Two Bangladeshi documentaries to be screened in Srinagar

Farida Zaman in a scene from Anwar Chowdhury’s “Waterworks”.Pallab Bhattacharya, New Delhi

Two acclaimed documentaries from Bangladesh and an array of movies on thought-provoking subjects ranging from modern version of an ancient love story between a Muslim prince and a Hindu woman and effects of militancy on the human psyche will mark the South Asian Documentary Film Festival to be held in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir state, from November 23 to 25.

The Bangladesh flag in the festival will be carried by Tanvir Mokammel with his “Swapnabhoomi”, the story of stranded 'Biharis' and Anwar Chowdhury with his “Waterworks” on painter Farida Zaman who analyses her own artworks in the documentary.

Tanvir, who recently returned from a two-month tour of Japan, will attend the festival and introduce his film to the audience and interact with it on November 24. This is his first visit to Jammu and Kashmir.

The festival, being organised by Anhad Institute of Media Studies and Educational Multimedia Research Centre of Kashmir University, will feature 23 thought-provoking films by directors from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal and will provide students of mass communication an opportunity to interact for the first time with some leading South Asian directors like Mokammel, Anju Chetri of Nepal and Munizae Jahangir of Pakistan.

The festival will start with the screening of “Bhagmati”, a 21-minute documentary by Ashok Koul, which stars Indian actors Tabu and Milind Soman portraying in the present the immortal love story of Mohammad Quli Qutb Shah and Bhagmati. The film conveys that the universal love in all its forms is the essence of the existence of this beautiful universe.

The world has known Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan as a popular Sufi Qawwali singer but Pakistani director Farjad Nabi's documentary tells the metamorphosis of the singer, from a genuine popular artiste to a mass-produced exotica of the East. It won the second prize at the South Asian Film Festival in Kathmandu.

“War-Engendered Widows” by Anju Chetri portrays the story of women in her country who were widowed by the conflict in the Himalayan nation. Chetri's other film “Conflict and Rape”, to be screened at the festival, is about women who were raped by security forces and Maoists in Nepal .

“Words in Stone” by Akhila Krishnan is about Wali Gujarati, the first poet to write ghazals in Urdu in 17th century, whose tomb was destroyed in the communal carnage that had rocked Gujarat. The film, using Wali as a metaphor, attempts to look at culture, language, and history in the light of change. It seeks to show how some histories gradually disappear when people are made to forget them.

“Search for Freedom” by Pakistan-based television news channel correspondent Munizae Jahangir explores the lives of four Afghan women drawn from diverse strata of society -- a princess, a war widow, a young medical student and a mother of four children -- who are affected by the political and social turmoil in Afghanistan at various times from the 1920s to the present day.

The “Quality of Life” by Aakash Shakeel focuses on the mental trauma of people hit by militancy in Jammu and Kashmir, particularly in the valley, where the mental healthcare system has been under tremendous pressure and “Working on the Edge”, a project of students of Kashmir University, delineates the life of journalists who have risked their lives to do their job.

“Xeno” by Albert Kurian is an eight-minute film which tells the story of a man who is suspected to be a terrorist while having tea. “America America” by K.P. Sasi is a music video that “exposes the American war machine”.

Srinagar, the picturesque summer capital of India's Jammu and Kashmir state, is in the grip of sub-zero temperature these days. But the Ibne Khaldoon Auditorium and the Allama Iqbal Centre Library in Kashmir University will warm up as lovers and students of meaningful cinema throng the venues for the festival.

Pro-left social and cultural activist Shabnam Hashmi of Anhad points out that quality cinema has always aroused a good response in Srinagar and the coming festival will not be any different.