In Gurvinder Singh's 2011 film Anhe Ghore Da Daan (Alms for the Blind Horse), an extremely poor family's desperation is shown to unfold over the course of a single day in a dalit village in Punjab. Closely based on Jnanpith award-winning writer Gurdial Singh’s Punjabi novel of the same name, the powerful film was critically lauded for its restrained narrative style and poetic texture.
Gurvinder Singh, instantly hailed as a fresh new cinematic voice, is deeply influenced by Mani Kaul; Anhe Ghore...went on to win three national awards, including one for best direction. "Punjabi cinema, nay Indian cinema as a whole, has rarely portrayed reality with such astonishing clarity in recent times," raved one review. This Independence Day, watch this important depiction of caste and discontent at People's Film Collective's second edition of 'Frames of Freedom' film festival.
The collective, or PFC, based in West Bengal, is an independent, people-funded platform started by a group of cultural activists in 2013. It staunchly believes in “people's cinema with people's support”. They show documentaries, protest films and socio-culturally important cinema outside the realm of flashy, erudite film festivals and comfy multiplex circuits. Its members have taken these films to factories, municipal offices, railways stations, trade union groups, schools and public grounds in rural and semi-urban districts of West Bengal, and its annual Kolkata People's Film Festival has become an important event in the city's cultural calendar.
Frames of Freedom, in its first edition last year, showed I AM 20, In the Shade Of Fallen Chinar, Muktir Gaan, Garm Hava, and Manuscripts Don’t Burn. This year, it's back with five feature-length films which question what we understand by 'independence', and highlight the continued march of people for freedom. Chaitanya Tamhane's Court, Bikramjit Gupta's Achal (The Stagnant), Aamir Bashir's Harud (Autumn) and Nagraj Manjule's Fandry are the other films being screened. The venue will also have a section on relevant books and DVDs, including a special corner for children.
Nurturing young minds to develop a political orientation is also a crucial undertaking of this grassroot collective working to reinforce the voices of the working class and people's movements via films. They also bring out an annual Bangla magazine Protirodher Cinema (Cinema of Resistance), a collection of essays and writings on alternative cinema.
Frames of Freedom film festival will take place at Jogesh Mime Academy in Kolkata on August 15.