Tuesday, December 8, 2020

22nd Madurai Film Festival 2020 : Day 4, 9 December

22nd Madurai International Documentary and Short Film Festival 2020

Day 4, 9 December : Screening Schedule 

12 AM TO 12 AM


1) In Search of Our Lost Rice Seeds
Dir : Suma Josson; 40 min; English; 2013; Documentary; India; Retro I

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE FILM


It is a documentary film on the loss of the traditional rice seeds of India.


2) Niyamgiri, you are still alive
Dir: Suma Josson; 16 min; Odia with Eng subtitles; 2010; Documentary; India; Retro I

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This is a film on the anti-bauxite mining campaign in Orissa, India, led by the indigenous communities against Sterlite, a subsidiary of the U.K. mining company Vedanta.


3) A Place to Live
Dir : Sanjiv Shah; 92 min; multiple Indian languages with Eng subtitles; 2018; India; Doc; Retro II

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Migration due to lack of opportunities, natural calamities, civil strife and forced displacement due to ‘development’ projects have made India a country with one of the largest homeless populations in the world.

The film argues for broader and inclusive imagination of our villages, towns and cities; acknowledgement of the fundamental rights of people to shelter and food and a model of development that is rooted in the ecology of the land.


4) Memory of a Light
Dir: Sandhya Kumar; 26 min; English; 2014; India; Doc; Filmmaker in Focus

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Memory of a Light is a visual essay on nostalgia for the childhood house. What makes the experience of the first home so unforgettable? Does the core of this experience lie in the structure and design of the house or in things that cannot be measured, yet make impressions on the senses? From memories of architectural details to accounts of lived experience, the film moves between many rooms, many corners of a past and windows of the present, exploring the core of the childhood home.


5) Last Kiss
Dir : Eradzh Nidoev; 4.29 min; Russian with Eng subtitles; Russia, Tajikistan ; 2019; Doc



We often stop valuing what we have. The director had the idea of creating a social experiment among couples "with troubles", and so to see what would happen if they had to break up for real...


6) 1944. Crimea. Deportation
Dir: Fatima Osman, Yunus Pasha; 62 min; Ukrainian, Crimean Tatar with Eng subtitles; Ukraine; 2019; Doc




In 1944 Crimean Tatars has suffered a long road in exile. It was accompanied by famine, illness and loss. In the first years of exile, almost half of deported Crimean Tatars died. But those, who survived, dreamed of only one thing – to return to Crimea. The documentary 1944 tells about the tragedy of all Crimean Tatars through several separate life stories. They are cherished by each Crimean Tatar family and must be remembered by all generations to come.

7) They are Dying 
Dir : Dhananjay Bhawalekar; 28.37 min; Rajasthani, Hindi with Eng subtitles; India; 2020; Doc





"They are dying....let us preserve them before their extinction".... a valid people's linguistic survey denotes that India boasts 780 languages, majority of which are unknown...let us conserve them through pictures and sounds...let us capture them in lenses to save dying cultures.


8) Over the Barriers
Dir : Banu Ramazanova; 60 min; Russian, Kazakh with Eng subtitles; Kazakhstan; 2020; Doc



Horses for us, Kazakhs, have always been symbols of drive and victory. The story of the Soviet conquest of Olympus began with the legendary Absent. And now there are people and horses in Kazakhstan who are ready to storm the Olympic heights. 



9) Living Dreams
Dir : Ritwik Baiju; 29 min; Malayalam with Eng subtitles; India; 2019; Doc

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password : movingimage


Jeevan, a software engineer by profession suffers from Osteogenesis Imperfecta. The documentary chronicles the life of Jeevan, who resides in Bengaluru, India and his life story narrated by his parents and Jeevan himself. The film depicts and narrates the endearing story of a family who has fought all the odds to bring up a child of such a condition to be a jovial and strong person. Several stages of Jeevan’s life, from his birth to his present life is shown in nonlinear pattern. 



10) North for Happiness
Dir: Alexander Porotov; 2.04.15 hours; Russian with Eng subtitles; Russia; 2020; Doc




A group of friends goes on a journey from St. Petersburg to Yamal, the name of which translates from Nenets as "the edge of the earth." They are going to find out why the country producing oil, rising gasoline prices and will try to know whether people live happily in regions that produce oil and gas for the whole country, and on what their happiness depends. Spectacular stories about the life and natural riches of the Northern region, exclusive interviews with the direct miners of oil and gas resources, who in the cold in unbearably difficult conditions earn money for the whole country, while representatives of the idle "golden youth" live at the expense of other people's work and the achievements of previous generations.


11) Quarantine
Dir : Alisher Zhadigerov; 30 min; Kazak with Eng subtitles; Kazakhstan; 2020; Doc


The only way to defeat the coronavirus is through quarantine! The main recommendation is to stay at home. But the little hedgehog did not comply with the quarantine regime and went for a walk.


