Frederick Noronha (FN) on Thu, 28 Oct 2004 02:05:55 +0200 (CEST)


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<nettime> Indian documentary films (an interesting listing)


Documentary films can be a powerful source for building awareness and 
campaigns.

Below is an interesting list of alternate documentary films from the TISS in 
Mumbai.  If you know of any other interesting alternative Indian documentary 
films, please  let me know at fred@bytesforall.org

Encourage Indian documentary film-making (it's booming currently, as technology 
and costs make it more accessible to make a film) by buying a VCD for yourself.

More about Indian alt documentary at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/docuwallahs2

-FN
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UNIT FOR MEDIA AND COMMUNICATIONS
Tata Institute of Social Sciences

SYNOPSES OF VIDEO PRODUCTIONS

HEALTH AND DISABILITY

>From the Diary of a Genetic Counsellor 
----------------------------------------------------------------------

30 mins, English, 1991, Directed by K.P. Jayasankar and Anjali Monteiro

The programme takes up two cases of Down's syndrome, with different

genetic profiles (Trisomy 21 and Translocation 14- 21) and traces the
counselling process involved in each case.  The aim is to highlight the
counselling strategies that could be adopted to help clients to come to
terms and deal with the genetic disorder.  This programme would be of use to
medical practitioners as well as other professionals and paraprofessionals
involved in work with the mentally challenged

Prerna
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Slide-sound on video, 30 mins, English and Marathi versions, 1991, Directed
by Neelam Kshirsagar

This programme presents a profile of the health worker, who, in the course
of her regular community visits, helps in the detection of mental
disability.  The slide show traces the process of genetic counseling,
through case studies of Down's syndrome.  It stresses the importance of
early intervention and rehabilitation.  The aim is to present, for the
health worker and the lay-person, the counselling process, with specific
reference to Down's syndrome.

Pramila and Parvati
----------------------------------------------------------------------

35 mins, English, 1993, Directed by Shilpa Ranade

The video explores, in depth, the perceptions of two visually challenged
women, who speak of their experience of childhood, getting an education,
finding employment, marriage and child rearing.  In a candid account, the
friends discuss the trials they face everyday in meeting the challenge of
parenting their sighted children.  Their children's perception of visual
disability and their aspirations for the future are also presented.

Perspectives on Mental Health
----------------------------------------------------------------------

60 mins, English, 1991, Directed by Shilpa Ranade

Mental Health services in India are offered by mental hospitals, psychiatric
units attached to general hospitals and voluntary agencies. The video traces
the history of mental health services in the country and the changing
paradigms of mental illness, treatment and rehabilitation, underlying these
interventions. The models and approaches adopted by various institutions are
explored, in the light of the need for low-cost, appropriate and accessible
interventions in the Indian context.


ENVIRONMENT/ NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Pani Panchayat
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Part I & II, 50 mins., English and Marathi versions, 1986, Directed by
Anjali Monteiro

Documents a water cooperative movement of  small farmers in a drought-prone
block of Maharashtra.  In the first part, Pani Panchayat is juxtaposed with
the State's promotion of large irrigation projects.  The second part is an
appraisal of Pani Panchayat and the extent to which it presents an
alternative model.

Magra Mewar Vikas Sanstha
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Part I & II,   68 mins., English, 1991, Directed by K.P. Jayasankar and
Anjali Monteiro

MMVS, based in Ajmer and Bhilwara districts of Rajasthan, is a co-ordinating
voluntary agency of village committees that have taken up sustainable
development of their common property resources based on the principles of
contributory voluntary labour and equitable distribution of produce.  The
video evaluates these efforts in the context of the on-going ecological
degradation of the Central Aravallis and governmental initiatives to remedy
the situation.

One Hundred Years of Drought

----------------------------------------------------------------------

21 mins., English, Hindi and Marathi versions, 1993, Directed by K.P.
Jayasankar and Anjali Monteiro

The video examines the causes of recurrent drought in Maharashtra,
attempting to demonstrate the extent to which drought is a socially created
phenomenon, a fall out of ecologically unsound policies and practices, both
at micro and macro levels.  It includes a brief review of the impact of
colonial role and famine policy, as well as the post- independence path of
development, premised on the growth of heavy industry, large dams and
modernisation of agriculture. This has resulted in deforestation, soil
erosion and depletion of ground water reserves, calling for alternative
appproaches involving people's participation in integrated watershed
management, based on the principles of sustainable development,
self-reliance and equity.


