Jamia students screen their documentaries

Students of Convergent Journalism department at the AJK Mass Communication Research Centre held screenings of their documentaries as part of the 2nd Ainaa Film Festival.

The annual event, which was held at the Ansari Auditorium, Jamia Milia Islamia University, saw an attendance of more than 500 people which included students, faculty members and aspiring and established filmmakers.

The event showcased five short films which touched upon a range of issues. These included human interest stories, anti-Sikh riots of 1984 and the 2014 devastating floods in Jammu and Kashmir.

The student documentary film festival was started in 2013-2014 by the Convergent Journalism department and is wholly organised by the students. “The idea is to provide a platform to aspiring filmmakers to exhibit their vision,” said Qazi Zaid, one of the organisers and a participant.

The documentary screenings were followed by an audience interaction with the filmmakers, a team of four-five students.

Desi Angrezi, a witty, short film on Indians aspiring to learn English, was among the well received films leaving the audiences in splits. The same was in the case of Delhi Dreams, which was about unfulfilled dreams of Delhiites who were interviewed during the course of shooting the film.

Though the film was of a five minute duration and incorporated short interviews of more than a dozen people, the film makers informed the audience that more than 70 people had been interviewed for the film.

While I can’t be mad at Allah and Memories of an Autumn garnered much applause for dealing with sensitive issues anti-Muslim pogrom in Myanmar and anti-Sikh riots of Delhi (1984).

Sailabnama, a film on the floods in Jammu and Kashmir resulted in heated debates in the auditorium. Shot by Qazi Zaid and Sheikh Saaliq, both students of Jamia, the film dealt with the ‘absence of state authorities’ during the floods in Kashmir.

“We
didn’t go to Kashmir to make a film, we went to help out with relief efforts. It was when we came back that we realised that we had a lot of footage that was speaking on its own.The chaos that was there during the time, is reflected in the film,” said Zaid.

I CAN’T BE MAD AT
ALLAH: 18 minutes
Facing violent oppression, allegedly from the Buddhist  community, Afza and her family fled from her country, Burma. Her resilience is inspiring as she takes care of her family in a makeshift slum on the edge of Delhi.

THE MEMORIES OF AN
AUTUMN: 10 minutes An exploration into how memories are passed down generations, with regards to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

SAILABNAMA: 20 minutes
After learning of devastating floods, two Kashmiri students head back to their homeland to experience the strength of Kashmir and its supporters, from around the world, coming together in the face of adversity.

DESI ANGREZI: 16 minutes A light-hearted take on a contemporary society, its aspirations and struggles that English as a language becomes entwined with.

DELHI DREAMS: 5 minutes A reflection on the dreams and hopes of Delhiites, few of which were lived and rest unlived.