Indian Documentary Film Festival

 A Journey of Passion

late Gopal Chandra Ghosh has done for the Odia film industry is immeasurable, so it was about time this multi-hyphenate star's story was told in the best way possible and by his own family members.

 So, Bijay Nishanka directed the 51-minute documentary A Journey of Passion as a hat tip to one of Odia cinema's greatest. The documentary is about how Tanmayjit, Ghosh's grandson, set out on a journey to find prints of his grandfather's original work. 

Ghosh was behind Odisha's first crowdfunded film Sri Jagannath, which released in 1950 and won him the President's Award. "Back in those times, they went door-to-door to collect `10 for the movie and those who gave more than Rs 1,000 were included in the list of Board of Directors," says Bijay, who works in the Film Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in Kolkata.

Maida

Lubna Yusuf's ‘Maida’ tells the story of a girl from a Bihar village who drops out of school post puberty and gets married.

When Maida is asked how she goes to school, she answers cheerfully, "wearing my clothes". Three years later when she is asked the same question, the smile is not there, but she still answers, "wearing my clothes and combing my hair".

Lubna Yusuf, fresh out of law school, decided to make a film on Maida’s story, tracing her life through eight years - but she wanted a success story. A girl from a village in Bihar, reaching heights. But Maida dropped out after class 7 and got married, like other girls of her village. Lubna finished her documentary which she named after her, with Maida’s little daughter on her lap. A girl that Lubna worries may grow up and have the same fate as her mother, unless the system changes.

“I feel bad about what happened. I wanted to make a film based on the impact of the children being given free food and cycles at school. I thought I will trace a girl's story and when she finished school, I could help her when she pursues further education, or get her a job. Maida was doing so well in school,” Lubna tells TNM in an interview.

She doesn’t believe it is because there are no laws. There are. There are also NGOs helping out and funds pouring in. “But the mental setup should change. Parents are scared of sending girls to school post puberty. The girls will drop out once they begin menstruating. Maida did. That’s why she didn’t go to school after class 7.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9wTrLmy7G8

                                                                                     The director of Maida is Lubna Yusuf

The year before Maida’s wedding, Lubna was not allowed to meet her. She didn’t know Maida was going to get married. And then nine months later, Maida became a mother. “It is a whole loop. Changing the law is not going to change the loop.  Instead of food and cycle, maybe steps should be taken to make the parents more aware. They should be encouraged to send their girls to school and reassured that they will be safe there. That no one would attack the girls, and they will have bathrooms to use when they menstruate.”

The last shot of Maida in the movie is of her in a veil. “She is happy, she is sorted out, falling into the system. I am afraid for the daughter she holds on her lap. Will that child too follow in Maida’s footsteps?” Lubna asks. 

Director Lubna Yusuf | (Photo: Maida)

The director, who was born in Kolkata, had to cope with her own nightmares in addition to the villagers' mild opposition to her filming the movie. "Law books used to fall on my head in my dreams. "What's the purpose of all my education if I don't tell this story?" she says.

Grandir au Ladakh​ 

Most of our childhoods have involved grandparents, but in Ladakh, they play a crucial role. Stanzin G. Dorjai decided to tell that tale in his 26-minute film Grandir au Ladakh (Growing up in Ladakh). The bond between his mother and his own niece Padma, who reside in the isolated village of Gya, 4,300 meters above sea level, is the subject of this short film. "You gain knowledge but not wisdom through education. "Grandparents are very important in a child's life," the director says, acknowledging that shooting his own family was both simple and challenging.

When I was growing up in Gya, pashmina goats and yaks were my friends. After the age of 13, when I went to school I realised things like modernisation

Stanzin G Dorjai, Director

Memoirs of Saira & Salim

In 2002, sectarian riots tore Gujarat apart, resulting in the burning of numerous homes. In the documentary Memoirs of Saira & Salim, Eshwarya Grover documents the first time that Saira and Salim return to their ancestral home following the riots. She shot the movie in two days after meeting the couple in February of last year. "In that house, they had envisioned their entire future. "That house is where their son was born and killed," Eshwarya recounts, giving us chills. Salim's voice had taken on a distanced sound, but Saira was quite outspoken about her emotions.

The 26-year-old had met the couple, who currently reside in a one-bedroom apartment, at a memorial service for riot survivors. This documentary swiftly evolved from an architecture project centered on deserted areas.

Eshwarya, who is originally from Jaipur but is now based in Ahmedabad, says, "I just wanted to let people see for themselves what these people had to go through. I'm not trying to make any political statements." The child is currently filming her next movie, which is about her summertime adventures with her grandparents.

Nodir Kul Nai: A short film by Parasher Baruah explores the culture of Char Chaporis of Assam    

- We Have Not Come Here To Die: Post the suicide by Rohith Vemula, this movie attempts to document how the landscape of education exploded  
- Kaifiyat: This film looks at tabla, how Ustad Nizamuddin Khan and how the musical instrument has evolved

- Uyyala: Through this film, Aditi Maddali talks about the agricultural songs of Telangana and their political journey  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvHbGjiUQrA&pp=ygUiZG9jdW1lbnRhcnkgZmlsbSBvZiBzYXRoeWFqaXRoIHJheQ%3D%3D