TFSA 2018 to screen Award-winning non-fiction films
INDIA INTERNATIONAL Centre and Film South Asia, Kathmandu in collaboration with New Imaginations: Jindal School of Journalism and Communications, O.P. Jindal Global University will be presenting the Documentary Bears Witness: Travelling Film South Asia 2018 – a festival of films. The festival, which will be held from August 1 – 4, presents 12 exceptional nonfiction productions made in South Asia in the last two years, selected from the prestigious bi-annual festival ‘Film South Asia’ held in November 2017 in Kathmandu.
This year’s edition of Travelling Film South Asia 2018 (TFSA) reflects the historical legacy of documenting the current affairs that shape the lives of people living in the region and the diverse stories of South Asians through films from Afghanistan, Burma, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The package includes award winners at Film South Asia 2017 as well as other internationally recognized films selected to showcase the variety, treatment, and intensity that marks the world of Southasian documentary and non-fiction.
Films from India include, Hardik Mehta’s ‘Amdavad Ma Famous’- recipient of National Film Award for Best Non-fiction Film 2015 and the Golden Conch at the 14th Mumbai International Film Festival 2016; ‘Fireflies in the Abyss’- directed by Chandrasekhar Reddy, recipient of the Award for Best Long Documentary, International Documentary and Short Film Festival, Kerala 2016; ‘Rasan Piya’ - by Niharika Popli which delineates the extraordinary story of musician, poet and teach Ustad Abdul Rashid Khan who until his death at the age of 107 years continued to compose, teach, travel and perform across India. Leena Manimekalai’s ‘Is it too Much to Ask’ follows the journey of two transgender women looking for an apartment to rent in Chennai; while ‘The Shepherdess of the Glacier’ – a stunningly lensed documentary focuses on a self - sufficient woman and her world of icy loneliness. The closing film of the festival ‘Soz: A Ballad of Maladies’ - directed by Tushar Madhav and Sarvnik Kaur - unveils the transformed cultural fabric of the Kashmir valley.
International films to be screened include Jude Ratnam’s much acclaimed ‘Demons in Paradise’ – a first-hand account by a Tamil filmmaker about the 26-year-old civil war; ‘32 Souls’ by Burmese filmmaker Sai Naw Kham; multiple award-winning director Kesang Tseten’s ‘Trembling Mountain’ and many others.
As part of the festival, there will be an interactive session on ‘Documentary as Protest’ on August 4, at 5 pm.
Some of the filmmakers will be present to personally introduce their films and lead discussions thereafter.