1,305 Matches Found
Documenting the lives of four Nepalese migrant laborers in a mango orchard in Ratnagiri, the film reveals power struggles between the workers, their employer, and the filmmaker, and explores the complexities of power dynamics at the micro level. It also examines the relationship between the filmmaker and the male-dominated world of migrant labor, showing how power can be limited for those who appear to have it.
Shot in the West Bank, Palestine, this documentary follows young, disenfranchised, Palestinians who have chosen the path of creativity as a response to the world around them.
An attempt to engage with the historical, mythical and the contemporary worlds of the city of Pushkar
The film explores societal inequality through subversive imagery, examining the bleak consumerist landscape and its transition between industrial and organic spaces.
A 'filmscape' on the Kashmir valley.
On the banks of the Cauvery River in southern India, wildlife filmmaker Sugandhi Gadadhar studies the behavior of Asian otters. On one of the subcontinent's most dynamic waterways, a conflict has arisen between these small carnivorous mammals and fishermen, whose livelihoods also depend on the river's resources.
Filmed over 10 years, this is the story of how a courageous fishing community in India’s Gulf of Kutch joins forces with lawyers in Washington, D.C. to take on one of the world’s most powerful institutions, the World Bank Group, after it funded a coal-fired power plant on their coast.
A 13 minute short documentary about the details of smoking pot in a small Indian town.
Amidst Mumbai's relentless pursuit of progress, a boxing club fights to preserve its legacy against the backdrop of urban redevelopment threatening its existence.
Can someone become a mother without giving birth to a child? Twenty-nine-year-old filmmaker Santwana, who is not yet ready to become a mother, and forty-five-year-old doula Kata, who, though childless herself, helps many couples bring their children into the world, are searching for the answer to this question together. This highly intimate documentary empathetically introduces us to the most beautiful and vulnerable moments of life surrounding childbirth.
Tigers in the Himalayan foothills, filmed by famous hunter and conservationist Jim Corbett.
A documentary made by Ghatak for the Government of Bihar observing the life of the Adivasis.
On the vanishing island of Ghoramara, three families battle the rising tides of the climate crisis. As the river swallows their land; Lakkhi, Aravind Sagar, and Revati with her son Biltu face the heartbreak of displacement and the struggle to survive. This documentary captures the intimate human cost of a world slowly slipping away.
A visit by an Indian filmmaker interrupts the life of Anica and Emil, a Romanian countryside couple. Santwana (the filmmaker) learns Romanian death songs from Anica (the funeral mourner) while sharing bread,potatoes,cheese and Grief. They can’t talk but they can sing. They can’t console each other with words but they share silences. While listening to the trains pass by in the mountains of the village called Romuli, a tale emerges of a unique and most humane connection, making us wonder, does grief need a language at all?
Somi, an Indian ex-Maoist (Naxalite) rebel, faces a new battle as her efforts to build a home are stalled by the construction of an iron mine. Somi leads her community in resisting the violation of their land, forest and indigenous heritage, but this time without her rifle.
The film celebrates the beauty of plural India through the genre of the road movie.
A dazzling display of flying pigeons above the cacophony of Old Delhi.
Is there more to a baby’s cry? The documentary dwells into the psyche of pediatric doctors and the skills they use to arrive at a diagnosis.
Science, religion and politics collide amidst a raging pandemic, when a group of laundrymen set out to design a poster celebrating a hugely popular annual festival worshipping the deity Ganesha.
The charismatic Snow Leopard is the least understood of all the big cats and one of the most challenging to film. Over a period of five years, veteran Indian wildlife filmmakers, Naresh and Rajesh Bedi endured extreme cold and the thin air of the Himalayas in their daunting quest to reveal the secret lives of these elusive predators, ultimately with great success.
In 2003, Chandrashekhar's world was turned upside down. He had pledged his property to the Sullia cooperative bank for a loan, but when he couldn't repay, the bank took it away, despite RBI norms saying otherwise. What followed is over two decades of struggle. He has taken the bank to court, but the case drags on.
In a world subjected to an onslaught of saleable ideas and products, a world where we indulge beyond our means, is there a possibility of leading a life true to the values we believe in? To abstain from indulgence? ‘Sarala - Virala’ is an insight into a life of simple man, who remains steadfast and true to his beliefs in the midst of awards, popularity, wealth, and the materialistic new-age lifestyle. L. Narayana Reddy is an octogenarian organic farmer, imparting knowledge on environment-friendly agriculture gained from decades of practice to people from all walks of life. Narayana Reddy’s farming methods, the knowledge he shares and the lifestyle he leads is a stark contrast to the problem-laden modern farmer. It is this contrast that 'Sarala-Virala' dwells upon, thus documenting a man of example for present day society.
