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RAI FILM Festival takes place on 27-30 March 2025. Learn more.

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Under the Palace Wall

Directed by David MacDougall

2013 – 53'

Synopsis

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 world remote from the daily life of the villagers. Following on from his film SchoolScapes, which was inspired by the early cinema of Lumière, David MacDougall here employs a series of precisely observed scenes to explore Delwara’s local primary school as a part of contemporary village life – a life that continues “under the palace wall”.

RAI FILM Festival 2025

The next RAI FILM Festival will take place in person from 27-30 March 2025 at the Watershed Cinema and the Arnolfini International Centre for Contemporary Arts in Bristol (UK) and online throughout the month of April 2025.