Pride of India: Shama Zaidi
2011 · 22m · Documentary
The film starts with the earliest form of cinema and how Shama Zaidi became an integral part of the evolution of Indian Cinema.
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An Engineered Dream
2018
Kota, a city in North-West India famous for its coaching institutions, attracts more than 200,000 teenagers from all across the country to prepare for the undergraduate competitive exams. These students reside in cubicle sized hostel rooms and study for more than 15 hours a day for two consecutive years to crack the entrance exams for prestigious colleges that has acceptance rate of less than one percent. These students face intense insurmountable pressure from coaching institutes, peers and their families which not everyone is equipped to cope with, resulting in some students taking the extreme step of suicide.
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Sisters of the Trees
2019 · ★ 5
Tree planting in Rajasthan, India, has become a symbol of freedom in the middle of the desert. Families in this community have abandoned the belief that the birth of a girl is a curse.
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The Life of the Adivasis
1955
A documentary made by Ghatak for the Government of Bihar observing the life of the Adivasis.
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The Inner Eye
1972 · ★ 6
At the age of 54, Binode Bihari Mukherjee, an accomplished painter, lost his sight following an unsuccessful cataract operation. He continued to create art despite his loss of sight. The documentary explores Binode Bihari’s inner eye that guides his fingers to create art.
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Pots, Pans, and Politics
2024
An ethnographic exploration of women’s collectives in the village of Shiv Nath in Himachal Pradesh that has empowered local women since the 1980s, showcasing their journey towards social and economic empowerment and resilience through the narratives of its women.
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Kabzaa
2024 · ★ 10
Amidst the urban transformation driven by progress, bulldozers dismantle 'illegal' settlements, leaving countless lives shattered. In the aftermath of such upheaval, one basti, sacrificed to conceal poverty during the G20 summit, and another basti, abandoned by authorities without alternative housing, illustrate the stark realities of displacement. The film delves into the daily struggles of individuals who persist in the rubble of their former homes.
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Kamlabai
1992 · ★ 9
Conversations with 92 year old Kamlabai Gokhale, a pioneering actress of the Marathi stage and the first lady of Indian film. The documentary gives an impression of the history and growth of Indian film and theatre as it was experienced by a woman who struggled against the social structures of her times.
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Forms and Designs
1968 · ★ 5.3
A short film that sets up an opposition between functional forms of industrial age and decorative ones from Indian tradition.
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Krishnanattam
1982 · ★ 10
Krishnattam or Krishnanattam (Play of Krishna) is a temple ritualistic art performed at Guruvayur Temple (Guruvayur 680101, Trishshur District, Kerala) by a troupe owned by Guruvayur Devasvam. The performance of Krishnattam is based on Krishnagiti, a poetic text in Sanskrit containing verses and stanzas, written by the Zamorin King Manavedan in 1654. The story of Krishna, described in Bhagavata, Mahabharata and Harivamsha is presented in Krishnattam as songs, dance and acting in a sequence of eight plays (Avataram, Kaliyamardanam, Rasakrida, Kamsavadham, Svayamvaram, Banayuddham, Vividavadham and Svayamvaram) in eight days.
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In the Name of God
1992 · ★ 8.7
The film explores the campaign waged by the Hindu right-wing organisation Vishva Hindu Parishad to build a Ram temple at the site of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, as well as the communal violence that it triggered. A couple of months after Ram ke Naam was released, VHP activists demolished the Babri Masjid in 1992, provoking further violence.
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To Be Continued
2007 · ★ 6.5
An ascetic walks through the narrow streets of a village every morning while his family is still asleep. In his semi-somnolent state he dreams about the history of the village mixing up myths, folklore and facts.
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