Janaranya
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Joint Forest Management in Uttara Kannada

54 mins., English and  Kannada versions, 1999, Directed by K.P. Jayasankar
and Anjali Monteiro

Uttara Kannada in the Western Ghats region of Karnataka is one of the most
densely forested districts in India. The film examines State interventions
such as the Joint Forest Planning and Management against the backdrop of
livelihood and survival issues of forest dependent communities.

Jungle Tales
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Surviving Development in Uttara Kannada

52 mins., English and Hindi versions, 1999, Directed by K.P. Jayasankar and
Anjali Monteiro

Uttara Kannada in Karnataka is one of the most densely forested districts in
India. Development projects in the district have displaced one out of every
ten inhabitants. The film examines livelihood and survival issues of forest
dependent communities against the backdrop of this destruction of a fragile
and versatile ecosystem in the Western Ghats region, and State interventions
towards Joint Forest Management, funded by multi-lateral aid agencies.

GENDER ISSUES

Lage Jiva Ghar Ghar 
----------------------------------------------------------------------
A Document on Women and Shelter

44 mins., English and Marathi versions,1990, Directed by K.P. Jayasankar,
Simantini Dhuru and Anjali Monteiro

The programme traces the differential socialisation processes that girl
children internalise, to focus on women's limited rights to property.  It
goes on to discuss the alternatives available to women in distress, such as
working women's hostels and shelter homes, emphasising the need to search
for more appropriate systems of support.

Sudha Police Station Gayi Thi

On the Demystification of Police Procedures for Women
----------------------------------------------------------------------

16 mins.,Hindi, 1992, Directed by K.P. Jayasankar and Anjali Monteiro

Sudha, a woman facing domestic violence, approaches a police station for
help.  Her experience there leaves her wondering whether the police can be
of any help in such situations.  She meets Anita, an activist, who
familiarises her with the basic procedures and police personnel involved in
registering cognisable and non-cognisable complaints. In the process, Sudha
begins to appreciate the possibilities and limitations of police
intervention.

Odhni: A Collective Exploration Of Ourselves, Our Bodies
----------------------------------------------------------------------

23 mins., English and Hindi versions, 1993, Directed by K.P. Jayasankar and
Anjali Monteiro

Based on a workshop with a group of women on the theme of self-image and
sexuality, this video expresses women's perceptions of the relationships of
power that impinge on women's bodies and their selves. Through a process of
sharing and exploration, the group attempts a critique of the dominant modes
of power that are immediate to their lives.

Breaking the Barriers
----------------------------------------------------------------------

60 mins, English, 1999, Directed by Sushma Narain

Domestic violence is one of the gravest and the most pervasive of human
right violations.  Yet, there is very little by way of response from the
community or the state.  For this crime is looked upon as a personal matter,
not withstanding the fact that for large number of women this personal
matter translates into a life along "adjustment" with torture, both mental
and physical.  For many, this adjustments end only with the loss of their
lives.  There have been attempts to mainstream the issue pf domestic
violence both by the State and the civil society.  This film looks at some
of these initiatives of the community and the State aimed at breaking the
barriers that divide lives into personal and public.

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

The Fifth Schedule
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Part I & II,  44 mins, English and Telugu versions, 1988, Directed by K.P. 
Jayasankar and

Shaibani Azam

Set in the Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, it highlights non-tribal
intrusions into the tribal habitat resulting in large-scale alienation of
tribal land, deforestation and ecological degradation. Against this
backdrop, the programme evaluates the existing initiatives for development,
both governmental and voluntary.