12) Speleonaut / Under the Stone Sky
Dir: Sonja Đekić; 57 min; Serbian with Eng subtitles; Serbia; 2018; Doc




On the eve of Man's conquest of the Moon, in the summer of 1969, 34-year-old Milutin Veljković set off to spend the following 15 months in a two-kilometer long cave in the Southeast Serbia, in a company of a dozen of hens and ducks, and a puppy. Veljković wasn’t just interested in beating the record in cave dwelling - he aimed to penetrate into the universe of depth.

This extraordinary deed is first revealed outside - through a series of portraits of interesting characters, all connected to Veljković. Unexpectedly, we enter the underground world. The various narrated fragments from Veljković's detailed cave diary are brought to life: from his daily routines, such as making coffee and collecting insects - to the dramatic events of pulling out his own tooth, craving for a woman, fighting with the flood and hallucinations.

From connecting with primeval ancestors in a disintegrated time and space, all the way to the outer space exploration, Speleonaut is in quest of our purpose.


13) Navi Mumbai Navi Begari
Dir : Aishwarya Vasudev, Subodh Minto, Meghna Nandy and Ankit Pareek; 19.50 min; Marathi, Hindi and English; India; 2018; Doc

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The Nakas of Navi Mumbai are an embodiment of the bustling vibrancy that defines the city. They happen to be the site of many different kinds of economic activities on a daily basis one of which is the recruitment of informal construction workers for various developmental projects and construction work happening around the city. The film follows the lives of the construction workers vis-à-vis the nakas and explores the Nakas as a space.


14) Hands and Wings
Dir : Sungbin BYUN; 15 min; Korean with Eng subtitles; South Korea; 2019; Doc



An adolescent boy ‘Woo-Sung’ is unable to move his hands freely due to physical disabilities. So he can’t solve his sexual desire alone. His mother tries to help him, but one day he refuses mother


15) Akam
Dir: Remya; 3.42 min; No dialogue; India; 2018; Short film

password : akamfilm123



Kathakali is something Mathu has been hearing since childhood from his grandmother's tales and father's childhood adventures.He never been to any performance yet. One fine summer day, his mother finally takes him to temple for one such performance. But what awaits there is beyond one's comprehension.


16) Forget the Palms
Dir : Tim Berezin; 6:05 min; Russian with Eng subtitles; Russia; 2020; Short film



A film about the bard fighting squad who battled new technologies.


17) Letters
Dir: Elena Kuzhel; 14.01 min; Russian with Eng subtitles; Russia; 2020; Short film


The main character is a participant in the first Chechen war. He reads a story dedicated to his comrade in arms. A vision comes to the hero during the reading of each letter. Now war, death, love take on peculiar images. After he finishes reading, he leaves the room and finds himself in a cemetery with unmarked graves. Next to him is a Chechen with a severed ear. Men have a short dialogue before they disappear.


18) Knitting Club for Men over 40
Dir : Egor Gavrilin; 22.06 min; Russian with Eng subtitles; Russia; 2020; Short film




There’s a new member in the mysterious knitting club for mature men. On his first day he sees that there’s someone who wants to seize power over the club. He decides to bring back justice. The bad guy has already mastered the skill of knitting but our hero has resolve and best intentions. But… are they that good after all?


19) Home (Ghar)
Dir : Souvik Roy Chowdhury; 10 min; Hindi with Eng subtitles; India; 2019; Short film

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A woman waits for the return of her husband from work and grows increasingly apprehensive as she is consoled by the old landlord whom the couple look after. They are a migrant couple from Bihar living in Gujarat now and it’s a riot like situation outside, following the rape and murder of a 14 month old child in the neighborhood - and since the culprit was a Bihari the local goons are after everyone who came from that area.


20) The World’s Last House
Dir : Amir Gholami; 16.19 min; Kurdish with Eng subtitles; Iran; 2019; Short film



An old man, answering people’s letters and solving their problems at a far-off cottage for a long time, is facing the weirdest challenge of his life; an intrusive guest with three bullets in his gun...

21) Prashna (Question)
Dir: Santosh Ram; 23.24 min; Marathi with Eng subtitles; India; 2019; Short film

password :  question01


Ganga and her Husband Rajkumar work as seasonal sugar cutting Labourers on contract basis. They have to migrate from place to place for the work leaving behind their Native Village.

Their only son Ganesh (Age 10 Years ) has to accompany them because nobody is there at home to take care of him . This is a problem for Ganesh’s educational progress as he is absent every year for Three Months . How Ganga , a Third Standard educated woman overcomes the problem of Ganesh’s Education as well as finds a way of acquiring knowledge for her own Progress .


22) Inner Self
Dir: Shree Raj; 11.17 min; Tamil with Eng subtitles; India; 2020; Short film

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password : sree@1990

The film tells the story about a lonely living drawing artist and his other side of strange and mysterious life. Even though the story is about an artist, superficially, it discusses current world's socio racial conditions, especially about the inner self of Indians and their socio-racial approach. 


