[screenings/discussion with director] Tales from the Margin (Aug 22, 23,24)

Give the the kid a pencil and a text-book



“Father suffered from a bad back. So did mother, my brothers and sisters and every other individual in a long line of relatives, friends and acquaintances. Since my early years, I have always seen the world around me as a great pyramid of leering human heads and at the bottom of this teeming hive-society, I could see us- the marginals, the outcasts – our bent backs being crushed relentlessly and with great apathy as the rest of the society scrambled up and down like swarms of head-insects, ganging-up, tricking, devouring and stampeding fellow species in a never-ending race to the glory of the pinnacle. The structure of this insect pyramid transforms and as it goes top heavy, we the sore hunchbacks are pushed deeper into the margins. Under the weight of a collected past history tradition myth curse hex, we sink into a sewer-like subterranean of perpetual darkness, of a darkness bleak and opaque where your senses are numbed and rendered useless. Gradually, we lose our sight, our hearing, our sense of taste and touch. The eyes go hollow, the ears dry up and a thick coat of ignorance replaces our skins. Only our bent backs will remain at the bottom of the hive-society and that too is vestigial. With our transformation into a dorsal torso, the great pyramid too will undergo a drastic change. As more and more individuals turn upwardly mobile with unilateral resolve and strive for positions in the higher echelons, the pyramid itself is inverted. The structure that once pointed upwards towards the glory now begins, because of its very ambition and inherent purpose, to point downwards towards the sewer. Very soon the hive-society will not so much be destroyed as it will come apart at the seams. The insects will trample and pull each other to the ground. Chaos and desperation will reign. All pretensions and constructs will fall. It is in that moment of disorder; the need for a guide will be realized. At that moment, I will stub out my cigarette; end my role as the perpetual observer and wooden stick in hand, walk back into the midst of society and preach about the mistakes of the past so that they may not be carried into the future. Only then will they listen, only then will this madman’s rant get his audience. Till then I just watch and smoke from out beyond the margins.”

- Translated from the paranoia and prophesy of Baba Shivnaam Muhammed Francis

Disclaimer: Smoking is Injurious to Health

Inundated with the story of India as seen by the bang-bang news media on the occasion of the 62nd Independence Day, Bangalore Film Society would like to offer an alternate point of view that sans sensationalism and jingoism seeks to explore from a forgotten, intimate, grass-root vantage point the notions and implications of ‘independence’ in the social fabric of the nation. Bangalore Film Society and Deep Focus Film Quarterly present to you a weekend of three films and an interaction with much feted and acclaimed actress/screenwriter/director Chitra Palekar which seeks to expand and complete the postcard-size view of Independence that the single-sided windows of textbooks and media have given us. Unheard voices, unseen stories- suppressed, repressed, crushed by the prejudices of society that conveniently masquerade as practices- these are stories of India, of its people, from the margins.

Friday 22nd August, 2008 Time: 6.30pm
Ankur (1973/131min) Dir: Shyam Benegal



When Surya (Anant Nag) is forced by his family to give up his studies to look after his ancestral land, his resulting loneliness and boredom causes him to strike a passionate relationship with the married maidservant, Laxmi. Complicating an already precarious relationship, Laxmi’s husband is caught thieving resulting in her abandonment and later, Surya’s child bride who comes to stay with her husband on attaining puberty, is quick to suspect the relationship between the two. Torn between loneliness and despair, Laxmi soon finds herself entrapped in the turbulence of her fate and the chauvinism of a rigid society that disguises its egotistical core under the cloak of respectability. One of the most prominent milestones of the Indian New Wave of the’70s director Shyam Benegal’s brilliant debut ‘Ankur’- a sensitive portrayal of love, betrayal and class conflict that did away with all conceits of good and bad, hero and villain and explored with rare ambiguity the complex terrain of caste politics, was nominated for the Golden Bear at Berlin Film Festival ’ 74 and won National Awards for Best Director for Benegal and Best Actress for Shabana Azmi, also debuting, for her courageous interpretation and brilliant performance of the central character Laxmi.

