IndiEarth On Screen: The New Age Cinematic Experience
“The cinema began with a passionate, physical relationship between celluloid and the artists and craftsmen and technicians who handled it, manipulated it, and came to know it the way a lover comes to know every inch of the body of the beloved. No matter where the cinema goes, we cannot afford to lose sight of its beginnings”. – Martin Scorsese
Since the early developments of celluloid film in the late 1800’s, cinema has indeed travelled a long and winding road of progress, evolving in both technique and technology that has added several visual and aural dimensions to the cinematic experience for theatre goers worldwide. The upcoming IndiEarth On Screen featuring experimental filmmaker Q’s Tasher Desh will take place this Thursday June 11th at the Tagore Film Centre in Chennai and takes full advantage of these advancements – bringing to Chennai audiences an enhanced cinematic experience in an equally state of the art facility. “Through initiatives like IndiEarth On Screen we want to provide platforms that connect offbeat cinema to wider audiences across the country” elaborates Sonya Mazumdar of EarthSync, “the upcoming edition at the Tagore Film Centre will also deliver for Indian audiences a unique cinematic experience that utilises technology and facilities on par with international standards”.
The Tagore Film Center – an initiative of the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) – is the first theatre to be set up by the NFDC in the country, and boasts a 100 seat theatre hall with Qube picture, 3D settings and Dolby Atmos (an award winning Dolby sound technology). “Dolby Atmos unleashes the potential of sound in storytelling by giving filmmakers the creative freedom to easily move audio around the theatre, even overhead, with amazing richness and depth” Ashim Mathur – Marketing Director of Dolby India – told IndiEarth. “It makes experiences more moving by leveraging the psychology and physics of sound to move people more powerfully than any other sound experience, and since its introduction in the cinema in 2012, Dolby Atmos has been embraced by all the major Hollywood studios, 14 Academy Award® winning directors, and 27 Academy Award winning sound mixers, among others”. IndiEarth On Screen has partnered with Dolby India for the event to organize several such screenings, and to package unique visual and aural cinematic experiences for audiences around India.
At the same time, as Scorsese rather poignantly emphasises in the quote above, irrespective of the modern day technical and technological advancements in the craft of cinema, what matters most is the passion at the crux of any initiative – the same passion that fueled the early developments and advancements in cinema during the era of celluloid films. It is a similar passion that drives screenings such as these, a passion for cinema and the joint effort of the organizers, filmmakers, the film community and audiences alike all coming together to nurture the growth of the independent film movement in India. “Over the past 5 years there has been a steady rise in terms of content and content creators from all over the country,” begins filmmaker Q, hailed as one of the country’s most forward thinking pioneers in the realm of alternative cinema, “There is also a growing interest, and what we believe is an audience getting ready for such content. The problem has been distribution and a revenue model that is forcing films to go a certain way – so screenings like IndiEarth On Screen are more than welcome, there should be one in every city to proliferate the kind of content we’re talking about. This alternative content is not even designed to fit into a traditional distribution space, which makes it critical for other platforms to exist – and IndiEarth has always been at the forefront of lateral thinking culture”.
“We believe that the right push and support can create a huge difference to India’s independent film scene,” continues Mathur of Dolby,“we are passionate about cinema and the partnership with IndiEarth On Screen is an exemplification of the same. Such screenings will not only serve as a showcase platform but also a networking platform for independent film community and enthusiasts”.
The event on Thursday will present Q’s poetic masterpiece Tasher Desh, a rather apt choice for the Tagore Film Centre as the film is a fantastical adaptation of Tagore’s play of the same name. “The film was made to confront the view of Tagore that we have normally as most Bengalis,” explains Q, “I always felt we have never been able to look at Tagore as an artist – for the last 50 years we’ve looked at him as a demigod. As a culture we tend to deify certain people and as a result lose out on some of their artistic nuances. Now screening the film in Chennai is also interesting because it’s perceived to be a traditional space, but I know Chennai has a thriving alternative community as well who I hope will come out to the screening”.
For more details on the screening, visit the Facebook event page here.
Date: Thursday, 11th June 2015
Time: 7 – 9pm
Venue: Tagore Film Center, Government Music & Fine Arts College Campus, Dr D.G.S Dinakaran Salai, Chennai – 600 028
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