cinematheque - second session

The second session of Cinematheque was held on Sunday, September 19th 2010. Despite torrential rains, around 20-25 people attended the screening. Two student productions and a short film chosen from our world cinema library were screened. A discussion ensued after every screening.

“Jhapki”, a 10 minute AV by Saba Rehman, Ritika Kaushik and Swati Singh was the first to be screened.The AV is essentially a love story set in batla house,and through the prism of this love story, the relationship between the character and the setting is established. The av was praised for its crisp editing, its use and selection of soundtrack and its narration. However, some participants felt that the photography could have been even more better, and the story at the end felt anticlimactic. The makers on their part explained, that their intention was to mainly explore their setting and capture its mood and environment through the love story that takes place between the two characters. It was also pointed out that despite using clichés, the execution was such that it never felt stale. The mehndi sequence in particular was cited as a favourite. During the course of the discussion, people talked about the ability of the medium of the AV to tell stories through photographs, as also realizing the potential the medium has for amateur film enthusiasts who want to tell stories, but do not have access to higher technology.

The next movie to be screened was the documentary “Afternoon Popsicles” by Arpita De, Vidushi, Sangay Dolma and Khushboo Sherwaani. The documentary dealt with the subject of child abuse. The use of animation and puppetry was appreciated by the audience. There was a debate on the camera angles that were chosen by the film makers,whether a particular angle was appropriate to shoot the person being interviewed, for example it was discussed whether a long shot or a close up should be used depending upon the comfort of the interviewee and the aesthetic purpose.This point led to a stimulating argument upon the question of aesthetics clashing with ethics when it comes to filming a documentary. While discussing the thematic content of the film, the film makers pointed out that it was their intention to highlight the class and gender aspect of the issue that they dealt with. The audience suggested that perhaps they could have used members from both the sexes , and also talked about the use of a particular language. In the end the documentary was lauded for its ability to deal with its thematic content, its editing, its use of sound and innovative use of animation and puppetry. The documentary was also an attempt by the members of the team to address the issue as well as exorcise their own personal demons. The work has not only given them courage to confront their own fears but has also given them the motivation to make another documentary on a larger scale and for a wider audience.

The last movie to be screened was “Ten Minutes” by Ahmed Imamovic. Imamovic is a Bosnian film maker, whose first feature film “Go West” featured a homosexual couple, with the Bosnian War in the background. This movie was banned from screening in Bosnia. Most Bosnian films during the past few years have centered on the rights and wrongs of the 1992-95 Bosnian War, and the role of the international community in it , the most famous being “No Man’s Land” which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2002. The short film “Ten Minutes” also explores this theme. In the film, the ten minutes in the life of a Japanese tourist in Rome is contrasted with the drama of a Bosnian family, and they are set an hour apart. During the discussion, the use of the single long take was pointed out and how it added to the drama as well as the documentary/realistic setting of the film. Movies which used similar techniques such as “Children Of Men” was also pointed out. The single take also contributed to making the setting more tense and hurried. It was also pointed out that violence is never explicitly shown, but yet the impact is tremendous. Budgetary constraints were also discussed, and how it sometimes contributes to the film maker becoming more inventing during the process of film making. It was agreed that the film was basically a film about fate, and its theme is such that it ultimately transcends its own context of the Bosnian War, and will resonate with all those who are or have been through a war like situation.

The session ended with suggestions on the part of those who attended the screenings and a round of tea. It was good to see better female representation this time around. We hope to have more people attending the next screening.

                                                                                     -Ishita Tiwary