Saturday 23rd August 2008 Time: 6.30pm
Maati Maay (2006/98min) Dir: Chitra Palekar



Based on a short story by Jnanpith and Magsaysay awarding winning writer-activist Mahasweta Devi and featuring powerful performances from Nandita Das and Atul Kulkarni, Maati Maay is a poignant tale of a woman trapped between her instincts and needs, and the compulsions of her ancestral duty as dictated by the social system. A lower caste woman who manages the traditional burial grounds she inherited from her father, Chandi’s life takes a turn into one of conflict and uncertainty when she gives birth to a child of her own. The handling of corpses turns into an increasingly disturbing chore and the tiny corpses haunt her psyche even as she struggles to negotiate the dilemmas about her future that she is thrust into- who will protect the graves from wild animals…? Won’t the ancestors be angered…? Is it not wrong to give up a sacred trust? Finally, she dares to rebel and there will be consequences.

Selected Festivals and Awards
• BEST ACTRESS (MADRID 2007)
• SPECIAL JURY AWARD – CINEMATOGRAPHY (PUNE 2007)
• AUDIENCE AWARD (FLORENCE 2007)
• PRIX DU JURY GRAINE DE CINEPHAGE ( CRETEIL 2008)
• BEST DEBUT – LANKESH AWARD
• BEST PRODUCTION – MAHARASHTRA TIMES AWARD
• TORONTO INT’L FILM FEST 2006
• LONDON FILM FEST 2006
• INTERNATIONAL FILM FEST of INDIA 2006
• KERALA INT’L FILM FEST 2006
• MIAMI INT”L FILM FEST 2007
• CLEVELAND INT”L FILM FEST 2007
• MINNEAPOLIS INT’L FILM FEST 2007
• MOMA, NEW YORK 2007

Director Chitra Palekar will be present at the venue for a post screening discussion.

(Chitra Palekar was born in Dharwar, India and received her B.A. in economics from St. Xavier's College in Mumbai, and her M.A. in economics at the University of Mumbai. An actor and director, she has played an important role in Indian avant-garde theatre. She had her first brush with cinema when she produced and played the lead role in Aakriet(1981). She wrote screenplays for the features Thodasa Roomani Ho Jaaye, Kairee, Kal Ka Aadmi, Bangarwadi, Daayra and Dhyaas Parv for which she was awarded the State Award for Best Screenplay. Her first attempt at direction was the short documentary Portrait of a Visionary (‘02) which she subsequently followed up with the acclaimed and multiple award-winning fiction feature Mati Maay (A Grave-Keeper's Tale, ‘06). She will be presenting her debut feature at the screenings (Saturday) and will participate in the post-screening discussion.)

Sunday 24th August, 2008 Time: 6.30pm
Sujata (1959/138min) Dir: Bimal Roy



Sujata, regarded as one of Director Bimal Roy’s principal masterpieces, is a lyrical reflection on the caste politics plaguing the nation. Through rare simplicity, Director Roy tells the poignant tale of a lower-caste girl raised by an upper-caste family and gently examines the deep-rooted prejudices of the caste system. Even though she was raised as a daughter by the family that adopted her, they themselves insist on a certain distinction. When the girl reaches a marriageable age she has to face the weight of the past yet again as even the most modern educated families are not willing to accept her as a bride. But it is when the groom intended for her ‘sister’ falls in love with her, that she has not face the ire of not only her family but society as a whole. Featuring a memorable and now classic turn by Nutan as the girl Sujata, Director Roy’s film was nominated for the Palm d’Or at Cannes 1960 and was awarded the Certificate of Merit at the National Awards (1959).