Extraordinary footage of prayers in the Punjabi capital.
Two sisters run away from marriage in their remote village to the city for a new life only to discover marriage to be their only path towards a secure and respectable future six years later.
A fable about life in a chawl (urban middle class housing society) where superstitions, relationships and crisis combines the families into a unified community. The film follows a folk tale like structure to talk about a kind of society in old Bombay city and the people that belonged to it in a fantasy tale of lost loves. the film also looks at the idea of infinite time and life cycles.
A documentary on life of Ustad Bismillah Khan by Goutam Ghose.
Directed in the same year as The Life of the Adivasis, Places of Historic Interest in Bihar was more of a tourism documentary for the Bihar government.
A film produced to celebrate the coronation of George V as King-Emperor at the Imperial Durbar of 1911.
Brair Kani explores an ancestral house located in Srinagar, Kashmir. Using the attic as a site of reflection, the film navigates the relationship between space, belonging and personal history. Inhabiting the confines of the attic, the house spirits exist simultaneously as carriers of collective memory and as manifestations of the emotional landscape.
The portrait of Eberhard Fischer, a Swiss ethnographer and art historian whose life has been devoted to documenting artistic practices across cultures, from mask carvers in Africa to painters in India. His work led to enduring collaborations, including one with filmmaker Amit Dutta. Drawing on archival footage and memory, the film reflects on a long creative friendship.
An astonishing English tourist’s view of street life in pre-partition Srinagar and Kashmir.
Born in Edinburgh in 1990, Shooglenifty created their unique sound by fusing traditional melodies with the beats and basslines of world music influences. This musical journey follows the original members of the band and their rise in international popularity. Following the untimely passing of their fiddle player and front man, Angus R. Grant, the band persevere with the same passion and creativity. An uplifting gem for fans old and new.
A stunning display by Nyishi tribesmen from the hills of Arunachal Pradesh, north-eastern India.
Directed by Paul Zils and co-written with Regi Siriwardena, Buddhismus in Ceylon is a documentary exploring the practice of Buddhism in Sri Lanka. The film traces the religion’s arrival from India over 2000 years ago, emphasizing its purest form as practiced in Ceylon. It highlights key rituals such as the Festival of Lights, the veneration of the Bodhi tree, and the Buddhist monastic journey. The documentary also contrasts the discipline of Buddhist teachings with the occasional resort to amulets and Hindu deities, offering a comprehensive view of Sri Lanka’s Buddhist culture and its path toward nirvana.
Docudrama about the life of Rabindranath Tagore, Indian polymath—poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter, who reshaped Bengali literature and music as well as Indian art, becoming in 1913 the first non-European and the first lyricist to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. The film was released during Tagore's birth centenary year.
A group of students aged between 18 to 25 shares their opinion on the first thing they want to change in their country if they get the power to do so.
Esteemed documentarian Anand Patwardhan directs a portrait of his parents, whose families were intertwined with Gandhi and India’s independence movement. His view on history extolls unity between Hindus and Muslims, a value that needs reasserting in modern politics.
Sheher Ke Under maps the intersections of the independent cultural landscape in New Delhi. The directors of two studio spaces sit down to talk about the emergence and evolution of this exact point in time—where architecture meets art and houses turn into curatorial spaces.
Kathakali performance featuring the great Indian dancer Guru Gopinath.
Highlights the plight of young children employed in the fireworks industry. Their childhood is lost in the dark factories with no basic amenities even.
A pair of monkeys decide to break free from their human handler who ill treats them.
This documentation explores anthropologically various nuances of Car Nicobar tribes within the geographical settings of the Nicobar. It provides a rare view of the lesser known life style, belief system rituals practices festivals and livelihood patterns and traces the oral traditions mythology, costumes and dialect of the Car Nicobarese. The documentary highlights the vernacular style and architecture including the indigenous beehive like thickly thatched huts with afo grass and traditional structural geometry. The film explores the Betal and Coconut production as an economic activity within an overall fame work of ecology and associated folklore.
A rural artist paints her autobiography, Bollywood movie icons’ images get erased after the weekly run of the film, the national flag flutters on 150 kites, an installation artist paints pop icons on the rolling shutters of the shops, religious icons jostle for attention with Chinese plastic flowers on the vendor’s cart, metaphors of life cycle adorn the mud wall of a home, neighbourhood boys craft the tale of WTC and the sale of toy planes goes up. Symbols of nationalism become a fashionable commodity. Made in India is a film on contemporary visual cultures in India. India, the ever alert and over forgetful, often intolerant, pluri-lingual, pluri-cultural conglomeration of multiple simultaneity.
