(Breathing Without Air / Docu-fiction / English / 23 minutes / DV Cassette / 2004 / Dir: Kapilas Bhuyan and Prasantanu Mohapatra / India)
Cast: Kunal Pattnaik, Jagan (Child Actor), and students of Komanda High School, Odagaon Area, Nayagada District in Orissa

The Mundapotas, as a nomadic group in South Orissa, survive by collecting honey, capturing animals like snakes, porcupines, comondo-dragons and rats etc., which menace the granaries. Another source of their livelihood is the rustic road show called Mundapota, which thrills as well as entertains the audience. The most thrilling item of the performance consists in a performer burying his head under the ground to provide macabre entertainment to villagers.

Breathing Without Air is the tale of a father, son duo of this community. The son buries his head underneath the ground while the father accompanies the show beating his drum.

What happens in the darkness that engulfs him in the pit? How does he survive the ordeal? Does he dream/fantasize? If so, of what?

While Breathing Without Air attempts to answer these questions, it also turns into a metaphor for soul killing deprivation of the working children in India.

(Aftershocks: A Rough Guide to Democracy/ Eng-Kutchhi-Gujarati / Eng ST / 64 minutes / 2003 / Dir: Rakesh Sharma/ India)

On January 26, 2001, Kutch (Gujarat, India) was devastated by a massive earthquake. Over 20,000 people died and tens of thousands of homes were destroyed. Bhuj, Anjar, Rapar and Bhachau, the most severely affected areas, received attention from many international relief agencies, national and international media, even personal visits from Prime Minister Vajpayee and Citizen Clinton.

This film is set in Julrai and Umarsar, two villages in Lakhpat, near the India Pakistan border, close to the Gujarat coast, and too far away from Bhuj to be in focus. Umarsar is an upper caste Durbar village, while Julrai's entire population comprises low class Rabbaris, semi-nomadic shepherds, who began to settle down into permanent villages only in the last couple of hundred years. The two villages have nothing in common except that both were almost totally destroyed during the quake and both are sitting on top of lignite reserves. The Government-controlled Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation has a monopoly over any mining activity in the region. GMDC is likely to be privatised completely over the next few years; 26% of its shares were sold to corporates, financial institutions and investors in 1997-98.

This film traces the story of GMDC's attempts to acquire the two villages. Eight weeks after the quake, on March 26, 2001, our camera accidentally bumps into the GMDC acquisition survey team in Umarasar. Over the next few months, the film moves in and out of Julrai, Umarsar and the GMDC's existing lignite mines and probes the processes of displacement and resettlement.

Did GMDC succeed in exploiting the earthquake as a God-sent opportunity to hasten the acquisition? How did the obviously vulnerable quake-affected people of Julrai and Umarsar deal with it? What was the role of the state government machinery, entrusted with the welfare of its calamity affected people? How have the existing mines and the power plant affected the lives of the people living nearby? Have the Executive, the Judiciary and the Legislative taken note of this human impact before they paved the way for the new mines and the new power plant? The film is a hitchhikers journey through the labyrinthine universe of Democracy, as it exists in its lowest unit level - the Indian village.
 

(Pee / Tamil / Eng ST / 26 minutes / Mini DV / 2003 / Dir: Amudhan R.P. / India)

Mariyammal, a dalit worker attached to the Madurai Municipal Corporation is involved in manual scavenging for the past 25 years. She shares her story to the filmmaker with anger and frustration while concentrating on her work.

(Pedal Soldier of India/ Hindustani / Eng ST / 27 minutes/ MiniDV/ 2004/ Dir: Raza Haider and Kaukab/ India)

Two feet, bundles of muscles and miles of road ahead the pedal soldiers of India, the Rickshaw Drivers carry India in installments in their low cost non-polluting vehicles. This film highlights the current state of cycle rickshaw industry in the Indian cities. The numerous legal restrictions, administrative curbs and license regimes are juxtaposed with the rickshaw drivers right to earn a living with dignity.

The crowded roads of NCR form the backdrop for the film. The film presents the day to day routines, joys, recreations and miseries of the thousands of rickshaw drivers dwelling in the NCR. The story gives an account on the lives of people who earn an honest livelihood to support their families by driving a completely non-polluting public vehicle.

The film tries to raise the vital question of how in todays monetary world of speed and pollution, this non-polluting, economical and humane public transport has to fight for space in the crowded roads of cities and face a status of degradation instead of elation.
 

