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ALL ALONE AND LONELY
India/2009/25 minutes
All Alone and Lonely is an in-depth documentary which revolves
around the lives of displaced children and widows in Kashmir. It
shows families who have lost their main bread-winners, be it a
husband, a father or brother, all killed in insurgency operations or
because they were suspected of being agents. The main aim of
this documentary is to create awareness of the number of orphans,
which are currently more than hundred thousand only in Kashmir.
Fokiya Akhtar is a dedicated fi lmmaker working as
Senior lecturer with the Manipal University-(Dubai
Campus). Earlier she worked as Producer/Director
with the AJK Mass Communication Research Centre
(1994-1999) and Researcher and Scriptwriter with
Zawan’s Heard and Not Seen Productions (2003-2004). She has
made more than 20 documentaries.
Contact:
Ms. Fokiya Akhtar
C/o. Mr. Bashir Akhtar
(Retd. Director of
Agriculture),
Near Masjid Noor,
Rajbagh, Srinagar,
India, 190008”
fkyahtar@gmail.com
Director-Producer-
Script:
Fokiya Akhtar
Cinematographers:
Wahid Bazzaz, Fokiya
Akhtar
Editor:
Akhilesh Singh
COMPETITION
38
DOCUMENTARY (Upto 30 min)
…AND THE FRIENDS OF KAZIRANGA
India/21 minutes
Kaziranga is an outstanding success story of wildlife conservation
attracting tourists and conservationists from across the world.
However, this success in conservation would not have been
possible without the single-minded dedication and sacrifi ces of
the conservators of the wild. Kaziranga abounds with myriad
such stories. But what invariably remains unheard, resonating
simply in silence, are the dedication and sacrifi ce of the humble
men-in-uniform, the forest guards of the national park. These are
sturdy men with a lion’s heart, always alert and in vigil. Even the
vagaries of nature fail to deter these sentinels of the wild from
their responsibilities of safeguarding the animals of the park and
rescuing creatures in distress during the ravaging fl oods. Shot
across the woods and grasslands of Kaziranga, …and the friends
of Kaziranga is the story of the forest guards of the national park
that internationally enjoys a position of pride as one of the best
conservation story of the world.
Sahidul Majid affectionately known as Kaju, has
over 17 years experience as editor and director in
the Assamese feature fi lm industry. He has edited
over 15 Assamese feature fi lms and 700 television
programmes. He has worked with almost all the
National Award-winning fi lmmakers of Assam and
the North-East. He has worked on documentaries for Lok Seva
Sansar Parishad, Ministry of External Affairs, and the National
network of Doordarshan.
Director-
Cinematographers-
Sound-Editor:
Kaju
Producer:
Kaju & Biswajit Borkakoty
Script:
Kaju, Maulee Senapati,
Pradeep Gogoi
Music:
Sher Choudhary
Contact:
Kaju
20-Namghar Path,
Panjabari,Guwahati,
India,
tiger_majid@yahoo.com
COMPETITION
39
DOCUMENTARY (Upto 30 min)
AN UNENDING EXPANSE
India/2008/DV CAM/27 minutes
The fi lm is a profi le of the Assamese poet Nilmoni Phukan who
celebrates Man’s prerogative to sing of life’s “unsuccess”, in a
rapture of distress. The lush green fi elds, the purring streams of his
childhood meet the staccato rhythms of urban living. He surrenders,
for a time, to intellection. The emotional totality of Haiku and Zen
poetry reclaims him to his own native resources, his rich heritage,
and the values of an abiding community.
He explores and exploits the rich folkways of his people and place
and begins to use his sensitive delicate pen as a Japanese scroll
painter wielding his brush. His canvas is large where words and
even primary colours strain against an enveloping silence. Phukan
is a poet painter who is familier with the art world from Monet
through Cézanne to Picasso and beyond. This had, in turn, charged
his renewed immersion in the folk. His poetry has acknowledged
this-worldliness and consequently appeals to the modern psyche.
His comprehensive personality has received accolades with grace
and taken all gross insults in his dignifi ed stride.
Gautam Bora graduated in English Literature and
then did his Master’s in Film & Video Direction from
the Konrad Wolf Institute in Germany. He assisted
the famed Assamese director Dr Bhabendranath
Saikia before making his debut with Wosobipo (The
Spring) in 1989. The fi lm went on to win innumerable
awards at national and international fi lm festivals, including the
Swarna Kamal at the National Film Awards in 1990. Since then he
has directed several award-winni9ng documentaries.
Cinematographers-
Producer-Director:
Gautam Bora
Research & Script:
Gautam Bora, Jyotsna
Kalita
Editor:
Kaju
Sound:
Gautam Bora, Kaju
Contact:
Gautam Bora
10, Senapati Road,
Silpukhuri,
Guwahati,
India 781003
gautamgb@yahoo.co.in
COMPETITION
40
DOCUMENTARY (Upto 30 min)
AZADNAGAR & GULAMNAGAR
(CITY OF FREEDOM – CITY OF SLAVES)
India/2007/29 minutes/Hindi
Bonded Labour, a unique form of slavery in which a worker works
free of charge to pay off the loan he has taken. .It is an extreme form
of economic exploitation in which the employer wields absolute
physical and psychological control over the bonded labourer sapping
all vestiges of humanity. In 1976, Government of India enacted the
Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act and declared that all bonded
labourers in the country were free but how has this Act of 1976
been translated into practice? Where and in what condition are the
released bonded labourers and their families? The fi lm explores two
regions in India – Azadnagar in Madhya Pradesh and Gulamnagar
in Rajasthan – where the despicable practice is still prevalent.
Pravin Mishra graduated from the Government
Art College, Calcutta University before completing
Animation Film Design from National Institute of
Design, Ahmedabad. His fi rst foray in animation was
in 2002 with Public Place. His fi rst documentary Baal
Mela was made in 2006. He won the National Critics Award’ at the
MIFF 2004.
Director:
Pravin Mishra
Producer:
LabourFile,
Cinematographers:
Amitesh Singhal
Editor:
Manan Sagar
Music:
Kartik Shah
Contact:
Pravin Mishra
A/2-71, Management
Enclave,
Opp. Heera Panna Flats,
Near Lake, Vastrapur,
Ahemdabad,
India, 380015
mishra_pravin@yahoo.
com