Tanda
----------------------------------------------------------------------

A Document on the Denotified Tribes in Maharashtra

Part I and II,  60 mins, English and Marathi versions, 1988, Directed by
K.P. Jayasankar

The first part looks at colonial history to examine the process by which
many disparate tribes were labelled as `criminal'. The second part
establishes, through case studies, that even after independence the status
of these tribes has not substantially changed

Kahankar : Ahankar 
----------------------------------------------------------------------

(Story Maker : Story Taker)

38 Mins., English and Marathi versions, 1995, Directed by K.P. Jayasankar
and Anjali Monteiro

This is an attempt at bringing  together a selection of the stories and
paintings of the Warlis, and some of the writings about `them'. To the
Warlis, a community of Adivasis (indigenous peoples), who live close to
Bombay, these stories represent their `history', their world-view. All the
outsiders, the Portuguese, the Marathas, the British, the `native'
settlers... they all tried obliterating this history and wisdom.  The work
of the outsiders who wrote about `the Warli' represents this process of
creating new mythologies.  By bringing together these disparate discourses,
this video aspires to critique these mythologies...  To read between the
lines, as the stories themselves do.

MEDIA EDUCATION

The Plot Thickens...
----------------------------------------------------------------------

14 mins.,English and Hindi versions, 1993, Directed by K.P. Jayasankar and
Anjali Monteiro

This series of short videos is dedicated to the critical spirit in all of
us.  Whether it is a questioning of the notion of an objective reality (in
`Dialogue') and an instrumental language (in `Table, table and ...) or an
appreciation of how the media reproduce dominant relations of power in our
culture, the attempt is to facilitate a rethinking of our relationship to
the world around us. `Ideological Baggage' explores the construction of
gender in a television commercial while `Packaged Desire' examines the modus
operandi of advertising.  `The Phantom Country', `The Myth of Columbus' and
`A Taste of Fascism' deal with various aspects of racism in the media.

Identity: The Construction of Selfhood
----------------------------------------------------------------------

20 mins., English and Hindi versions, 1994, Directed by K.P. Jayasankar and
Anjali Monteiro

Questioning the notion of the self as a pre-given, primordial and purposive
entity, this video explores the gamut of modes in which identities are
produced, circulated and consumed within our culture. Identity is both
difference and relationship; identity is enmeshed in relations of power, be
they of gender, race or religion. Traversing a multi-cultural terrain
inhabited by Paul Klee and the Indo-Anglian poet A.K. Ramanujan, by popular
commercials and the writings of riot-affected children, Michel Foucault and
Sant Kabir, the medieval Sufi poet, the video is an invitation to examine
anew our praxis of identity as an eternally negotiated site of change and
resistance.

COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION

Punarvasan
----------------------------------------------------------------------

A Document on Reconstruction in Post-earthquake Marathwada

Parts I & II,  58 mins., English,  1995, Directed by K.P. Jayasankar and
Anjali Monteiro

This video, shot during the period between October 1993 and December 1994,
critically examines various aspects of the reconstruction programme in the
Latur and Osmanabad districts of Maharashtra, following the earthquake of
September 30, 1993. Part I traces the first stage of the reconstruction
programme, where donor-sponsored housing relocation schemes were undertaken.
The issues explored include the validity of the decision to relocate 52
villages, the lay-out and design of the settlements and houses and the
building technologies adopted. It concludes with a case study of the village
Talani. The second part looks at the notion of peoples' participation in the
reconstruction programme. It presents various experiments involving the use
of low-cost indigenous materials, local participation in settlement design,
training of local artisans, demonstration of retrofitting techniques,
information-education campaigns and so on.

Water to the People
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Towards Community Participation in Rural Drinking Water Schemes

34mins., English and Marathi versions, 1998, Directed by K.P. Jayasankar and
Anjali Monteiro

This video is a case study of the drinking water schemes in the districts of
Jalgaon and Nashik in Northern Maharashtra. It documents the processes and
structures which have enabled the institutionalisation of community centred
strategies, facilitated at various levels, by the Women's Studies Unit of
TISS, Community Participation Consultant to the project. These include
aspects such as training of government functionaries, formation of village
water committees and the mechanisms for sustainable local participation.