Venue: Ashirvad, 30, St. Mark's Road cross, Op. State Bank of India

Tel: 2549 2774/ 2549 3705/ 9886213516

ADMISSION FOR FILMS FOR MEMBERS ONLY. NON-MEMBERS ARE REQUESTED TO ARRIVE 15 MINS EARLY AND REGISTER.
(Members whose membership has expired are requested to kindly renew their membership.)

[lecture/screenings] Touch of Evil: Legal Suspicion of Cinema (July 25, 26, 27)

And You Shall Witness THE ABSOLUTE ESSENCE OF ALL EVIL

The very esteemed and equally stuffy faculties of that very esteemed and equally stuffy institution The Miskatonic University were all in attendance in that small cramped room in all their very esteemed and equally stuff fashion- cigarette holders holding pale white Russians, top hats, single-breasted impeccably tailored suits, jade broaches, silk handkerchiefs and rare orchids sticking out of the pockets and a professorial condescension on their faces and tongues. A passerby would be prone to remark how exceptionally esteemed and equally stuffy the whole affair was.

“I do believe that the old fool has put himself out on a very shaky ledge this time around,” one of the attendees remarked.

“Do you really think Doctor Cipher can fulfill his claim of sublimating from nature… what does he call it…”

“THE ESSENCE OF EVIL,” bellowed the Mathematics professor, hardly able to control his mirth.

“What does it mean anyway? It is absurd. If the mad doctor fails to impress me, I tell you this is the end of the Occult Sciences Department of the Miskatonic and I will personally see to it that…”

“G-g-g-g-good evening gentlemen,” stammered Doctor Cipher.

The quick once over he had given his hair and clothes in the restroom was already coming apart. He pressed a couple of brass button and the wall before the gathered committee split open to reveal a strange apparatus within. Strange but typical- fluorescent tubes, blinking lights, test-tubes filled with strange green ooze, monitors with incoherent symbols- all wired up like the popular joke went “like the hair on the doctor’s head and possibly even the brain beneath.”

The esteemed gathering had already started to jab each other with their elbows and pass incredulous looks when a strange whirring sound drew their attention and they saw Doctor Cipher point a camera fixed on a tripod towards them and their images projected onto a huge screen at the center of the apparatus. A strange quiet took over the room as the gathering all shuffled around and adjusted their ties and hair to put up their handsomest profile on screen.

“An-an-an-an-and n-n-n-n-now gentlemen,” began Doc Cipher, taking centre stage and placing one hand on an enormous lever,” without further ado, I will pull this switch…”

A crazed glint entered his eyes, his lips twitched in a malicious grin and without the slightest hint of stammer declared,”… and you shall witness THE ABSOLUTE ESSENSE OF ALL EVIL”

(A PARAGRAPH OCCUPYING THIS SPACE HAS BEEN CENSORED)

A full 30 minutes passed before the gathering began to patter out of the room. Handkerchiefs were out rubbing the sweat off the deathly pale faces, cigarette holders were forgotten as quivering fingers struggled to light the tips. None were able even to look into each others eyes much less speak.

As they stumbled their way outside the gates it was the Dean who first spoke.

“The Horror, the horror,” he said,” Let us never speak of this anymore and as for the machine, it will have to be destroyed. Call the authorities, bribe them if you must. Mankind is not ready for this… this kind of abomination. Nobody must know. Ever.”

- Excerpt from The Madness of Doctor Icarus and Other Very Evil Affairs(1935)
By Philip Love
(Censored, burnt and lost courtesy the good, esteemed and God fearing people of the world)

“Nature knows no indecencies; man invents them.”
- Mark Twain

“Why don’t we do it in the road?”
- The Beatles

The word ‘Evil’ is perhaps the most resurrected word in the history of censorship as can be seen from popular and oft used phrases like ‘evil influence of cinema’, ‘the capacity of cinema for evil’, ‘evil impact of cinema on the young mind’. But what is the difference between the invocation of the word ‘evil’ in relation to cinema, in contrast to other modes of expression like literature and song? Is it just a descriptive word that has slipped into common parlance- a thoughtless cliché? Or is it more than a mere co-incidence? Doubts arise about the innocence of cinema from its very origins… is it not perhaps that as a medium itself and at its very fundamentals cinema is, like they say, pure evil.

