Persistence Resistance in London
July 22 & 23, 2008, The Flea Pit
A selection from Persistence Resistance: a festival of contemporary political films was screened in London and present works by Indian filmmakers: their concerns, styles, aesthetics and engagement with form.
Held in New Delhi, India on the 28, 29 and 30 April 2008, Persistence Resistance aimed to create a cinema space to celebrate the diverse nature of films in India and to some extent, the world. The idea was to showcase the range of subjects and forms the films work with, and to interrogate the emerging aesthetics of political filmmaking. It is apparent that in the last decade or so Indian image-makers have crossed new boundaries, carried out different formal experiments and also recast the notion of political filmmaking. Women have played a significant role in this and have given a new formal twist to political documentaries that explore and engage with form and the political terrain in a nuanced manner with spaces for ambiguities and multiple reading.
In New Delhi, Persistence Resistance screened nearly 100 films over three days in a multitude of spaces and manner. The Flea Pit presented a mini selection from Persistence Resistance for the documentary lovers and watchers in London. The attempt was to showcase works by some of the pioneering, and emerging, filmmakers of India.
Sscreening schedule: July 22 | July 23
- Persistence Resistance: A festival of contemporary political films
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Magic Lantern Foundation, in collaboration with the Indian International Centre (IIC), organised the Persistence Resistance: a festival of contemporary political films on the 28th, 29th and 30th April 2008 at the IIC in New Delhi.
The festival aimed to create a cinema space that celebrates the diverse nature of films today.
The films screened at the festival were largely from the collection of films being distributed through Under Construction, a non-broadcast, non-commercial, educational distribution initiative.
Swaraj Film Festival 2008
The first Swaraj Film Festival 2008 (also called Swaraj Film Utsav), was held in Allahabad from February 18 to 21, 2008. The festival venue was spread across 8 colleges in the city. Swaraj Film Utsav was held in collaboration with the Swaraj Vidyapeeth, an open university based in Allahabad. The festival hosted a large number of film screenings to college students and featured a workshop to facilitate young thinkers and film enthusiasts. A significant outcome of the event was the establishment of the Swaraj Film Archive.
- The 10th Mumbai International Film Festival
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The 10th Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF) organized from February 03-09, 2008 at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), Mumbai saw a huge participation from film makers, film lovers, students, media practitioners and other film related personalities across the globe.
Under Construction was present at the festival, sharing stall space with the IDPA. Along with all UC films, the stall also displayed those UC films that were screened at MIFF this year under various sections. These included Mahua Memoirs by Vinod Raja, Tales From the Margins by Kavita Joshi, Where's Sandra? By Paromita Vohra, Hope Dies Last in War by Supriyo Sen, My Migrant Soul by Yasmin Kabir and Born into Struggle by Rehad Desai.
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- 9th Madurai Film Festival
The 9th Madurai Documentray and Short Film Festival, is an annual event in the city of Madurai. Like its previous years this year also the film festival, held between December 5 to 9, 2007, was spread across the city and villages around Madurai. In the city, there were regular screenings during the day at various colleges. The evening screenings were held at the MUTA Hall, and also Tamilnadu Theological Seminary. The film festival also traveled to villages like Perunkudi, Usilampatti, Thirupuvanam, Narimedu, Kodimangalam and Sirkali.. The film festival had five primary sections: ‘Retrospective’, ‘Rest Of India’, ‘International Films’, ‘Under Construction’ and ‘Films from Tamilnadu’. There were 10 films in the ‘Under Construction’ (UC) package. In five days, the film festival screened 95 films to an audience spread out all over the city and nearby villages.
The International Film Festival on Gender and Sexuality
Between 12 - 15 May, 2007, the International Film Festival on Gender and Sexuality was hosted by the Public Service Broadcasting Trust (PSBT) at the Stein Auditorium, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. Two films from Under Construction, Gender Trouble by Roz Mortimer and P(l)ain Truth by Ilppo Pohjola were screened at the festival, which showed a large number of films from all over the world.
The ViBGYOR International Film Festival 2007
On the theme of 'Celebrating Identities and Diversity', the ViBGYOR International Film Festival 2007 was organised at Thrissur, Kerala on 10 - 13 May 2007. The festival screened short films and documentaries. 13 films from the collection of Under Construction were screened at the festival. Under Construction also set up a stall at the festival venue.
More on the festival | A Report
Prabhat Film Festival, 2007
The Prabhat Film Festival, 2007, a non-competitive festival on ‘Peace’ was organised by students of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune between 7 - 12 May 2007. The festival aimed to bring together student filmmaking fraternity across Asia. A number of Film schools from China, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Serbia and Singapore participated at the festival. Some of the films distributed by Under Construction were screened at the festival. Under Construction also set up a stall at the Cineshop, a space for independent filmmakers to display and promote their films. Along with many moving films, the festival also hosted a poster exhibition on Peace, seminars and discussions with renowned film personalities, and musical performances. The venues of the festival were National Film Archives and FTII.
