DIEFF Schedule for 26 November -- Opening Day
Rahul Roy
Venues: Vivekanada Hall, Delhi School of Economics / School of Environmental Studies / JB Media Resource Centre, AJK MCRC, Jamia Millia Islamia / Alliance Francaise, Lodi Estate.
DIEFF Schedule for 26 November 2008:
Vivekakananda Hall, Delhi School of Economics, Delhi University
Inauguration / 10:00 AM / 26 Nov
Speakers: David MacDougall / Judith MacDougall / Patricia Monte-Mor / Francoise Foucault / Rajni Palriwala / Deepak Mehta
Opening Film:
THE LUNCH BOX at 11 AM/ 26 Nov/Vivekananda Hall, Delhi School of Economics, DU
Dir: Floriane Devigne / 52 mins / Belgium
Show me your lunch box and I shall tell you where you come from! It is this ordinary, functional object that is at the core of a surprising and entertaining investigation of Belgium and its people. With humour and naive amazement, serious research and intuition, Floriane Devigne, in her first film, embarks on a journey to try and understand her country, brandishing the lunch box as a link to hold together this diverse community. With a light touch she reveals a plethora of insights in the humble receptacle: Marxist theories, Joris Iven's Borinage film on Belgian miners, French-Wallonese-Flemish differences, slag heaps and parks, malnutrition and child poverty, immigration, linguistic and cultural boundaries. She cuddles and destroys the box, builds statistic towers with it, drives it around and looks deep into its etymology. And casually she also pokes fun at her own obsession with the object. A film inside a lunch box.
COUNTER MELODY at 12:15 PM / 26 Nov / Vivekananda Hall, Delhi School of Economics, DU
Dir: Maxi Subiela De Biase / 46 mins / Italy
Sandro Pimazzoni, the star of this documentary and known by all the Veronese as "the Count", has roamed the streets of Verona as a tramp for more than thirty years. His "friend" the camera follows his anarchic gait, recording with its conspiratorial eye, the contrast of a picture postcard city like Verona, often deaf and indifferent to his provoking countermelody, that sounds so ironic, melancholic, angry, poetical and mystic as it echoes through the city streets.
DIYA at 2:00 PM / 26 Nov / Vivekananda Hall, Delhi School of Economics, DU
Dir: Judith MacDougall / 56 min / 2001 / Australia / dir present
The lives of families who make, sell, and use diyas-small terracotta oil lamps used in ceremonies and rituals - are explored through following the "life history" of the diyas themselves. This film represents an experimental approach to material culture.
SHIT at 3:15 PM / 26 Nov / Vivekananda Hall, Delhi School of Economics, DU
Dir: Amudhan R. P. / 26 mins / India / dir Present
Mariyammal, a dalit woman is a worker with Madurai Municipal Corporation in Madurai, South India. Every morning without fail she sweeps, collects and carries the night soil in a street adjacent to a Hindu temple with the help of a broom, a vessel and some ash.
CARNAVAL, BEXIGA, FUNK E SOMBRINHA at 4:00 PM / 26 Nov / Vivekananda Hall, Delhi School of Economics, DU
Dir: Marcus Vinícius Faustini / 63 mins / Brazil
A documentary about the heterogeneous universe of Clovis (from 'clowns'- group of boys with particular costumes during the days of Carnivall) who make their presence felt in the suburbs of Rio de Janeiro during this festive season.
Alliance Francaise, Lodi Estate
The Many Faces of a Venezuelan Goddess at 5:00 pm / 26 Nov / Alliance Francaise, Lodi Estate
Dir: Roger Canals Vilageliu / 55 min / France / dir. Present
María Lionza is the most popular Goddess in Venezuela. In the Venezuelan mythological universe, this Goddess is an exception because, depending on the representations, she is represented as Indian, of mixed race, white and black. Sometimes she is a beneficial entity and sometimes evil. The individuals in this documentary offer a portrait of the rich symbolism of Maria Lionza, and highlight some of the roles her image plays in contemporary Venezuelan society, and some of the ethnic, religious and social conflicts which characterize this society.
Here to Stay at 6:00 pm / 26 Nov / Alliance Francaise, Lodi Estate
Dir: Alan Grossman and Aine 0'Brien / 72 min / Ireland
Historically a country of departure, Ireland is now one of arrival and home to new constituencies of migrant workers from Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe. Shot over a period of two years, "Here to Stay" is an intimate, observational portrait of Filipino nurse Fidel Taguinod, and the public expression of his political activism, in dialogue with civil society representatives, challenging and probing the inadequacies of immigration policy in Ireland. Fidel's domestic life, where he lives with his Irish partner, is further explored, as is the negotiation of his gay identity in public performances such as "Miss Alternative Philippines" and 'Diva Manila', in which he critically infuses bakla (gay) politics with questions of transculturalism.
Les Maitres Fous at 7:30 pm / 26 Nov / Alliance Francaise, Lodi Estate
Dir: Jean Rouch / 30 min / 1955 / France
This film, shot in a single day, shows the rituals of a religious cult. Hauka worshippers, workers who have travelled from along the Niger to Accra, meet for their great annual ceremony. On the "concession" of the high priest Mountbyeba, following public confessions, the spirit possession ritual begins. Foaming at the mouth, trembling, panting; these are signs of the arrival of the "spirits of power". They are the symbolic personification of the colonial rule: the corporal of the guard, the governor, the doctor, the captain's wife, the locomotive driver and others. The ceremony reaches its climax with the sacrifice of a dog later to be eaten by those possessed by the spirits. The next day, the cult's initiates return to their daily round.
