladesh

July 8, 2003

Visions Cinema/Bistro/Lounge, 1927 Florida Avenue NW, Washington DC

My Migrant Soul

Director: Yasmine Kabir

Bangladesh 2000; 30 mins., Bangla with English subtitles

In a posthumous account in the form of audiotapes sent home to his family, Shahjahan Babu tells of his plight as a migrant worker in Malaysia. A young man who dreams of returning to Bangladesh with money to buy land for his family, Babu quickly finds out that his status had been reduced to that of a slave. His dreams dissolve into despair, ending with his mysterious death in police custody.

The Voices of Children

Directors: Catherine & Tareque Masud

Bangladesh, 1995; 30 mins., Bangla with English subtitles

Children tell their own stories about their lives as laborers, chosen and otherwise. Under pressure from US trade lobbies, thousands of children were fired from Bangladesh's booming garments industry. Activists argued that these children would go to school and regain their childhood. Reality didn't always follow this script.

Muktir Gaan (Song of Freedom) (EXCERPT)

Directors: Catherine & Tareque Masud

Bangladesh, 1995; 5 mins., Bangla with English subtitles

25 years ago, American filmmaker Lear Levin set out to make an epic documentary on Bangladesh's 1971 War of Liberation. Levin and his crew came across a troupe of traveling musicians, members of a larger cultural movement known as the Bangladesh Mukti Sangrami Shilpi Sangstha, who traversed war zones singing songs of struggle to inspire the guerrilla cadres and the millions of refugees. Levin followed the troupe and captured the spirit of the Bengali people through 20 hours of beautifully photographed footage. However, he was unable to get funds to complete the project and for 20 years, the footage lay in storage. In 1990, the directors tracked down Levin wanting to make a film based on his footage. The final product includes other archival material in addition to Levin's footage.

Women and War

Directors: Catherine & Tareque Masud

Bangladesh, 2000; 25 mins., Bangla with English subtitles

Documentary about the role of women during the 1971 War of Liberation, both as victims of violence and humiliation, as well as active participants in the guerilla struggle. This film is possibly the first-ever attempt to document the sacrifices Bangladeshi women made for their country's freedom.

Direct-Direct!

Bangladesh 2003; 6 mins., Music

Director: Yasmine Kabir

Singer Pothik Nobi ("prophet of the road") creates a soundscape about the streets of Dhaka. Director Kabir complements the music with colorful views of Dhaka street life.

Unison

Bangladesh; 2 mins., Music

Directors: Catherine & Tareque Masud

Religious symbols morph into one another, highlighting commonalities and ending in a plea for communal harmony. Created as opening sequence for the Indian Film Festival.

The Conversation

Directors: Catherine & Tareque Masud

Bangladesh, 1993; 10 mins., Bangla with English subtitles

A man returns from abroad after many years and visits the woman he betrayed.

The Ruti Eaters

Director: Shireen Pasha

USA, 2002; 8 mins., Bangla with English subtitles / French / English

Tipu and his family are in America for a new way of life, but their ways and dress draw suspicion from neighbors who watch them to the point of harassment, thinking it their duty as law-abiding citizens. Tipu fights back with the only form of jihad he knows: love is life.

Raat Chali Hai Jhoom Ke (The Long Night)

April 1 & April 22, 2003

Visions Cinema/Bistro/Lounge, 1927 Florida Avenue NW, Washington DC

Tickets: $6.50

Total Running Time: 94 min

"Raat Chali Hai Jhoom Ke"/"The Long Night," praised as "required viewing" by the Commonwealth Film Festival, was created by journalist/independent filmmaker Hasan Ziadi and written by Mohammed Hanif, a Newsline reporter, playwright, and current head of BBC's Urdu service.

In this story, Waleed is an MIT-educated yuppie who lives in Karachi's upmarket Clifton area and runs his own computer software firm. He is on the verge of signing a multi-million dollar deal with Microsoft. At the same time he has been carrying on a phone affair for the past six months with a woman he has never seen but whose coyness and old world charm fascinates and intrigues him. One night, the night before a make-or-break net-conference with Microsoft, the woman invites him to come meet her in the run-down market area where she lives. Against his better judgment but overcome by lust and emotion, he sets out late at night to the area about which he knows little. What follows is a night Waleed will never forget as he comes face to face with the realities of a Karachi he has never imagined, let alone experienced.

For more information, see http://www.thelongnight.info/

3rd I DC's inaugural screening was a great success thanks to the efforts of Georgetown University's South Asian Society. About 100 people came to see this eclectic, inspiring compilation of new shorts by South Asian filmmakers from India, the United Kingdom, and the United States. This screening opened with a new short by the Arth Arts Theater Group.

March 31, 2003

Georgetown University, Intercultural Center Auditorium

Suggested $5.00 donation

Total running time: 86 mins

Opening film:

3 Feet

US 2003

8 mins., Video Color

Language: English

DIRECTOR(s): Vinoda Basnayake and Jay Tuli

Arth Arts presents the story of Mathur and his struggle to find his identity in high school.

South Asian International Short Films program:

Badger

USA 2002

25 mins., 35mm B/W

Language: English

DIRECTOR(s): Rajshree Ojha

In this exploration of the complex reality and paradox of India, an aging private school teacher is forced to confront the confines of his regimented, traditional perspectives when confronted by a brash student and the unfamiliar landscape of contemporary city life.

The Drop

UK 2000

7 mins., 35mm Color

Language: English

DIRECTOR(s): Hardeep Singh Kohli

Four South Asian London lads on a Tarantinoesque mission.

A Family Business

UK 1993

8 mins., Video Color

Language: English

DIRECTOR(s): Avie Luthra

A wry faux documentary about South Asian Scots looking for love.

Skin Deep

UK 2001

13 mins., 35mm Color

Language: English

Subtitles: English

DIRECTOR(s): Yousaf Ali Khan

A young South Asian in the UK tries to pass as a white racist skinhead.

A Love Supreme

UK 2002

9 mins., 35mm B/W

Language: No Dialogue

DIRECTOR(s): Nilesh Patel

An exquisite, delicate and artful portrayal of preparing a traditional appetizing delight.

Butterfly

India 2002

23 mins., Video Color

Language: English

DIRECTOR(s): Tanuj Chopra

A quiet romance blossoms between a doctor and his patient, whom he can only inspect through a hole in a huge sheet. A wonderful, evocative and sensual tale.