- Point of View: A Film Festival on the Politics of Environment
Between February 16 to 18, 2007, the Point of View film festival screened 13 powerful films on the politics of environment at the Prasad's preview theatre. The festival was organised by the Hyderabad Documentary Circle, a small group of filmmakers and viewers that regularly organises film screenings in the city. Magic Lantern Foundation and ECOMOVE International contributed to the festival with films.
The Festival | Note from the Organisers
- The Moving People Film Festival
Magic Lantern Foundation, as part of @Culture - a collective of Indian artists and cultural organizations, co-organised a programme Moving People: Africa-Asia Interface on Migration/ Refugee/ Exile/ Diaspora conducted during the World Social Forum 2007 at Nairobi between January 20 to 25, 2007. Among a wide range of cultural programmes, was an international film festival presenting 24 moving stories of migration, exile, displacement and exploitation on film selected by four curators from two continents.
The Programme | The Festival | A Report
- 8th Madurai Film Festival
The 8th edition of this annual film festival was spread across the city and villages around Madurai. In the city, there were regular screenings during the day at Madura College, Lady Doak College, American College and Madurai Institute of Social Sciences. The evening screenings were held at theTamilnadu Theological Seminary. There were also full day screenings at the MUTA hall. These parallel screenings in different venues showcased 85 films from India and abroad. The festival provided a special section to Under Construction to screen 11 of its films at the festival, along with a special retrospective package of films by Sehjo Singh.
- The 3 Screens Film Festival
The 3 Screens Film Festival was put together by the Delhi Film Archive at the Public Ka Multiplex, during the India Social Forum in New Delhi, from November 10 to 12, 2006. The festival featured 99 films, over 3 days, in 3 auditoriums running parallel to the India Social Forum. Magic Lantern Foundation, as part of the Delhi Film Archive, helped in the curation and screening the Other Worlds Are Breathing 2005 as a section of the film festival. Several films from Under Construction were also screened at the festival.
- Quotes From the Earth
- A film festival on the environment, organised by Toxics Link and India International Centre (IIC) from November 3 to 5, 2006, at the IIC. Quotes From the Earth attempted to bring together a multitude of voices and views on environment from across the globe, the unifying thread being equitable justice for all. From the rare cloud forests of Latin America to the impact of global warming on the world's largest mangrove forests of Sunderbans in Bay of Bengal; from organic farming in Thailand to the impact of genetically modified cotton in Andhra Pradesh. 23 documentaries have were woven together under the themes of Earth, Survival and Water. Magic Lantern Foundation contributed to the festival by providing some of the films.
More on Toxics Link | A Report
- 7th Madurai Film Festival
- Between December 6 and 10, 2005, the 7th Madurai Film Festival, organised by Marupakkam and other local groups, screened a large number of films to Madurai residents, comprising students, people interested in literature, journalists and common citizens. Magic Lantern Foundation contributed with 11 films that it is distributing through its distribution initiative Under Construction.
- The Woman's World
- Magic Lantern Foundation curated a film festival on women and health for the 10th International Women and Health Meeting (IWHM) held in New Delhi, India, from the 21st to the 25th of September, 2005.
- The festival ran parallel to the various workshops and discussions at the conference and screened 25 films that depicted women's health in a broad canvass. Thematically the films were structured in four themes, which were also the significant focal themes of the conference.
- The Festival | A Report
Other Worlds Are Breathing 2005
After the resounding success and encouraging response of the first edition of Other Worlds Are Breathing in Mumbai, Magic Lantern Foundation, as part of @Culture, a coalition of organisations and artists from India, curated a Global Film Festival at the WSF 2005, this time at Porto Alegre, Brazil. Unlike the 2004 festival with multiple themes, the focus of this festival was on Alternatives.
The festival is now ready to go travelling! 22 powerful films on the theme of alternatives, 22 films filled with creative energy, people's power, courage, 22 films to inspire and set us all in action! Check it out and join us in spreading the alternative message around by hosting the festival!
The Festival | Travelling Package
Other Worlds Are Breathing 2004
In January 2004, Magic Lantern Foundation had organised the Other Worlds Are Breathing, a four-day film festival during the World Social Forum in Mumbai. In this festival, 84 documentaries from all over the world on the dominant themes of the forum were screened to packed audiences.
Subsequently, a collection of films from this festival travelled to various parts of India and several other countries, and are still being shown around.
