Water Festival – Films

Loading Map....

Date/Time
Date(s) - 02/03/2016 - 04/03/2016
6:00 pm

Categories

Films from the waters

March 2016 at Alliance Française Auditorium 6-8 pm

2nd March 2016

Well done abba by Shyam Benegal (2009) – 144 min
The film tells the story of Armaan Ali (Boman Irani), a Muslim driver working in Mumbai, who takes a one month leave from his employer to find a groom for his daughter Muskaan (Minissha Lamba), who lives in a village near Hyderabad, India. In Armaan’s village, many problems include a rising drought situation. To solve the drought problem, Armaan Ali goes to a government office to build a well. There, he goes through stages to get authorisation and subsidies to dig a well. The movie enlightens this process, corruption and mobilization of common men to solve the water problem.

3rd March 2016

Jal by Girish Malik (2013) – 133 min
In “Jal” (“water” in Hindi), Girish Malik, who co-wrote with Rakesh Mishra, has crafted a starkly beautiful, at times dazzling, vision that reinforces water as our most valuable — and perhaps most vulnerable — commodity. Set in the scorched deserts of western India’s Rann of Kutch region, this often-dreamlike movie finds Bakka (Purab Kohli) an ebullient water diviner, striking out in his quest to unearth a water supply for his poor, desperately dry village. Meanwhile, a Russian bird watcher (Saidah Jules) and several ecologists arrive in the Kutch to help save the area’s thirsty migratory flamingos. They bring in government-issued machinery to dig for water, a strategy that will prove far more efficient than Bakka’s manual efforts. Despite its share of buoyant moments, the film takes on a somewhat operatic tone as it intriguingly explores such themes as greed, faith, jealousy, pride and, of course, climate change.

4th March 2016

Kaun kitne paani mein, by Nila Madhab Panda (2015) — 112 min.
Kaun Kitne Paani Mein is a story about two fictitious villages. The people of Upri and Bairi are loggerheads with each other as generations back there was a murder suicide due to cast issues by the then Maharaja ruling the then rich and upper class Upri village. A wall was then built, separating the 2 villages and preventing circulation of water. As time went Upri has seen water shortage and Bairi has instead become prosperous. In Upri, it portrays a time when water is given instead of cash as it has more value. For instance, a tailor will stitch clothes in exchange of a pouch of water, a priest will read the astrological chart in exchange of 2 pouches of water. It also raises issue of water conservation and territorial dependence. It takes place in Odissa.

8th March 2016

Bittersweetwater by N. Coste and N. Ploumpidis (2007) – 53 min
This documentary deals with the issue of water management in South India, a subject of underlying anxiety in Tamil society. It shows how over the last few decades’ access to water has brought prosperity but also led to bitter experiences. Water issues act here as a lightning rod for portraying an agrarian society that is undergoing rapid and profound change and finds itself faced with acute choices for the future.

Chilika – Jewel of Odisha by Shekar Dattatri (2013) – 21 min
This is the story of a dying lake that was restored to life. With a water spread of over 1000 sq km; Chilika Lake on India’s East Coast is the largest brackish water lagoon in Asia. It is also the largest wintering ground for waterfowl in the Indian subcontinent; attracting migrants from Europe; Central Asia and Siberia. Chilika is home to the highly endangered Irrawaddy dolphin; and a treasure trove of other biodiversity. However; by the late 1990s it had become a weed-infested; dying lake till being restored.
9th March 2016

India’s Disappearing Beaches – A wake up call, by Shekar Dattatri (2015) – 14 min
This film explains why India’s beaches are eroding at an alarming rate, and what can be done to stop this disaster from spreading further. Whether you belong to a traditional fishing community, run a beach resort, own a beach house or simply like to have fun on the beach, you will find this film an eye-opener.

Saving the Gangas by Bahar Dutt (2012) – 53 min
The film follows the river Ganges from the Himalayas to the most densely populated plains down to the largest mangrove delta in the world; the Sunderbans. It captures the battle of India’s most sacred river for its survival as it meets; along the way; devotees and religious men; environmentalists; ordinary people that continue to give a glimmer of hope that saving the Ganges is possible.

10th March 2016

Mangroves – Forests of the Tide, by Suresh Elamon (2012) – 30 min
The mangrove ecosystem is a unique one. It is considered as the evergreen forests of India’s coastline. Recent estimates tell us that India has about 6740 sq.kms of mangrove forests. Yet, this eco-system is vulnerable and disappearing. The film illustrates through brilliant visuals all the aspects of its value and importance as an ecosystem and ends on a note of optimism.

Seeds of Dissent by Dr. Joshi (2009) – 50 min
‘Seeds of Dissent’ documents Dr. Joshi’s cycle yatra from Kanyakumari to Dehradun over a period of two months in Jan’08. During the journey Dr. Joshi meets and interacts with the farmers and raises relevant issues. We see farmers selling land to industries, coming up of SEZ’s, farmers being coaxed to take nonviable loans for tractors, issue of farmer’s suicide, preference being given to Industry for water, and farmers resorting to distress sale.

Organized by All for WATER for All Collective

Email – [email protected]:www.allforwaterforall.orgFacebook: www.facebook.com/allforwaterforall