Homage to Sarathchandran

A festival of documentaries by the late C. Sarathchandran, which is organised by Natyasastra, Centre for Theatre Studies, Kazhcha Film Society, and Media Mill, will be inaugurated by film director K.P. Sashi at Rangapeetom, Katampazhipuram, on Saturday at 9.30 a.m.

Some of his documentaries that will be screened at the festival include ‘Only an axe away' (40 minutes) made in 2005 on the people's campaign against the ‘conspiracy' to destroy the Silent Valley ecosystem in the guise of constructing the Pathrakadavu hydroelectric project in Palakkad; ‘1000 days and a dream' (60 minutes) made in 2006 - a film on the struggle by the local community of Plachimada in Chittur taluk of Palakkad against the overexploitation of groundwater by soft drink giant Coca-Cola; ‘To die for land – the ultimate sacrifice' on the Chengara land struggle; ‘The dream – Kanavu' - that tells the story of the children of Kanavu, the alternate tribal school in the context of tribal situation in Kerala (2001); and ‘Yours truly John' on the many faceted life of the late John Abraham, the maverick Malayalam filmmaker. In their homage to Sarat, the organisers of the documentary festival said that for the grassroots resistance movements in Kerala, the sudden death of this documentary filmmaker and activist was a great loss.