On the occasion of Conflict Resolution Week, Meta-Culture Dialogics, in collaboration with Bangalore Film Society, Max Mueller Bhavan, Alliance Francaise de Bangalore and Breakthrough, is presenting a bouquetful of films entitled: Beyond Good and Bad! : Dispute and Resolution in Cinema.

Touching upon conflicts and its resolution across various constituents these curated string of movies and documentaries from across the world present an alternative perspective on conflict.  The screenings will be followed by detailed discussions on them for better understanding and appreciation of films viewed. 

Children in conflict
On October 15 the focus is on Children in Conflict.  Based on Louis Pergaud’s novel, French film The War of Buttons by Yves Robert, is an anti-war comedy, about two rival kid gangs in Ireland, the Ballys (poor), and the Carricks (rich), who engage in battles where they cut of buttons, shoe-laces and underwear of their captured opponents.

Yoram Honig’s First Lesson in Peace explores Jewish–Arab conflict through eyes of a six year old girl, incidentally, director’s daughter, when she starts school at mixed Arab- Jewish primary school — Neveh Shalom — The Oasis of Peace.

On October 16 focus on Love and Conflict sees Mahesh Bhatt’s Arth around matrimonial strife when the wife discovers her husband is cheating and how the conflict deepens between spouses with lover woman’s increasing insecurity and her beau’s own growing recognition of his loss.

Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s Angst Essen Seele Auf (Fear Eats The Soul), sees the director expertly use emotional power of melodrama to underscore racial tensions threatening German culture and spotlights on marriage between an aged German woman and an Arab guest worker.

On October 17 Truth and Taboos features the classic Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon, wherein a crime witnessed by four individuals is described in four contradictory ways. Based on two short stories by Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Rashomon (For The Setting) and Yabu no naka (For The Story Line), as Kurosawa writes in his biography is a reflection of life, and life does not always have clear meanings. Family Relations (Un Air de Famille) by Cedric Klapisch, is a probing study of dysfunctional family on verge of blowing apart. Played out over four-hour-period, the meticulously executed film is a rich and intelligent exploration of family dynamics.

On October 18 Water Conflicts features Amar Jamal’s The Little Republic in a small village of Rajasthan where four strong-willed women change their situation finding water and how they pay terrible price for their discovery as they brave against societal odds. Robert Redford’s Milagro Beanfield War, based on John Nichols speaks of a man's quixotic struggle as he defends his small beanfield and his community against much larger business and state political interests.

On October 19 Labour Conflicts has Laurent Cantet’s Human Resources, a morality tale, which tells deeply personal story of father-son relationship that is tested when their opposing attitudes toward work and life collide head on. The Take, is a documentary film by husband-wife team Avi Lewis and writer Naomi Klein, about how workers in Argentina take over factories abandoned by their owners and operate themselves as a cooperative.

War films
On October 20 billing In The Midst of War, brings Simone Bitton’s Wall, a cinematic meditation on Israeli-Palestinian conflict in which the filmmaker asserts her double identity as Jew and Arab. Helene Klodawsky’s No More Tears Sister, a story of love, revolution, and betrayal, which explores price of truth in times of war.
On October 21 The Absurdity of War spotlights on Patricio Henriquez’s To Disobey which narrates the story of soldiers who defy military authority and orders that were unconscionable.

Danis Tanovic’s No Man’s Land set in the midst of 1993 Bosnian war is an ironic black comedy about two wounded soldiers caught between their lines in no man’s land and their struggle for survival. Screenings 4.15 pm and 6.15 pm, Ashirvad, St Mark’s Road Cross, opp SBI. Entry free.

For more details contact: Rafael: 9945207719 / Narahari: 9480090128.