The thirteen films of TFSA '08

6 Yards to Democracy (55')
India, 2006, dir - Nishtha Jain & Smriti Nevatia

At a political event in Lucknow that was promising free saris, a gruesome stampede kills 22 women and injures many others. This seemingly stray incident hints at the sordid side of Indian democracy, but also goes deeper, to explore the daily humiliations forced upon these women and their families. As Lucknow’s boomtown dynamics pushes them further to the margins, we observe the women’s struggles to keep their homes, hopes and dignity intact, all the while petitioning an apathetic state to pay heed to their needs.

Ayodhya Gatha (60')
India, 2007, dir - Vani Subramanian
Winner of the Special Jury Mention Award at FSA ’07

For two decades now, the destruction of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya has influenced national events in India. But beyond the symbolism that the Uttar Pradesh town holds for the rest of the country, how has that event affected life in Ayodhya itself? As this film relates, today the streets of Ayodhya seem to have lost touch with the feet of its residents. Blocked and barricaded, our only access to the citizens is through memory: the telling of stories, the hearing of tales, the very gatha of Ayodhya’s people.

Chaama Deu! Tara Nabirsa! (Forgive! Forget Not!) (59')
Nepal, 2007, dir - Pranay Limbu

This experimental documentary is the narrated story of a journalist who was detained inside Kathmandu’s infamous Bhairabnath Barracks for 15 months. It provides a mirror to the terrible times just past in Nepal, during the ‘people’s war’ and the state’s reaction to the Maoist insurgency.

Eisenfresser (Ironeaters) (85')
Bangladesh, 2007, dir - Shaheen Dill-Riaz
Winner of the Ram Bahadur Trophy for Best Film at FSA ’07

The annual famine in northern Bangladesh forces two farmers, Kholil and Gadu, along with several of their relatives, to leave their homes and go to work as seasonal labourers in the ship-breaking yards far to the south. Here, on the beaches of Chittagong, they dismantle the discards of the Western world: decrepit oil tankers and enormous container ships, many of which harbour a vast range of perils, toxic and otherwise. These yards also capture their workers, as the seasonal workers who do the most dangerous work are also forced into an endless cycle of debt.

Every Good Marriage Begins with Tears (62')
UK/Bangladesh, 2006, dir - Simon Chambers

A moving account of two rebellious Bangladeshi sisters, born and raised in London, who are forced to go back to their parents’ motherland for arranged marriages. Through footage of some of their most personal moments, the film explores the conflicts between migrants to the West and their children. It also dispels some myths about Islam’s treatment of women, and puts a human face on one of the communities that is being targeted as a result of the US-led ‘war on terror’.

From Dust (60')
Sri Lanka, 2005, dir - Dhruv Dhawan

Filmed following the devastating 2004 Tsunami, this is a damning expose of the Colombo government’s ulterior motives during the course of disaster relief. The local survivors have ultimately been prevented from rebuilding their homes along the coastline, while developers eye the lucrative beaches. Told through the stories of two survivors and an aid worker, From Dust is a sensitive depiction of lives that waited in tents while the tourism industry repositioned itself on their properties.

A Life with Slate (59')
Nepal, 2006, dir - Dipesh Kharel
Joint Winner of the Best Debut Film Award at FSA ’07

In a mountain village east of Kathmandu, the harsh lives of Thami slate-miners take on almost poetic dimensions. We learn how to separate slate slabs from the precipitous rock faces. Women work alongside men, carrying heavy loads down to the village and distant markets. A Life with Slate emphasises how cooperation between the labouring families ultimately makes a tough life bearable, and depicts intimate scenes of village life.

Living Goddess (96')
Nepal, 2006/07, dir - Ishbel Whitaker

Three kumaris, living goddesses, of Kathmandu Valley go about their ritualised lives against the backdrop of the agitations that marked the April 2006 People’s Movement. Long sought for annual blessings by Nepal’s monarchy, the Kumaris suddenly find themselves caught amidst a fight to define the country’s future. The film spends extra time with Sajani Sakya, the precocious, camera-friendly Kumari of Bhaktapur, who went on a trans-Atlantic visit that made news over the summer.

The Miseducation of Pakistan (30')
Pakistan, 2005, dir - Syed Ali Nasir

Schools with no teachers, no buildings, no drinking water, no electricity, and overflowing with garbage – this is what so many students of public schools in Pakistan can look forward to. Little wonder that a vast majority of the country’s primary-school graduates are not even considered literate by international standards. All the while, a corrupt hierarchy of officials and school staff line their pockets with funds meant for the children’s education – and no one is held accountable. This is the story of a generation lost, and of a country where basic education remains a distant dream for millions.

Motherland Afghanistan (74')
Afghanistan, 2006, dir - Sedika Mojadidi

The filmmaker follows her father, who specialises in women’s medicine, back to Afghanistan, where one in seven women dies during childbirth. Motherland Afghanistan takes in two different trips, one to a maternity ward in Kabul, and the other to a rural hospital in Ghazni. In the juxtaposition of these two situations, the film finds and highlights the inspiring grace and courage of Afghanistan’s women.

Rabba Hun Kee Kariye (Thus Departed our Neighbours) (65')
India, 2007, dir - Ajay Bhardwaj

Rabba Hun Kee Kariye (Thus Departed our Neighbours) trails a shared history of Punjab - a subcontinental culture, language and a way of life- that was torn asunder in the fateful year of 1947. It captures the documentary maker’s almost unexpected encounter with feelings of guilt and remorse about the genocidal violence of the partition. These informal tales, almost like folklore, are strewn across the memoryscape of Punjabi countryside. This documentary invokes it in the public domain for the first time.

Remembrance of Things Present (81')
India, 2007, dir - Chandra Siddan
Winner of the Second Best Film Award at FSA ’07

How is a teenager supposed to deal with an arranged marriage? How does one resolve the conflict of a displaced life after years of nomadic existence abroad? In Remembrance of Things Present, the filmmaker, now living in Canada, returns to Bangalore to confront her parents with the former question, while she herself tries to resolve the latter. Long divorced and newly remarried, she records some profoundly touching conversations with her parents – while also finding her past being repeated in the life of her parents’ household help.

The Sky Below (75')
India/Pakistan, 2006/07, dir - Sara Singh
Joint Winner of the Best Debut Film Award at FSA ’07

The Sky Below paints a contemporary portrait of the India-Pakistan ‘mind-frontier’, six decades after the two were parted. Singh explores the lingering commonalities, as well as the remaining possibilities for reconciliation based on the countries’ interwoven histories, cultures and faiths. From both Pakistan and India, we hear first-person recollections from the time of Partition, as well as the views of former militants, politicians, royalty, ordinary citizens, historians and others.

Contact
For more details about TFSA ’08, including travel schedule, please contact TFSA
Co-ordinator, Mallika Aryal at + 977-1-5542544 or email fsa@filmsouthasia.org.

For information on Film South Asia ’07, including full listing, jury report, press releases etc, go to www.filmsouthasia.org.