(Harvest of Hunger/ English-Oriya / Eng ST / 60 minutes / Digital Video / 2004 / Dir: Rupashree Nanda / India)

The documentary Harvest of Hunger is about food security and seasonal migration. Shot over a period of two years in Bolangir and Andhra Pradesh, it depicts the struggle of marginal farmers and landless labourers to beat hunger on a day-to-day basis. We follow people as they battle one cycle of drought, migrate to brickkilns in Andhra Pradesh and return home to barely scrape through following season of agriculture. Meanwhile, high level committees of various kinds visit the dry land of Bolangir to investigate allegations of starvation deaths and child sale as more and more reports of such kind of clog newspaper columns. Needless to say, the whole thing is reduced to a mere spectacle that mocks at peoples suffering. Millions of people and generations of families are condemned to a life of persistent hunger, not because there is not enough food, or because they are not trying, but because of the prevailing socio-economic and political dispensation is overwhelmingly against them. No matter where or how hard they work, even one square meal a day is a rarity and lifetimes are trapped in debt and impoverishment. The film is based on the interviews of villagers, kingpins of the illegal labour market, renowned economists including Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen, social activities and administrators.

(Gharat / Hindi / Eng ST / 42 minutes / Mini DV / 2004 / Dir: Pankaj Rishi Kumar / India)

Gharat is a film about decentralized sustainable development. The verite narrative begins with the Water March, which is symbolic of the resilience and growing awareness about the exploitation of the mountain resources and people. Today, mountain resources are being controlled by the citywater is converted into electricity for city dwellers whereas villages close to the hydro-electric projects are submerged in darkness, says Dr. Joshi. He believes that the Gharats/Watermills could truly be a vehicle for overall development without any ecological hazards as associated with bigger dams. The film documents the brooding realities of increasing migration in this region. It highlights the apathy to restore and explore the potential of the Gharat by Policy makers. These paradigms are cast against the background of Tau upgrading his Gharat/Watermill, which brings electricity to his house for the first time!

(A Life of Motion And Commotion/ English-Gujarati / Eng. ST / 14 minutes / DVCam / 2004 / Dir: Nimesh Desai / India)

This documentary film tries to take a closer look at the lives of auto rickshaw drivers in the city of Vadodara. It mops the passage of their life, entangled deeply with the procedures of the road transport office and the vigilance of the traffic police of the city. Beginning from the licensing procedure itself, it goes on to identify the problems of the auto wallas in dealing with the bureaucracy of the RTO. It goes into the nitty-gritties of the prescribed procedures and takes an objective look at the avoidable complications and the corruption that arises thereof.

Another very important aspect of the lives of these auto rickshaw drivers is the control exercised over them by the traffic police. The policemen are a source of constant harassment and extortion.

These two establishments are enough to keep men on the edge of frustration. There are other problem pf unionist violence, educated unemployment, grave poverty etc. An effort has been made to highlight these problems.

This documentary most of all shows the spirit of the auto rickshaw wallas, who keep on smiling and doing their jobs while bearing all these abovementioned burdens.

(Kobi / Bengali / Eng. ST / 51 minutes / DVCam / 2004 / Dir: Mousumi Bilkish / Roop Kala Kendro, Kolkata/ India)

Dulali Chitrakar, a Versifier hails from the district of Murshidabad in Wes Bengal. In a male dominated professional world of Versifiers, Dulali is the only successful Versifier today, even unparalleled among other rising and practicing women Versifiers. Born in a family with rich folk culture, very early in childhood began her struggle against economic deprivation, being the eldest of four siblings. However, after persuasion from her mentor and guru, Sricharan Mondal, Dulali trained and later took up the profession of a Versifier.

This film portrays the different personal and often unknown stories of Dulali, in her everyday life, through her performances, her grooming and her establishment as a successful Versifier. It has interviews of other Versifiers and attempts to ascertain the current trend among potential women singers aspiring to become Versifiers. The film also elicits critical information o the early days of Kobigaan and traces its development through time both in mid Bengal and also in erstwhile East Bengal, now Bangladesh. A significant attribute of the film is the exploration that Kobigaan, a popular folk form has increasingly become an important means of communication, to address various issues, including topical areas of historical or mythological interest or that address political or socio-economic and contemporary aspects of society.

(Bhuj 40 / Hindi-Kutchhi / Eng. ST / 22 minutes / MiniDV / 2004 / Dir: Dhanya Pilo / National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad/ India)

The island of Kutch (Gujarat, India) is a vast basin of minerals, and mining is one of its biggest industries- almost 2000 trucks of bauxite leave from a region per day. Bhuj, seen as the center of Kutch, is a major crossroads for all inhabitants to go anyplace.

The Debariya Rabaris, a sub-group of the Rabari nomadic community, reside in and around this region. They primarily herd sheep and sell wool. The Rabaris travel in regular seasonal cycles designed to meet the needs of their herds. No matter what herd animals they choose for subsistence, Rabaris nearly always keep at least one camel in the family, an animal closely associated with Rabari identity. Indicating trends of cultural adaptation wherever they go, the Debariya Rabaris usually self-sufficient, and have very little ambition besides having more cattle to give way to their kids.

