For documentary enthusiasts in Kathmandu, the weekend of 29 September will feature movies galore.
This year 43 films were chosen from the 189 entries to Film South Asia (FSA). India, with its tradition of documentary-making, will have the largest number of films at FSA 2005. Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh have impressive line-ups while Sri Lanka and Nepal have a modest presence. The festival also includes films on South Asian subjects from Burma, Canada and South Africa.
Well-known directors such as Tanveer Mokamel from Bangladesh, Rakesh Sharma from India and Shireen Pasha from Pakistan will be here and the festival will showcase a selection of the best films made in or about the region over the last two years.
The four days of Film South Asia will be followed by a two-day showcase, 'Barrel of the Gun,' featuring of films from all over the world on political violence.
Contact: www.himalassociation.org/fsa or 5542544.
The New Boys
Life in a school dormitory focusing on group dynamicsis is the subject of the fourth film in the series of David MacDougall's long-term study of childhood and adolescence at the Doon School in northern India. The film provides unique insights into the values and training of the Indian middle class and, more generally of postcolonial elites at India's foremost boarding school for boys.
My Brother, My Enemy
For the first time in 15 years, the Indian cricket team is on tour in Pakistan. Two Indian and Pakistani filmmakers, travel with the team and create a film that is a part of a plea for understanding between thei nations.
The Catch:
The film chonicles the struggles of a fishing community casting its nets in the waters of the Arabian Sea off the coast of Sindh in Pakistan and Gujarat in India. Their lives are followed against the backdrop of a dispute between the Pakistani and Indian governments, both eager to claim the oil-rich land and natural gas reserves found in this region. The film calls for the two governments to work together to reach an understanding before the area is declared international waters by the UN.
The Day My God Died
This film presents stories of young girls whose lives have been shattered by the child sex trade. The film provides actual footage from the brothels of Bombay captured with "spy camera" technology. Through the film we come to know victims such as Gina and Anita who are gang-raped and forced to service up to 20 clients a day.
Home of the Brave - Land of the Free
This one-of-a-kind documentary takes a unique a look at the manner in which the US Special Forces operates in Afghanistan. The film was shot in February 2003 by John Sullivan and Gar Andreassen who stayed in Jalalabad under the protection of a local warlord. Never before has anyone followed the actions of the US Special Forces so closely.
The Great Indian School Show
The story of a school in which the administration has installed 185 CCTVs to cover every inch of its premises
and monitor its students. This film also goes on to ask what hidden agenda underlies the surveillance.
The Other Woman
Growing up in the south of Sri Lanka in a Sinhala Buddhist family, the filmmaker was taught to define the woman who lived next to her as 'other,'- a Tamil who belonged outside of her own community. When civil war ensued, the two moved even further apart, Anoma staying within the south, her neighbour moving north. When a ceasefire agreement allowed the reopening of the main road connecting north and south, the filmmaker goes in search of her old neighbour.
Final Solution
The film is a study of the politics of hate. Set in Gujarat in February-March 2002 and July 2003, the film graphically documents the changing face of right-wing politics in western India through an examination of the carnage wrought on Gujarat in 2002.
Lanka-The Other Side of War and Peace
On the 22 February 2002, after more than 20 years of fighting the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and the Government of Sri Lanka signed a ceasefire agreement. The opening of the A9 highway after 12 years became a symbol of the hope for peace in Sri Lanka. Structured in travelogue fashion, the film traverses the northern and southern landscapes of Sri Lanka.
Im Schatten der Pagoden - dad andere Burma
(In The Shadows of the Pagodas - the other Burma)
A picturesque journey through fairytale Burma, the golden land of a thousand Pagodas that ends in the jungles where hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people live, on the run from the government army. Yet much of the world is unaware of the suffering of millions of Burmese civilians.
Film South Asia (FSA) is a competitive biennial festival of documentary films on South Asian subjects. The festival provides a quality platform for exhibiting new works and promotes a sense of community among documentary filmmakers and connoisseurs.
It is the only such event solely dedicated to showcasing contemporary South Asian non-fiction film and has gained deserving recognition within the region and globally as a world-class festival. FSA is organised by Himal Association, a non-profit institution dedicated to spreading knowledge and information in Nepal and South Asia.
The first edition of FSA was held in 1997, after which there have been festivals every two years. In 2003 the film The 18th Elephant - 3 Monologues directed by P Balan from Kerala won the best film award. Tale of the Darkest Night by Kawsar Chawdhary, came second Best Film Award and Sand and Water by Berlin-based Bangladeshi filmmaker Shaheen Dill-Riaz third.
FSA 2005 gets underway next week at Kumari Cinema in Kamal Pokhari.
