Film list

[18-feet--Film-image]
18 Feet 2015 77'
  Directed by Renjith Kuzhur .
Karinthalakoottam is an indigenous band that propagates the music of soul to connect people with a sense of historic resolution. 18 feet symbolizes the holy distance dalits, the downtrodden, were to
[arnav-at-six--Film-image]
Arnav At Six 2012 28'
    Directed by David MacDougall .
Filmed as a collaborative project with Arnav Koshy in 2008, this film explores the mind and activities of an intelligent and observant child of six. Arnav is fascinated by the geology, plant-life,
South Asia Children / Young people Education / Knowledge Transmission
[black-mountain--Film-image]
Black Mountain 2008 84'
    Directed by Charlotte Whitby-Coles Amin Hajee .
A once unremarkable site of multi-faith pilgrimage to a Sufi Saint has been transformed and its local history rewritten - the film documents the journey of Charlotte, a student undertaking her PhD
South Asia Religion / Belief / Faith Tourism / Travel / Pilgrimage Inter-religious relations
[calcutta-calling--Film-image]
Calcutta Calling 2006 16'
    Directed by André Hörmann .
“Business Process Outsourcing” is the fastest growing industry in the world. In India, approximately 350,000 people are currently working in call centres to maintain the contact between western
South Asia Labour
[cham-in-the-lepcha-village-of-lingthem--Film-image]
Cham in the Lepcha Village of Lingthem 2007 52'
    Directed by Dawa Tsering Lepcha .
Every winter, over a period of six days, the lamas of Lingthem's village monastery hold their annual cham. These dramatic ritual masked dances impart elementary Buddhist teachings while providing
South Asia Ritual Dance / Theatre / Performance Religion / Belief / Faith
[the-childs-eye--Film-image]
The Child's Eye 2018 '
  Directed by David MacDougall .
This video is a series of 12 short films that are the result of ethnographic filmmaker David MacDougall’s a five-year project video workshop project with Indian children. In six workshops held in
South Asia Children / Young people Informant-researcher relationship Participatory / Collaborative methods
[the-cinema-travellers--Film-image]
The Cinema Travellers 2016 96'
    RAI Basil Wright Directed by Shirley Abraham Amit Madheshiya .
An affectionate but melancholy ode to a vanishing phenomenon in rural India: the travelling cinema. The huge projector has been repaired countless times by its ingenious operator. The tent and screen
[the-city-beautiful--Film-image]
The City Beautiful 2003 78'
    Directed by Rahul Roy .
Sunder Nagri (Beautiful City) is a small working class colony on the margins of India’s capital city, Delhi. Most families residing here come from a community of weavers. The last ten years have
South Asia Urban Labour Socioeconomic conditions
[a-delicate-weave--Film-image]
A Delicate Weave 2017 61'
    Intangible Culture Directed by Anjali Monteiro KP Jayasankar .
A fascinating tapestry of four different musical journeys across Gujarat, India: we meet a group of young men in Bhujodi who meet every night to sing the verses of 15th-century Indian mystic and poet
[the-face-behind-the-mask--Film-image]
The Face Behind the Mask 2015 54'
    Intangible Culture Directed by Nirmal Chander Dandriyal .
Weaving between past and present, performances and daily routine, this film focuses on the life and struggle of Shashadhar Acharya, a member of the fifth generation of a family of traditional Chhau
[the-forgotten-generation--Film-image]
The Forgotten Generation 2015 40'
  Directed by Deepa Dhanraj .
In the Forgotten Generation older people aged over 60 in urban Tamil Nadu, rural Rajasthan and tribal Maharashtra reveal the realities of their lives, relationships and work as well as their
[gali-street--Film-image]
Gali (Street) 2017 52'
    Directed by Shabani Hassanwalia Samreen Farooqui .
Gali, delves into a world of hip-hop in Delhi, a community that role-plays participation, as well as, dissent, against a mainstream that continues to exclude them. The documentary catches them in
[the-granary-of-salcete--Film-image]
The Granary of Salcete 2017 37'
    Directed by Vince Costa .
Curtorim is located on the banks of the river Zuari, in Goa, India. The people of this village have over centuries built a bond with rice, so profoundly that it earned the village the title of
[in-search-of-bidesia--Film-image]
In Search of Bidesia 2019 65'
    Music Docs Directed by Simit Bhagat .
In the Indian language of Bhojpuri the name ‘Bidesia’ refers to a person who has migrated to a foreign land. However, Bidesia is also the name of a genre of Bhojpuri folk music, which reflects
[a-kali-temple-inside-out--Film-image]
A Kali Temple Inside Out 2018 83'
    Werbner Award Directed by Dipesh Kharel Frode Storaas .