Inner-city Debars are the ones who have left traditional herding occupation for other forms of work, the most common being truck driving. Most of the younger generations are opting for this way of life; the old continue practicing their traditions of embroidery, etc. The hard lifestyle of herding is slowly being compensated by the hard and dangerous life of truck driving.

(3..2..1..0? Who can Change me? / Tamil / Eng ST/15 minutes/ 16mm / 2004 / Dir: Biju KC/ Loyola College, Chennai / India)

This is a real and a simple story about an old cycle rickshaw man in the city of Chennai. He works hard and meets the daily bread by pulling the rickshaw. The title of the short film is selected very purposefully. It conveys the full meaning of the theme. The number starts from higher value and decreases to zero. Zero is the lowest value. There is a question mark adjacent to it, which says what is next to zero. In the case of the rickshaw puller this is same. Once upon a time there was a lot of demand for rickshaw pullers. But look now they are unwanted, jobless. Their value has come to nothing. Can they survive in this pathetic and sad condition?

(Tran / Gujarati/ Eng ST/ 19minutes/ Hi8 / 2004 / Dir: Gurpreet Singh & Justin Jolly Samuel/ National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad/ India)

It is a story of three people who are earning their livelihood by fighting against the rules of cultural norms. Despite their physical deformities, their lives are an inspiration for us to watch. The lesson we learn is to respect life itself! And while we meet them in our journey, we discover that they are just not earning their living but are also special and setting an example to look positive towards our future. That is why they are The Three.

( Peruwale Gaikwad / Marathi / Eng. ST / 09 minutes / MiniDV / 2003 / Dir: Swati Khatri / University of Pune/ India )

The film is about an aged fruit vendor, who has been selling Perus (Guava) for the past 25 years, in front of a school, which is in the campus of Pune University. It is an effort to show his journey from a stage where he was uprooted, helpless and needy till today where he has come out successful, has supported his family and gained an identity for himself as Peruwale Gaikwad. Until one fine day when his world was shaken and he was thrown out of the campus. The film makes an effort to bring the subtle emotions, which pass through him and how he takes it.

The film shows different shades of his life. His capacities to fight, his commitment for his work, his pride of being a successful bread earner, his passion for quality and the philosophies of his life, which makes him, content with life. But he is not the hero; he is the same less interesting person who got the chance to talk about himself.

(Chhakda / Hindi-English-Gujarati / Eng. ST / 25 minutes / DV, MPEG / 2004 / Dir: Ipsit Patel, Balaji Mohan Rajkumar, Rika Chaudhry and Sagarika Suri / School of Architecture, CEPT, Ahmedabad/ India)

The Chhakda is a source of livelihood for the owner, the driver, the mechanic the police. The owner, a small time businessman, rents the Chhakda he owns. The mechanic is constantly repairing these makeshift vehicles.

The Chhakda driver, aged between fifteen to thirty years, with a recently acquired street-smart attire and attitude. This young man, a high-school dropout, drives the Chhakda because of economic needs, and for the independence that it allows him. The Chhakda is his sole source of income.

The police extort money from the Chhakda driver, taking advantage of the dubious situation. The law states that the Chhakda is illegal in the city. The lawmaker cannot relate to the problems in the public transport system. He does not realize that the Chhakda provides an indispensable service to the urban commuter, in the absence of anything more efficient.

The solution does not lie in completely banning the Chhakda, but instead in systematically harnessing their potential for the benefit of the common man.

(Zarina / Urdu / Eng ST / 22 minutes / DVCam / 2004 / Dir: Suhail Bukhari and Piyush Pushpak / College of Media & Communication, Rai University, Delhi/ India)

Zarina: a film on the dying art of Mujra. The film recreates the golden era of Mujra, which now has been eclipsed amid glamour and glitz of modern day entertainment sensationalism. Contribution of Tawaif (nautch girl) to art and culture has rarely been perceived in positive light in a society mired in dubious puritanical standards.

The film aims at changing certain popular and often simplistic, stereotyped misconceptions held by the society as well as an establishment that has failed to accept them as artists.

The film also reflects how this art was socially accepted in the era of Nawabs but the changing socio-economic and religious conditions made the common folk indifferent to it, leading to a much mistaken notion about its identity.

This film is the story of Zarina, a Tawaif and her struggle to eke her meager livelihood. It traces the life and experiences of Zarina to her present and incessant struggle. Zarina stands for many others like her who have lost their bread and butter to the music of the changing times.

Finally, the film concludes on the echoes of the past that left many questions for us to ponder over.