Entertainment
Singing in dark times, singing of dark times
At a time when several political outfits are advocating nationalist agendas as a way out of the transitional period, the recently concluded Film Southasia served as a timely reminder that despite the political boundaries of national states, the miseries and ecstasies of South Asian region have common origins and thus invite a cross-cultural consideration.Sandesh Ghimire
At a time when several political outfits are advocating nationalist agendas as a way out of the transitional period, the recently concluded Film Southasia served as a timely reminder that despite the political boundaries of national states, the miseries and ecstasies of South Asian region have common origins and thus invite a cross-cultural consideration.
The chief guest of the festival, the noted Indian journalist Sashi Kumar said, the “The films challenge the powerful and the mighty and the filmmakers have taken the courage of a fearless poet who sings in dark times and sings of dark times. The films will remain as evidence of the struggles of the people in their fight for a better, peaceful state.”
One of the winners of the Ram Bahadur best film award, the highest prize at the festival, Demons of Paradise, a documentary from Sri Lanka that explores the effects of civil war in Sri Lanka, invites reflection on Nepal’s own period of insurgency. Similarly, The Color of My Home, an Indian documentary about a community which has been displaced by violence, made Nepali audiences wonder about those who were lost or uprooted by the violence in our own country.
Films like Save Gangamaya from Nepal and Nuclear Hallucinations from India are representative of the fact that state mechanisms across the South Asian region have remained apathetic to the plights of the general populace and the states have worked towards suppressing the voice of the people. “The fact that some of the films that are screened were censored or banned in their home country is emblematic of the fact that South Asians have to fight to maintain elbow room for freedom of speech,” said Kanak Mani Dixit, festival chair of Film Southasia.
Speaking about Fireflies in the Abyss, the movie that won the UNICEF Nepal award, Kunda Dixit, one of the jury members of the festival, said that the film “is an indictment of Nepali government and its body politics.” Abhishek Regmi, one of the attendees of the festival, said that the statement is reflective of all the films he saw during the festival.
The festival also became the hotspot for discussions on the role of artists and filmmakers during a transitional phase like the one South Asia is going through at the moment.
Most of the audience was pleasantly surprised by the level of creativity and the clear narrative of the stories. “I had thought that a documentary is the compilation of archival footage, but after watching Nuclear Hallucination, I realised that imagination is equally important for the making of a non-fiction film,” said Regmi, who had attended the festival for the first time, “It was such a funny movie but I am horrified now. If the nuclear plant in Tamil Nadu blows up, we will have to suffer the repercussions of the radiation leak as well.”
The festival, which hosted screening of 63 movies in total, concluded on Sunday with an award ceremony. The participating films were judged by a panel comprising of editor Kunda Dixit, journalist Rajashree Dasgupta, and filmmaker Farjad Nabi. Awards were conferred in a total of five categories.
The winners of this year’s FSA were:
- Ram Bahadur Award for Best Film: Demons in Paradise (Sri Lanka), directed by Jude Ratnam & Soz- A Ballad of Memories (India), directed by Tushar Madhav and Sarvnik Kaur
- The Tareque Masud Award for Best Debut Film: Rasan Piya(India), directed by Neharika Popli
- The Jury Award for Runner Up: Shepherdess of the Glaciers(India), directed by Stanzin Dorjai Gya and Christiane Mordelet
- The UNICEF Nepal Award: Fireflies in the Abyss(India), directed by Chandrasekhar Reddy
- The Nabil Bank Award for Best Student Film: 32 Souls(Myanmar), directed by Sai Naw Kham
Special mentions:
- Is it too much to ask (India) directed by Leena Manimekkalai
- Trembling Mountain(Nepal) directed by Kesang Tseten
- Lock and Key(India) directed by Silpi Gulati
- Prison Sisters(Afghanistan) directed by Nima Sarvesani
- Ask the Sexpert(India) directed by by Vishali Sinha