XChange 2014: Film Program
“Cinema should make you forget you are sitting in a theatre.”
The words of Roman Polanski speak of cinema’s extraordinary ability to transport audiences into worlds unknown and beyond the boundaries of space and time, facilitating travel to foreign lands and remote regions, back in time to eras gone by, or into the future to a world we can only speculate exists. By bringing together different works of cinematic art from remote corners of the globe all to one space in Chennai, India, IndiEarth XChange 2014 promises similar experiences for audiences – enabling one to transcend beyond the four walls of the screening room at The Park Chennai, and into the minds, souls and universes created by the best independent film directors from across India and all around the world.
The films being screened have been carefully handpicked to showcase the sheer diversity of the current crop of international and Indian non-mainstream film talent – films like Nishtha Jain’s award winning Gulabi Gang depicts in rather gritty, realistic tones a troupe of women in the Banda district of Uttar Pradesh, who take justice into their own hands and fight for women’s rights in their region – clad in pink saris, and led by the controversial figure Sampat Pal. Korean director Yoo Dae Eol’s film The Brass Quintet tells the charming story of Sergeant Sin, who decides to form a brass quintet with his military band in South Korea, before he leaves the army.
Betty Martin’s I Wasn’t Always Dressed Like This is an intimate portrayal of the thoughts, ideas and reflections of three Muslim women, while renowned animation artist Gitanjali Rao’s True Love Story dives into the dark underbelly of the streets of Mumbai, telling the fantastical animated love story of a flower seller who falls in love with a bar dancer.
In addition to the screenings, eminent directors will be present at the XChange screenings, and Q & A sessions will be held with directors to gain insights into their works, and discuss issues raised by the films. XChange’s film program is aimed at showcasing a blend of difficult-to-access, rare films sourced from India’s film archives, to 2014 releases from the wealth of independent artistry across the globe. The programming gives audiences a chance to explore a very different perspective of Indian cinema.
ENTRY FREE
For the festival film program, click here. More films to be added to the line up.
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Leave a Reply