From 17-20 September in Kathmandu, Film South Asia (FSA) is showcasing 35 south Asian documentaries competing for the Ram Bahadur Trophy. The trophy, named after late Ram Bahadur Tamang (pictured with camera in the FSA logo), is sculpted in bronze by Purna Kaji Shakya. Actress Shabana Azmi will deliver the opening speech.
Tickets are priced at Rs 30 at the Kumari Cinema in Kamalpokhari, but FSA is putting out contribution boxes at the venue for the Ram Bahadur Trust. Donations will go to Sri Bhal Chandra Secondary School in the village of Rayale in Kavre district.
Afghan Girls Can Kick
Afghanistan's first-ever women's football team prepares for competitive international matches, and witnesses Afghanistan change as the harsh, brutally patriarchal Taliban regime gives way to a modern government.
Out of Thin Air
Cinema magnates in the Ladakhi film industry happen to make a living as restaurant workers and cops. Out of Thin Air takes a look at their distinctly unglamorous lives.
The Way of the Road
A plan to connect an ancient Himalayan trade route in remote Rasuwa district, once the site of a Nepal-Tibet war, arouses mixed feelings among indigenous Tamang communities.
In Search of the Riyal
The story of young Nepalis from disadvantaged communities who rush to the Gulf for work but return disillusioned. The film explores a world still obscure mainly because Gulf countries won't open their labour practices to global scrutiny.
Children of God
Many children live off the rituals of death in the cremation grounds at Pashupatinath in Kathmandu. Children of God documents their macabre struggle to stay alive.
Supermen of Malegaon
Inhabitants of the depressed central Indian town of Malegaon take refuge in the fantastical world of cinema, spurring a young group of cinema enthusiasts to make their own quirky films, notably Superman of Malegaon. A small town mirrors India.
Chilika Bank$
In a canvas spread over four decades, a banyan tree on the banks of Lake Chilika whispers tales of the lake and her fisherfolk. Once there was no export bajar, and one day there may no longer be a lake.
Threadbare
The story of the victims of Canada's 'War on Terror': 24 men are falsely accused, imprisoned and deported just for having the word 'Mohammad' in their names.
Machis ko Sinka (Matchstick)
A project that began as a search for the Nepali-Indian identity, Machis Ko Sinka evolved into an attempt to understand the Gorkhaland Movement in Darjeeling and to interpret it for mainland Indians. The film studies the movement's use of violence.
People's Leader
A film about two different periods of Benazir Bhutto's life: her struggle for democracy, and her two stints as prime minister of Pakistan.
Film South Asia 2009 Schedule | ||
HALL A | ||
THU 17-Sep | 4PM | The Lightning Testimonies (113') India, 2007, dir - Amar Kanwar Exploring South Asia's conflicts through sexual violence. |
FRI 18-Sep | 10AM | Mayomi (50') Sri Lanka, 2008, dir - Carol Salter Post-tsunami, a woman struggles to hold her family together. |
11.15AM | Come to My Country: Journeys with Kabir and Friends (98') India, 2008, dir - Shabnam Virmani Unlikely bonds in the quest for Kabir's 'country'. | |
2PM | Punches n Ponytails (74') India, 2008, dir - Pankaj Rishi Kumar Women boxers work through their insecurities. | |
3.45PM | Bhagwan Das: In Pursuit of Ambedkar (61') India, 2009, dir - S Anand The Constituent Assembly friend and Ambedkar. | |
5.15PM | Afghan Girls can Kick (50') Afghanistan, 2007, dir - Bahareh Hosseini Spunky girls do kick well. | |
SAT 19-Sep | 10AM | Delhi: Work in Progress (38') |
11.15AM | The Last Rites (17') | |
12.30PM | Children of the Pyre (74') India, 2008, dir - Rajesh S Jala The kids of Benaras' Manikarnika ghat. | |
2.15PM | Out of Thin Air (50') India, 2009, dir - Samreen Farooqui & Shabani Hassanwalia A peep into Ladakh's film industry. | |
3.30PM | Threadbare (40') Canada/Pakistan, 2008, dir - Arshad Khan Simply the name 'Mohammad' gets 24 arrested in Canada. | |
4.30PM | In Search of the Riyal (86') Nepal, 2009, dir - Kesang Tseten Study of Nepali migrants in the Gulf. | |
SUN 20-Sep | 10AM | All the World's a Stage (60') India, 2008, dir - Nirmal Chander Sufi performers, the Sidi Goma ponder modernity. |
11.30AM | Encountered on Saffron Agenda? (90') India, 2007, dir - Shubhradeep Chakravorty Gujarat adopts encounter killings; minorities victimised. | |
1.30PM | Children of God (89') Nepal, 2008, dir - Yi Seung-jun The kids of Aryaghat. | |
3.30PM | Forever Young (78') India, 2008, dir - Ranjan Palit Shillong's Lou Majaw on Bob Dylan's birthday. | |
HALL B | ||
THU 17-Sep | 3.30PM | Chilika Bank$ (60') India, 2008, dir - Akanksha Joshi The Banyan and Chilika Lake's forgotten history. |
5PM | Saamam (The Music) (42') India, 2009, dir - Ramachandran K Homage to Carnatic music legend M D Ramanathan. | |
FRI 18-Sep | 9.30AM | Leaving Home - The Life and Music of Indian Ocean (114') India, 2008, dir - Jaideep Varma Understanding the musicians behind IO. |
12PM | The Battle for Pakistan (40') Pakistan, 2009, dir - Maheen Zia Where do extremism and madrasas converge in Pakistan? | |
1.30PM | The Promised Land (90') Bangladesh, 2008, dir - Tanvir Mokammel Stigma still haunts Bangladesh's 'Biharis'. | |
3.30PM | Flying on One Engine (51') India/USA, 2008, dir - Joshua Weinstein Ailing, eccentric Brooklyn doctor helps India's cleft-lipped. | |
5PM | Shores Far Away (49') India, 2007, dir - Savyasaachi Jain Migrants attempt to smuggle themselves into Europe. | |
SAT 19-Sep | 10AM | Our Family (56') India, 2007, dir - Anjali Monteiro/ K P Jayasankar Three transgender women speak to you. |
11.30AM | The Legend of Shiva and Parvati (85') India/Germany, 2008, dir - Krishna Saraswati The hippie girl and the yogi of India. | |
1.30PM | Supermen of Malegaon (79') India, 2008, dir - Faiza Ahmad Khan Small-town churns out hilarious Hollywood spoof. | |
3.15PM | The Salt Stories (84') India, 2008, dir - Lalit Vachani Following Gandhi's salt march in our time. | |
5PM | Morality TV and the Loving Jehad: A Thrilling Tale (31') | |
SUN 20-Sep | 11AM | The Way of the Road (60') Nepal, 2009, dir - Ben Campbell & Cosmo Campbell Will the Rasuwa Nepal-Tibet road help villagers? |
12.30PM | In the Market Stands Kabir: Journeys with Sacred & Secular Kabir (94') India, 2008, dir - Shabnam Virmani The spiritual Kabir reconciled with the secular. | |
2.30PM | Temples in the Clouds (56') India, 2008, dir - Jim Mallinson & Chicoo Patuzzi Paragliding pilgrimage to Himachal's Chamunda temple. | |
4PM | Super 30 (59') India, 2008, dir - Christopher Mitchell Poor kids with math shoot for IIT. |