IndiEarth XChange 2013 – Through the Lens
With the IndiEarth XChange quite literally just around the corner, we thought it would be a good idea to give our readers a little prelude to what one can expect from the incredibly colourful musical and cinematic palette that will be spread out over the 3 days of XChange. Today’s focus – independent film.
The XChange this year is a proud host of fifteen incredibly diverse independent films from every corner of the globe – the finest of both Indian and international independent cinema. We have carefully handpicked a selection of documentaries, features, animations, and shorts that cover a wide range of subjects – from rare films like Gajanan Jagirdar’s A Dream Takes Wings, sourced from the precious film archives and documenting the evolution of Indian cinema – to films like Stefan Georgiou’s Dead Cat (UK) – a contemporary tale of love in London, released in 2013. There will be films on eminent figures from India’s cultural past, like Pramod Pati’s Ravi Shankar – an archival cinematic ode to the sitar maestro –and Jaideep Varma’s Baavra Mann – a film about iconic filmmaker Sudhir Mishra. Documentaries like these will coexist with more abstract pieces, like the poetically filmed, art-in-motion film Tasher Desh – directed by the notoriously experimental Q – as well as Gitanjali Rao’s Printed Rainbow – an animated tale about a lonely woman and her cat. 
“I am really excited about screening my film at the XChange in Chennai,” says Q, on screening Tasher Desh, “this film was a massive collaboration between artists from around the world, and since XChange is a space that keenly fosters artistic interaction, it will be quite interesting to see how people react to the film here. I wish the XChange all the best, and hope that the connections between independent artists grow stronger”.
From the international collection, the film Sahel Calling (DE/USA), directed by John Bosch, tells the story of the refugee populations in the areas of Mali and the Sahel, while Sivan Levy and Natalie Melamed’s Dina and Noel (IL) is an existential tale of living in a world of transparent people – where everyone chooses to hide behind the masks they create for themselves. Many other fascinating films are also on the line up – the entire Film Schedule can be accessed here.
In addition to screenings, filmmakers including Roohi Dixit, Sudhir Mishra, Jaideep Varma, and Gitanjali Rao – to name just a few – are slated to be at the festival and will be available for interactions, a true XChange between filmmaker and audience. “What we’re trying to do with the film screenings at XChange is give the public insight into the underbelly of independent cinema – both in India and around the world”, says Sonya Mazumdar – CEO/Founder EarthSync – “we’ve dug up an assorted selection of independent films – some that are quite difficult to access – with the purpose of connecting audiences in Chennai with a whole other world of offbeat cinema”.
The screenings will be held in the Screening Room on the third floor of The Park – Chennai.
Watch the Film Trailers below
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