A coming-of-age journey of an inherent minimalist, who struggles to preserve one of India's last traditional open-air schools called Chatasali. This documentary delves into the life of a mystic teacher, centenarian Nanda Prusty, an ordinary Indian villager who gave free education to the poor for more than 70 years. Transforming from an actor to a teacher, Prusty's narrative extends across three generations, marked by his unwavering commitment to selflessly serve his village on a profound spiritual path. Just before his unexpected death, at the age of 103, he eventually came to limelight after receiving Padma Shri, India's prominent civilian award.
"Child" is a 1948 short documentary directed by Paul Zils. Unfortunately, specific details about the film's content are scarce, and it appears that the film may be lost.
1945 documentary directed by Paul Zils. The film explores the history and development of Bombay (now Mumbai), highlighting its transformation from a collection of seven islands into a major urban center.
Happy farmers, a wedding and some giant cauliflowers...
This short documentary explores the changes in film viewing experience, which over time has become less social and more solitary. Through creative use of the audio-visual medium and conversations with cinephiles of different generations, the filmmaker explores his nostalgia for the past and anxiety regarding the survival of theatres in the future.
What makes me a Sikh? That question posed by nine-year-old Zara Garcha starts a family’s journey to learn about their religion. The Garcha family explores Sikhism by visiting diverse Sikh communities around the world: meeting with a Maharaja, cheesemakers, fashionistas, farmers, and scholars to glean a better understanding of the world’s fifth largest religion. Their journey begins in Parma where they meet Sikhs who have a hand in creating Italy’s iconic Parmesan cheese. From there, the Garcha’s head east traveling to India to visit The Golden Temple, and learn about the historical foundations of the religion. As their travels continue their lived experience blends with academic insight and we see how the religion and culture has manifested itself throughout the world.
Music has the capacity to breathe life into a cinematic image. The evolution of Hindi film music has been shaped by technological changes in the recording industry as well as other cultural forces like the local Ramlila tradition, the narrative structures of Hindi films and the rising prominence of women characters within those narratives. But despite these wide range of influences, what remains central to Hindi film music is the way the sounds, lyrics and notes touch a chord with the common man. From the streets of Bombay, to the local barber shops and the booming remixes floating in urban clubs that has generations of youth gyrating to the beats very few spaces have been left untouched by Hindi music. Arun Khopkar's musical journey is accompanied by equally joyous camera movements and thus, manages to provide a nuanced understanding of the elements of Hindi film music and how the orchestra, percussion and western influences created a harmonious confluence of unique musical patterns.
A land of sacred peaks and secret creatures, lost in the mists of time, somewhere between folklore and magic. This is a story of India's very first UNESCO Biosphere Reserve - the Nilgiris - one of Asia's most intensively studied areas.
Unakkul Naan plays out through the mind of a young boy who, while watching a film at the theater where his father works as a projectionist, is sent back to school by his father. The boy then embarks on a fantastical journey wherein he experiences the joy of childhood while also coming to understand the reality of human life and its elements. This is a highly experimental feature film was shot inside theatre.
This spectacular montage of scenes from a wealth of classic Bollywood films
"Made in the aftermath of Indian and Pakistani nuclear tests, Ribbons gives new meaning to an old film song by Kishore Kumar – a kind of “Imagine” composed before the days of John Lennon. With guest appearances by well-known movie stars like Naseeruddin Shah, Aamir Khan, Kittu Gidwani and Chandrachur, the film was made to counter a pro-nuke music video made by the political party in power."
Over 1,000 people were martyred to British bullets as they celebrated Baisakhi in Amritsar on 13 April 1919. Watch our retelling of this heartwrenching incident on Jallianwala Bagh: Punjab Da Dil’, a salute to all these brave freedom fighters who made the ultimate sacrifice for the nation.
This film was one of seven commissioned of leading documentary filmmakers in India as part of a series, India’s Quest, to commemorate 50 years of India’s independence. An exploration of the nature and scope of the crisis of modern India. The mechanization of the fishing industry has depleted fish stocks worldwide leading to a major crisis. Along the Kerala coast, traditional fishermen face similar problems as their catch dwindles every season. In the village of Adimalathura, a group of fishermen come together in an effort to reverse this trend. Their solution? Constructing artificial reefs out of ferro-concrete and then planting them on the seabed.
Amateur footage of Delhi and Jaipur, from a military review to an atmospheric torchlit procession - and some armour-plated elephants.
For millennia, the Irulas, an ancient tribe of hunter gatherers from the dark jungles of the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, have stalked these woods looking for snakes of all hues.