There are movies that focus only on entertainment. Then there is the genre of films and documentaries that highlight issues of civil society. The 16th Madurai International Documentary and Short Film Festival 2014 that concluded on Wednesday screened several such documentaries and short films with the sole objective of sensitising people on social issues. The themes ranged from depletion of natural resources to displacement of tribal communities.
The Red Data Book – An Appendix , a Malayalam documentary by Sreemith and Deepu, was an apt inaugural documentary reflecting the sentiment of the festival. The 68-minute documentary portrays different factors that force the Adivasi communities of Attapady, Kerala to the verge of extinction.
Highlighting the politics behind the issue, it talks of infant mortality rate on the rise in Attapady. The film probes how people in power in the name of modernisation plunder natural resources that protected the tribal people. It also explores how they are alienated socially, culturally, economically and politically.
“Malnutrition is said to be the reason for the increasing infant mortality but it raises several questions. Is it their refusal to ‘modernise’ or is it our inability to comprehend and preserve their centuries-old harmonious way of life?” wonders Sreemith, director of the documentary.
The documentary is a scathing attack on the systematic annihilation of the indigenous communities. “In the name of development the livelihood of tribal people is destroyed and it amounts to destroying native communities, who play a vital role in society. It is a brutal expression of how we are destroying our own system,” says R.P. Amudhan, the Festival Director and an activist filmmaker.
“The selection of the inaugural documentary was a conscious effort,” he adds, because it is crucial to any film festival. “The inaugural film always sets the tone.”
More than 50 documentaries and short films were screened at the Gandhi Museum, the venue for the festival. They were grouped under six categories, Indian and international films, Films Division, films under retrospective section, homage and entries received through internet.
“It is a new development. With advancement in technology, we got entries through internet. People provided the link to see the films and the download link was sent once we confirmed the entry. There were Indian entries like Can’t Hide Me in this section,” says Amudhan.
Can’t Hide Me is a Public Service Broadcasting Trust of India presentation in collaboration with the Doordarshan and the Prasar Bharati Corporation. Directed by Madhuri Mohindar, the 26-minute film talks about how women and girls are bound by invisible chains in their homes, on the streets, in schools and public spaces and highlights their suppression. The film also tells what happens when they find the courage to fight back the system.
Similar entries in the Indian and international sections focussing on problems women face were the Gulabi Gang and Bintou . Directed by Nishtha Jain, the 96-minute documentary is about a gang of women in Bundelkhand, who wrest justice for women and dalits in the area. Bintou , directed by Simone Catharina Gaul, is a story of shattered dreams of a girl in Burkina Faso who wanted to become a fashion designer.
Shubhradeep Chakraborty’s films were screened as part of homage. The journalist-turned-documentary filmmaker died of brain haemorrhage this August. His first documentary Godhra Tak: the Terror Trail is an investigative documentation of Gujarat’s one-sided communal carnage. His life and work demonstrated a taste for dissent and clarity about the role of a biased state.
He co-directed documentary En Dino Muzaffarnagar with his wife Meera. It is a story of grief, hate and fear that shows how local power and politics forces history to be rewritten.
Under the retrospective section, films of renowned activist filmmaker P. Baburaj were screened. Co-directed with C. Sarat Chandran, Chaliyar, the Final Struggle is the story of sustained protests by public and concerted efforts of the leaders that force the closure of a factory letting out poisonous effluents into the river Chaliyar.
The festival also launched Pazhi/Bali , a Tamil documentary by Ravi Parthasarathy. There were also interactive sessions like the one on sexualities and masculinities.
“Such festivals provide a wonderful platform for youngsters to showcase their creative skills and initiate healthy debates,” says V. Rajaram, a research scholar from Gandhigram.
The festival reflected contemporary politics and also initiated a political discourse with reference to the context of the films screened. “You need such screenings to sharpen young minds,” says R. Murali, Principal, Madura College. “It should be a continuous activity and educational institutions should come forward to provide space for such activities.”