Join esteemed legal researcher, lawyer, critic, prominent spokesperson and campaigner on various issues of public concern and renowned lecturer Lawrence Liang as he attempts to reconstruct the genealogy of evil in relation to cinema and takes an intriguing trip through the history of cinema, censorship and law all the way to the malin genie of 17th Century French Philosopher Rene Descartes.

Bangalore Film Society in association with Deep Focus Film Quarterly is proud to present ‘Touch of Evil: The Legal Suspicion of Cinema’.

One Weekend. Three Films. One Lecture.

Friday 25th July, 2008 Time: 6.30pm

The Commissar (1967) (Russia/103min/B&W) Dir: Alexander Asoldov


Beneath the tender humanity and lyricism of ‘The Commissar’ is a courageous stand against the rigid ideology and prejudices of the State, a stand that would nearly wreck the fate of the film causing it to banned forever in its homeland and it was almost considered a lost masterpiece for 20 years. It was rescued and premiered to a terrific response and a Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival 88’. Chronicling the relationship between a pregnant Commissar and the Jewish family into whose household she is sent to stay, Alexander Asoldov first and unfortunately only film is a passionate call for universal peace and understanding.

Saturday 26th July, 2008 Time: 6.00pm

‘Touch of Evil: the Legal Suspicion of Cinema’ Lecture by Lawrence Liang

An Attempt to reconstruct the genealogy of evil in relation to cinema by tracing backwards, the history of the ways in which the notion of evil has inflicted legal accounts of cinema, both in India and internationally, by looking at the various milestones of evil in law’s response to cinema and censorship.

Time: 7.00pm

The Party and The Guests (1966) (Czechoslovakia/68min/B&W) Dir: Jan Nemec



One could say that the Czech master of surreal absurd humor Jan Nemec had it coming with his caustic satire on society ‘The Party and The Guests’ which chronicles a party among friends go haywire and end up a prison camp. Antonin Novotny, then Czechoslovak President found the movie to be a direct and dangerous attack on the Communist regime and the movie was banned until the Velvet Revolution of 89’ whereupon it found itself on many ‘all time best’ critics’ lists, a cult following and invited enthusiastic comparisons to Bunuel.

Sunday 27th July, 2008 Time: 6.30pm

Redacted (2007) (USA/90min/Color) Dir: Brain De Palma



There is and never will be any consensus on the continuing repertoire of the great Brian De Palma. Hack-Auteur, Sellout-Rebel, Low Pulp- High Art, Style over substance- style as substance… De Palma as an expert agent provocateur has defied easy classification and when his latest film ‘Redacted’ premiered at Venice Film Fest 07’ controversy was first to knock at the door even before it was awarded the Silver Lion for Best Director. De Palma’s critique on the politics and the role of the media in the Iraq situation boldly experiments with contemporary forms and mediums as he tries to create a construct a montage around the Mahmudiyah massacres from which the ugly truth will emerge.

Venue: Ashirvad, 30, St. Mark's Road cross, Op. State Bank of India

Tel: 2549 2774/ 2549 3705/ 9886213516

ADMISSION FOR LECTURE IS FREE.
ADMISSION FOR FILMS FOR MEMBERS ONLY. NON-MEMBERS ARE REQUESTED TO ARRIVE 15 MINS EARLY AND REGISTER.
(Members whose membership has expired are requested to kindly renew their membership.)

(The lecture Touch of Evil: The Legal Suspicion of Cinema by Lawrence Liang was an article written for Deep Focus Film Journal, January 2008 edition. Copies of the edition (Rs.100/-) will be available for sale at the venue.)