23) The Prophetess
Dir : Marco Joubert; 2.20 min; French with Eng subtitles; Canada; 2020; Short film



Drawing from the observations, experiences and thoughts gathered throughout her life, the prophetess, in a surge of hope and altruism, shares her conception of a world which should have been, could or will be: a manifesto, for a fictitious or latent generation. The text is freely inspired by a Francis Ponge poem, The Law and the Prophets (1930), reinterpreted and rewritten to better anchor it to the contemporary context as well as to my own ideals.


24) Songs from Faraway Land
Dir : Tuhinabha Majumdar; 24 min; Hindi with Eng subtitles; 2020; Short film


Three siblings, brother Dinu and two sisters Anu and Buri meet on a seashore one morning after their mother’s death. They reminiscence about their mother and her relentless journey in search of home. Gradually as they dwell through their personal memories of ‘mother’ they unknowingly enter into unknown dark zones of mother and there own lives. The spirits of their ancestors too become part of their stories as the two sisters preform their memories. Dreams, fantasies, memories and reality starts to overlap to form a complex image of ‘mother’ in search of home.


25) Whispers of the Henna Tree
Dir : Soumyajit Ghosh Dastidar; 20 min; Marathi, Bengali with Eng subtitles; 2020; Doc

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The late autumn days finally see white clouds, after an extended monsoon wreaked havoc in the vineyards. From a purple diary of memories, we look at images of three generations of women who work in the fields.

In the pleasant morning breeze, Ambika dresses up her daughters reflecting on her childhood, carving an impression of womanhood - from mother to daughter and from the daughter to her offsprings, a cycle of maternal nature. Meanwhile, a submerged henna tree whispers out an indelible tale. As the evening sky hums a lullaby - the chimney lets out smoke and the yellow tarpaulin roof sways in the wind. The winter ambience starts settling; Ambika reminisces an intimate memory of her father’s handwoven blue wedding saree.


26) 21 hours
Dir : Sunitha CV; 28 min; Malayalam with Eng subtitles; 2020; Doc

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password : cacim21


This documentary film records the life of Rajamma, a woman fish vendor in Trivandrum, Kerala, who travels daily to Thoothukudy harbour 200 km away to procure fish and sell it back in her hometown. It highlights the struggle and strength of unorganised working women, who survive because of sheer grit, in spite of overwhelming odds.


27) A Dream in their Songs
Dir: Debaranjan; 29 min; Odia with Eng subtitles; 2020; Doc 



Songs are an important part of the community life as well as their resistance to dispossession. The dream of these singers of Odisha has always been the strength of people’s struggle of saving their own lives and resources. These singers are very much the same people who compose the songs, sing the same, participate in the rally, and encourage own people to dream. For the last few years, they have been in front of all resistance struggles in the eastern part of India. This film is based on the life and dream of a few composers-cum-singers of such resistance struggles of Odisha/India.

28) Life in Lockdown: Eshan Harsh
Dir: Eshan Harsh; 2020; IDPA

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE FILM  
password : filmlifeinlockdowneshan20

When the world is undergoing the impact of COVID - 19 by which everyone are locked up in their home , The short film Life In Lockdown is about a lady who is caged at her own house and have noticed how life can be lived with limited resources just like fishes in a aquarium..

29) ‘The Last Tribe’
Dir : Amit Goswamy; 44.57 min; English; 2020; IDPA

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE FILM

In the ongoing extremist war of southeastern India, the isolation has provided ideal conditions for the extremists to hide along with giving refuge to the most primitive tribe of mainland India. A study of environmental crisis in one of India's war zone, through the lens of a wildlife biologist, who is now commanding the military operations.

30) Postcards to the Unknown Child
Dir : Shashwat Mudgal; IDPA

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'Postcards to the Unknown Child' is a story of how a young and promising artist coped these trying Covid times. After suffering an almost mental collapse due to the existential crises conjured up by Covid19, Shashwat a student of Journalism and Mass Communication underwent a climacteric experience to emerge out as a different boy. The story talks about how his passion for animation was his saving grace. This is a story of all the artists who found refuge in their respective craft.

Shashwat Mudgal is a young Filmmaker At the age of 13 he Produced and Directed his first 3D animated short poetic film ‘Ek Sapna’ (A Dream) which was showcased at The 2nd Sadho Poetry Film Festival In the year 2017 His animation short film ‘The Sugar Cube’ was showcased at the 6th Delhi International Film Festival where it was greatly appreciated. His animation short film 'The Cherry Chor' was showcased at Young Animators International Film Festival (2018). In 2019 it was showcased at KingstOOn 2019; CMS - Children's Film Festival and the closing ceremony film at 60 Second International Film Festival (60SIFF). Currently he is one of the Creative Directors of a cartoon web series "Puddu Ki Duniya".



1) Indian films
2) International films
3) Retro I - Suma Josson
4) Retro II - Sanjiv Shah
5) Filmmaker in Focus - Sandhya Kumar
6) Films from Tamilnadu
7) Director's Cut
8) Student films

9) Films from IDPA 

Films will be available from 12 am to 12 am for 24 hours!




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