Reconstructing Communities
----------------------------------------------------------------------

52 mins, Part I &II, English, 2002, Directed by K.P. Jayasankar and Anjali
Monteiro

On September 30, 1993, an earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale
devastated 67 villages in the Latur and Osmanabad districts of Maharashtra,
India. The death toll exceeded 8000 and over 16,000 were injured. This video
critically explores the possibilities and limitations of community
participation, in the 52 villages that were relocated, under the aegis of
the Maharashtra Earthquake Emergency Rehabilitation Programme (MEERP). This
World Bank funded project, implemented between 1993 and 1998, focused on
housing, infrastructure, social, economic and community rehabilitation and
the preparation of a Disaster Management Plan. It had community
participation as a key modality. Tata Institute of Social Sciences was the
community participation consultant, for the villages to be relocated.
Through case studies of selected villages, the video examines the processes
and dynamics of community participation in a pre-determined, target-driven
project, for post-disaster rehabilitation.

THE CITY

Saacha (The Loom)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

49 Mins, English and Marathi versions, 2001, Directed by K.P. Jayasankar and
Anjali Monteiro

Saacha is about  a poet, a painter and a city. The poet is Narayan Surve,
and the painter Sudhir Patwardhan. The city is the city of Mumbai (a.k.a.
Bombay), the birth place of the Indian textile industry and the industrial
working class. Both the protagonists have been a part of the left cultural
movement in the city. Weaving together poetry and paintings with accounts of
the artists and memories of the city, the film explores the modes and
politics of representation, the relevance of art in the contemporary social
milieu, the decline of the urban working class in an age of structural
adjustment, the dilemmas of the left and the trade union movement and the
changing face of a huge metropolis.

Naata (The Bond)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

45 mins., English and Hindi versions, 2003, Directed by K.P. Jayasankar and
Anjali Monteiro

Naata is about Bhau Korde and Waqar Khan, two activists and friends, who
have been involved in conflict resolution, working with neighbourhood peace
committees in Dharavi, reputedly, the largest 'slum' in Asia. This film
explores their work, which has included the collective production and use of
visual media for ethnic amity. Naata is also about us; among other things,
it is an attempt to reflect on how we relate to spaces of the other, spaces
like Dharavi.

It is, above all, about Mumbai, the city that encompasses Bhau, Waqar and
us.

Hum Sab
----------------------------------------------------------------------

40 mins, English and Hindi, 2003, Directed by K.P. Jayasankar and Anjali
Monteiro

An edited version of Naata (synopsis above), which focuses on the story of
Bhau Korde and Waqar Khan, leaving out the bits where the filmmakers reflect
on their own experiences, related to ethnic amity and identity.

OTHER THEMES

Shared Fate
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Slide-sound on video, 30 mins, English, 1984, Directed by Nandan Kudhyadi
and Anjali Monteiro

Through a fictionalized case study, this slide-sound presentation traces the
entire process of adoption, with special emphasis on the role of the social
worker.  Issues discussed include the legal framework for adoption, adoption
procedures, counseling the adoptive parents, follow-up after adoption and
the importance of telling the child that she/he is adopted.

YCP 1997

43 Mins., English,1997, Directed by K.P. Jayasankar and Anjali Monteiro

Built between 1865 and 1876, Yerwada Central Prison (YCP), Pune, is one of
the oldest prisons in India, with over 2500 inmates. In this video, six
poets and artistes of the YCP share their work, their lives...

Through their poems and musings, the film explores the modes in which they
creatively cope with the pain and stigma of incarceration, in the process
questioning their selfhood and the socially constructed divides between 'us'
and 'them', between the 'normal' and the 'deviant'.

Towards a People-centred Tomorrow
----------------------------------------------------------------------

28 mins,  English, 2003, Directed by B. Manjula

Traces the history and present contribution of the Tata Institute of Social
Sciences, a pioneering institution for social work education in South Asia.
>From its inception in 1936, the Institute has designed its programmes of
training, research and field action to meet the emerging needs of the
country with a focus on relevant and sustainable development goals.

MORE DETAILS FROM:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
K.P. Jayasankar, Ph.D. Reader Unit for Media and Communications Tata
Institute of Social Sciences Mumbai 400 088, India Tel: 25563290 upto 96
Ext. 210 E mail: kpj@tiss.edu URL: www.tiss.edu


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