JOIN USLasting impact of tussle on society
The festival entails workshop involving movie screenings followed by interactive sessions and a short film-making competition, Blank Reel. This endeavour has been envisaged as a platform for film-makers, film lovers and people from civil society to come together and assess the revolutionary impact that films can have on our society, say organisers. The theme this year is: The State and the Individual seeking to explore the various facets of an individual's interactions with the State, whether it be in form of dissent or affirmation of the activities that the State undertakes. The specially chosen films were, Way Back Home by Supriyo Sen, Total Denial by Milena Kaneva and The US vs John Lennon by David Leaf and John Scheinfeld.
Way Back Home chronicles the journey of the protagonist Supriyo Sen, who follows his parents as they visit their lost homeland in what is now known as Bangladesh. This poignant film is about this journey, individual and collective memories and the historical consciousness that arises from personal recollections. Shot clandestinely and censored by the Film Certification Board of India, Way Back Home is a courageous and militant reminder of defining events for the people of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Post independence millions were killed or became refugees, amongst whom were the director's parents, who had to leave their ancestral home for an unknown future.
Total Denial is the story of a historic lawsuit involving fifteen villagers from the jungles of Burma bringing suit against a giant oil corporation for human-rights abuses, in the US courts. After ten years of fierce legal battles, they win an impossible victory.
The film-maker Milena Kaneva spent five years in the Burmese villages gathering accounts of slave labour, rape, murder and re-location of villagers connected with the construction of the Yadana Oil Pipeline. She managed to do this with the help of Ka Hsaw Wa, a human rights activist, wanted by the police in Burma as well as Thailand and one of the leaders of the student movement for democracy in Burma in 1988. Total Denial tracks this inspiring journey and reveals to the world the shocking partnership of the Burmese military dictatorship, famous for human rights abuses and the corporate giants.
David Leaf tracks the transformation of John Lennon from the adored Beatle to government-stalked peace advocate in his film The US vs John Lennon.
“Highlighting the constant tussle between the State and the individual through these award winning films is the objective of the festival. We hope that people will become aware of issues not just on our own doorstep but across geographical and cultural boundaries,” says Siddarth, organiser and member of the Bangalore Film Society.