Religious boundaries in India are not necessarily as sharp and antagonistic as news media lead us to believe. This film portrays everyday life inside and around a Kali temple in the city of Kanpur,
South Asia Religion / Belief / Faith Collective / Community identity
[kashi-labh--Film-image]
Kashi Labh 2018 43'
    Directed by Rajat Nayyar .
This film explores the aesthetics of dying, family as a unit of care, and taking the last vital breath in Kashi, India’s sacred city. With Kashi Labh, Nayyar reflects upon his work with families
[last-days-last-shot--Film-image]
Last Days. Last Shot 2016 52'
  Directed by Sumira Roy .
In ancient Eastern thought, there are no absolute truths and even in death there is no one model. Through the film’s two characters and their simple acts of daily life we explore two contrasting
[let-him-fly--Film-image]
Let Him Fly 2021 29'
    Ethnomusicology Directed by Ethiraj Gabriel Dattatreyan .
Let Him Fly draws on footage shot over eight years to lyrically document the rise and exponential growth of the Delhi hip hop scene. The film spotlights some of the most influential artists on the
[majma--Film-image]
Majma 2001 54'
    Directed by Rahul Roy .
Aslam sells medicines for sexual problems on the pavements of Meena Bazar near Jama Masjid in Delhi. Khalifa Barkat presides over an wrestling gym (akhara) in the adjacent park and puts a group of
South Asia Gender Role and Identity Sport Socioeconomic conditions
[my-name-is-eeooow--Film-image]
My Name is Eeooow 2016 52'
    Intangible Culture Directed by Oinam Doren .
Imagine a village where you sing every time you call someone's name. In the village of Kongthong, everybody has a song tune as a name - the 'Jingrwai Iawbei'. The name comes from a mother as an
[naach-bhikhari-naach--Film-image]
Naach Bhikhari Naach 2018 72'
    Directed by Shilpi Gulati Jainendra Dost .
Naach is a form of traditional folk theatre from Bihar, India. In this tradition, male artists often cross dress as women on stage and are referred to as ‘laundas’. The most legendary name in
[nicobar-a-long-way--Film-image]
Nicobar, a long way... 2016 60'
  Directed by Richa Hushing .
Deep in the Bay of Bengal, the Nicobar archipelago, a tribal reserve protected under Andaman and Nicobar Protection of Aboriginal Tribes Regulation, was worst smashed by the Tsunami of 26th December
[once-upon-a-village--Film-image]
Once Upon a Village 2021 60'
    Main Competition Directed by Srishti Lakhera .
Semla is a ghost village in the Himalayan foothills. The fifty families that once lived there have migrated to the city, leaving behind seven people. With this migration, livelihood connected to the
[paani-of-women-and-water--Film-image]
Paani: of women and water 2018 22'
    Student Directed by Costanza Burstin .
Against the bleached sky of Rajasthan, we encounter the women of a small Muslim village as they engage in their work. Here, water binds their daily labour rituals: they collect and carry water in
South Asia Environment Food / Water Gender Role and Identity Rural Everyday Life
[pang-lhabsol-sikkims-national-ritual-of-the-land-and-its-guardian-deities--Film-image]
Pang Lhabsol: Sikkim's National Ritual of the Land and its Guardian Deities 2015 63'
  Directed by Anna Balikci .
Pang Lhabsol, Sikkim’s most important indigenous celebration, consists of a series of rituals and monastic dances held in honour of Dzonga, a mountain deity residing on Mt. Khangchendzonga, the
[q2p--Film-image]
Q2P 2006 55'
    Directed by Paromita Vohra .
Q2P is a film about toilets and the city. It sifts through the dream of Mumbai as a future Shanghai and searches for public toilets, watching who has to queue to pee. As the film observes who has
South Asia Gender Role and Identity Urban Socioeconomic conditions
[a-radio-of-ones-own--Film-image]
A Radio of One’s Own 2016 34'
  Directed by Shweta Radhakrishnan .
In the heart of the hills, in Rudraprayag, Uttarakhand, a frequency crackled and came to life on the 21st of September, 2013. Community radio, Mandakini ki Aawaz is Rudraprayag District’s first and
[rain-in-the-mirror--Film-image]
Rain in the Mirror 2012 48'
  Directed by Nilanjan Bhattachary Kanchan Mukhopadhayay .
Dorji Bhutia, a Buddhist monk and a reputed mask-maker with supernatural powers of bringing or stopping rain chose a self-determined death at the age of eighty-six. Dorji leaves his mystic image
South Asia Religion / Belief / Faith Children / Young people Education / Knowledge Transmission Intergenerational relations
[resonating-burra-the-story-of-burrakatha--Film-image]
Resonating Burra - The Story of Burrakatha 2018 42'
    Intangible Culture Directed by Arjun Chavah .
