Film fest on education this weekend

The three-day event will host screenings, expert talks and workshops

Over 40 films and documentaries on education will feature at ‘Chalshiksha’, a film festival in Whitefield this weekend.

Discussions on the films, expert talks, and workshops for children will also be held. Chalshiksha is organised by a group of independent filmmakers and educational organisations.

“The team did not have a rigid selection criteria for films but submissions had to be related to education. They have accepted stories of teachers, schools, and innovative education practices,” says documentary filmmaker and one of the organisers Sourav Dutta.

“Our festival is in sync with the New Education Policy (NEP),” says Amukta Mahapatra from the organising team. Amukta, who is also the director of Schoolscape, a centre for educators in Cooke Town, feels films can be used as a tool for education. She explains, “Earlier, a few people had a camera in their hands but now, everyone has a smartphone camera. It can be used to tell stories on education.”

And so, veteran filmmaker Deepa Dhanraj will be conducting a session on films and pedagogy for educators.

Among the challenges they faced, Dutta says they struggled to find funding.

“Even now, we are trying to find sponsors to cover the expenses of teachers and students of rural or government schools, who want to come to the festival,” he explains.

The team chose Bengaluru as the venue because it is “an education hub” and they hope the “level of engagement will be high”. “Our audience can be anyone — families, educators, children, and artists,” says Sourav, who is based in Mumbai.

Chalshiksha from September 23 to 25 at Ecumenical Christian Centre, Whitefield. Register on: chalshiksha.schoolscape.org

Some films to watch

‘Tashi and the Monk’ (2021): The documentary is about a Buddhist monk who cares for abandoned children at a centre in the Himalayas.

‘Mundari Srishtikatha’ (2018): The animation film depicts folktales about how the Earth came into being and more.

‘When The Doors Open’ (2018): Ajay and Kiran, visually-impaired siblings, and Sagar, who has cerebral palsy, study at a regular school, in this documentary film.

‘David and his Neel
Bagh’ (2022): It chronicles a teacher’s experiments with education.

I wonder (2019): It depicts children from three diverse parts of rural
India, as they traverse through school, home and life.