3-day feast for non-fiction movie buffs

BANGALORE: What would it be like to hear a 20-year-old girl’s take on India a few decades ago? Or about the days when the entire country was tuned in to All India Radio much before the television era? This weekend, head to the Urban Lens Film Festival where documentaries made in the first three decades of Independence will be screened.
The second edition of the three-day event is bringing some of the world’s best non-fiction movies, which have been picked from the Films Division archives.Thirty-five films from seven countries will be shown at the festival to explore different facets of what any city produces – whether it is political, social, economic or cultural.
Says Avijit Mukul Kishore, curator of Films Division (archives): “Before TV, the state-sponsored documentaries were the only way to reach out to people of the country. We have chosen some films made in the first three decades after Independence from the archives.”
Festival curator Subasri Krishnan says the event offers an interesting collection of Indian and international non-fiction films. “Like our first edition, this year’s festival will be an intimate screening experience, which will have conversation with directors,” she added.
Sneak preview
Deepa Dhanraj’s classic documentary Kya Hua is Shehar ko looks at the communal riots of Hyderabad while Saba Dewan’s The Other Song chronicles the life of singer Rasoolan Bai from Varanasi and women, and work in the early 20th century. Anirban Dutta’s Wasted takes a philosophical look at the idea of waste in our cities, Gitanjali Rao’s animation film Printed Rainbow explores the loneliness of an elderly woman and her cat, and their fantastic journey.
Details
What : Ubran Lens Film Festival
Where: Indian Institute of Habitat Studies, Sadashivanagar
When: Friday to Sunday
How much: It’s free!
What to look forward to: Patricio Guzman’s Nostalgia for the Light
For information: http://iihs.co.in/