Burrakatha is a storytelling art form in the Telangana and Andhra regions of India. Emerging in the 1940s, amidst the struggle against feudal oppression and the Indian freedom movement, Burrakatha
[ritual-journeys--Film-image]
Ritual Journeys 2011 75'
  Directed by Dawa Lepcha Anna Balikci .
The film is an intimate portrait of Merayk, an 80 years old Lepcha shaman or Padim. Merayk lives with his family in Dzongu, a Lepcha reserve in North Sikkim. He performs healing rituals for
South Asia Ritual Shamans and Shamanism Health / Health care / Healing
[sakhisona--Film-image]
Sakhisona 2017 27'
    Intangible Culture Directed by Prantik Basu .
Near Mogulmari in West Bengal lies a mound known locally as Sakhisona. Stories about it are interwoven with myth and still sung by local musicians. A dig nearby recently uncovered the remains of a
[salma--Film-image]
Salma 2013 90'
    Directed by Kim Longinotto .
When Salma, a young Muslim girl in a south Indian village, was 13 years old, her family locked her up for 25 years, forbidding her to study and forcing her into marriage. During that time, words were
South Asia Gender Role and Identity Social Norms Marriage Art / Artists / Artisans
[sent-away-boys--Film-image]
Sent Away Boys 2016 43'
  Directed by Harjant Gill .
What happens to families in the absence of sons? What happens to land in the absence of farmers? What happens to communities in the absence of men? Sent Away Boys weaves together stories of
[tingvong-a-lepcha-village-in-sikkim--Film-image]
Tingvong: A Lepcha Village in Sikkim 2005 60'
  Directed by Dawa T Lepcha Anna Balikci-Denjongpa Asen Balikci .
The film illustrates the changes the Lepcha of the Dzongu reserve, North Sikkim, have been through in the last 60 years. From the 1940s, the Lepcha of Tingvong village gradually abandoned hunting,
South Asia Social Change Religion / Belief / Faith Agriculture / Farming
[a-two-day-fair--Film-image]
A Two Day Fair 2009 60'
  Directed by Anjali Monteiro KP Jayasankar .
Nothing in the world will last – it is but a two day fair” sings Mura Lala, drawing inspiration from the Sufi traditions of Sant Kabir and Abdul Lateef Bhitai. He is accompanied on the double
[under-the-palace-wall--Film-image]
Under the Palace Wall 2013 53'
  Directed by David MacDougall .
From the 16th century the Indian village of Delwara in southern Rajasthan was ruled as a principality of the kingdom of Mewar. Its palace, which overlooks the village, is now a luxury hotel - a
South Asia Education / Knowledge transmission Children / Young people Tourism / Travel / Pilgrimage
[welcome-valentine-2017--Film-image]
Welcome Valentine 2017 2017 16'
    Student Directed by Dhruv Satija .
In a temple dedicated to Hanuman in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, a priest flouts convention by marrying couples who are shunned elsewhere: mostly those who have eloped from families who disapprove of their
South Asia Marriage Love LGBTQI* Religion / Belief / Faith
[when-four-friends-meet--Film-image]
When Four Friends Meet 2000 43'
  Directed by Rahul Roy .
Bunty, Kamal, Sanjay and Sanju, best of friends and residents of Jehangiripuri, a working class colony on the outskirts of Delhi are young and trying to make their lives in an environment which is
South Asia Gender Role and Identity Children / Young people Urban
[where-the-clouds-end--Film-image]
Where the Clouds End 2014 52'
  Directed by Wanphrang Diengdoh .
“My late great grandfather was a Bengali who came to Shillong in the early 1900s - long before the present political border divided the lands.” After the creation of borders between India and
South Asia Colonialism / Postcolonialism Race / Racism / Antiracism Collective / Community identity
[who-says-the-lepchas-are-vanishing-bang-the-drum--Film-image]
Who says the lepchas are vanishing (Bang the Drum) 2019 42'
    Music Docs Directed by Abhyuday Khaitan .
A tribute to Sonam Tshering Lepcha, cultural leader and creator of songs, literature, dances and a museum of the Lepcha people of north-west Bengal and Sikkim (India). His life has been devoted to
[the-women-weavers-of-assam--Film-image]
The Women Weavers of Assam 2019 98'
    Special Interest Directed by Aparna Sharma .
The Women Weavers of Assam focuses on the craft, labour and the everyday lives of a group of women weavers in India’s northeastern state of Assam. The weavers belong to a non-profit collective
South Asia Art / Artists / Artisans Gender Role and identity Material Culture
[yeh-freedom-life-this-freedom-life--Film-image]
YEH FREEDOM LIFE / THIS FREEDOM LIFE 2018 70'
    Directed by Priya Sen .
Yeh Freedom Life / This Freedom Life was filmed over a year in Ambedkar Nagar, a dense, largely working class area in South Delhi. It moves between the two very different worlds of its protagonists,