KORA RAJEE (LAND OF THE DIGGERS) at 12:00 / 26 Nov / School of Environmental Studies, DU
Dir Biju Toppo/ Meghnath / 52 mins / India / dir. Present
When we take a sip from our cups of tea do we realise that 80% of labour that goes into making that tea is Adivasi? For the last 150 years, Adivasi labours have been taken in the tea gardens of North Bengal and Assam which they call Kora Rajee meaning 'land of the diggers'. It is also the director's personal journey to find out how his ancestors went to the tea gardens and what the present situation is.
School Scapes at 2:00 pm / 26 Nov / School of Environmental Studies, DU
Dir: David MacDougall / 77 mins / dir. Present
Inspired by the cinema of Lumière and the ideas of the 20th century Indian thinker Krishnamurti, in his new film David MacDougall explores a famous progressive school in South India, the Rishi Valley School. This is a film dedicated to the simple act of looking, in which each scene is a single shot.
Sobre Rodas Brasil at 3:30 pm / 26 Nov / School of Environmental Studies, DU
Dir: Sérgio Bloch / 52 min / Brazil
A documentary on people who make a living pushing, pulling or riding vehicles in Brazilian cities. It establishes a relationship between the movement of the wheels and the inconstancy of life itself – especially of those struggling for survival on a day-to-day basis.
Roma Snapshots- A Day in Sarajevo at 4:25 pm / 26 Nov / School of Environmental Studies, DU
Dir: Vanja Celebicic / 8 min / UK
The film attempts to enquire into the Sarajevan Roma's sense of identification, belonging and memory. It portrays the daily lives of the Roma through snapshots of their concurrent realities, where painful memories, laughter and religious beliefs exist side by side.
James Beveridge Media Resource Centre, AJK MCRC,
Jamia Millia Islamia
On Edge at 10:00 am / 26 Nov / James Beveridge Media Resource Centre, AJK MCRC, Jamia Millia Islamia
Dir: Catarina Mourao / 64 min / Portugal
During the European football cup, Portugal is relying on its team to raise its morale. The film is set in a poor neighbourhood and follows a group of idle pre-adolescents.
Sometimes things get tough and claustrophobic, while at other times there is a feeling of harmony and melancholy in the neighbourhood.
Every Good Marriage Begins With Tears at 11:15 am / 26 Nov / James Beveridge Media Resource Centre, AJK MCRC, Jamia Millia Islamia
Dir: Simon Chambers / 62 min / UK
Love, sex and marriage in the South Asian diaspora are explored in this fast-paced soap opera of a documentary. Two young Bangladeshi London girls have very different expectations from their traditional Muslim parents, so when their father decides to send them both to Bangladesh to get married, all hell breaks loose.
Naza at 12:30 / 26 Nov / James Beveridge Media Resource Centre, AJK MCRC, Jamia Millia Islamia
Dir: Silvio Figueiredo e Fernando Miceli / 15 min / Brazil /
This documentary is about the "Festa de Nazaré" that happens annually in Belem with processions, feasts and meetings that showcase the identity of its inhabitants.
Malabares at 12:45 / 26 Nov / James Beveridge Media Resource Centre, AJK MCRC, Jamia Millia Islamia
Dir: Maithê Lorena e Secy Jannuzzi / 10 min / Brazil
This documentary looks up close at the behavior, thoughts and viewpoints of five young jugglers. Although originally from different countries and social classes, the jugglers come together with their own dreams, objectives and customs.
Word Within the Word at 2:00 pm / 26 Nov / James Beveridge Media Resource Centre, AJK MCRC, Jamia Millia Islamia
Dir: Rajula Shah / 74 min / 2008 / India / dir. present
Sabad Nirantar is a search for the Word within the word; a poised reflection on the formless essence of reality expressed through the living resonance of the indigenous spirit and its undying echoes enlivening the emergent and modern soul.
Camara Vijante at 3:30 pm / 26 Nov / James Beveridge Media Resource Centre, AJK MCRC, Jamia Millia Islamia
Dir: Joe Pimentel / 21min / 2007 / Brazil
Popular photographers from Fortaleza, Juazeiro do Norte and Canindé cities talk about their personal trajectories and the painting photo techniques still in use.
Multiplicadores at 3:55 / 26 Nov / James Beveridge Media Resource Centre, AJK MCRC, Jamia Millia Islamia
Dir: Renato Martins e Lula Carvalho / 21min / Brazil
'Multiplicadores' is a documentary on the graffiti culture and its social role in the state of Rio de Janeiro.
Hobby at 4:30 pm / 26 Nov / James Beveridge Media Resource Centre, AJK MCRC, Jamia Millia Islamia
Dir: Ciro Altabas/ 50 min / Spain
"Hobby" started as an innocent journey to witness the release of a video-game console in Japan, but little by little, as these things usually do, it changed into a showcase of some of the many wonderful ways in which the Japanese spend their leisure time. "Hobby" is a documentary that aims to entertain while speaking about entertainment.