Chimes of a New Moment: Re-visioning Just Communities ()

Festival Start: 09 Dezember 2019      Festival Ende: 11 Dezember 2019

The year 2015 by can be easily termed as the ‘year of intolerance ‘in Indian socio-political and cultural milieu. This was coming all the way from the time the right wing party was voted to rule the country. It began with re-writing Indian history and text books for schools, colleges and academic institutions, running down Gandhiji, the architect of free India as also the free thinkers, eliminating rationalist, outspoken intellectuals and scholars, isolating artists and film makers, taking control of Central Board of Film Certification by forcing the eminent men and women constituted that body to resign en-mass. The right wing people have taken charge of all public art and cultural organizations.

People from the minority communities have been lynched and killed for suspecting to have eaten beef. Cow slaughter has been banned in states like Maharashtra taking away food from the tables of minority communities as well as daliths and increasing the burden on the farmers already bending backward with debt and are committing suicide. Those who protested the beef ban have been beaten up in Kashmir, in Uttar Pradesh and New Delhi. When the public very clearly understood that the general response of the government to these problems were dismissive as something that is done by antisocial elements people began to take action. The prominent scholars, writers, poets, actors, film makers and theatre personalities started returning the awards they received from the government. There were protests across the country, from politicians and eminent citizens.

Another aspect of this intolerance is manifested in witch hunting NGOs like Green Peace for very prominently taking up environmental issues and challenging the implementation of economic projects without proper environmental impact assessment. Those NGOs on the hit list of the government is harassed in every possible ways including cancelling their FCRA numbers and freezing their accounts. Fortunately so far the justice system was very fair in their judgments which has given much relief to the NGOs under the government scanner. Generally NGOs these days are seen by the politicians as people ‘against development’.

These very arrogant postures of the government was downsized by the people of India through democratic resurgence. First they lost a very high pitched assembly election in Delhi to Aam Admi Party and later in another high pitched assembly election in Bihar the right wing lost to an alliance of democratic forces represented by Lalu Prasad Yadav and Nitish Kumar the local leaders. In all these instances the media was very pro-establishment. Were they too scared to investigate issues and inform the public?! While we hope that the people will elect democratic and secular parties in the Assembly elections happening now in April/May 2016,we need to nurture grass root level democratic practices which is one of the major objective of the festival. Whatever work we are engaged in now is from a very diminished public sphere. We do not know what the future holds for us but for now we belong to the breed of marginal citizens of this country.

As for our experience in this specific field is concerned, Bangalore Film Society was the South India coordinator of Tri-continental Film Festival "Human Rights in Frames from 2007 to 2009 organised by an NGO called Breakthrough. An average 5000 to 6000 people used to attend this festival in Bangalore in three days and the event had become very popular. Apart from this, we used to take these films to academic institutions as well as film societies in all South Indian States. However, the tricontinental film festival closed after 2009 and at present to the best of my knowledge we don't have a human rights film festival of that magnitude.
In the present Indian context, Bangalore Film Society wish to start an International Human Rights Traveling film festival from December 7th to 10th or from 9th to the 12th 2016 (depending on the availability of the auditorium) and organise a conference on freedom of speech and the right to dissent. The films selected will address major international human rights concerns such as refugees, lgbt sexuality, boarders, women, socio-political conflict, communal conflicts, child labour/abuse and so on The emphasis on the impact it should create. Once the festival is over these films will be circulated for screenings in educational, media institutions and film societies across India.

‘Chimes of a New Moment: Revisioning Just Communities’
Call for Entries
When old worlds die out on the tongue,
new melodies break forth from the heart;
-Rabindranath Tagore

As a response to an increasingly centralised media controlled by large corporations with their own vested interests that impacted on people’s lives and perception with its ability to distort the facts, alternative media practices began to emerge in India from the mid-seventies. The efforts of independent documentary film makers, media practitioners and film societies ensured that by focussing on deliberately neglected social, cultural and political issues they kept spaces open for creative dissent which is central to the idea and practice of democracy. Through bringing together the international efforts of alternative media, in this instance documentary films/alternative cinema dealing with people’s resistance to oppressive regimes, dehumanising socio-cultural practices and the more positive stories of transformation and change we hope to add to the existing efforts to create a sustainable economic and a pluralistic political vision for a just world order.
In this context, Bangalore Film Society in collaboration with CIEDS collective is initiating a travelling film festival on human rights titled “Chimes of a New Moment - Revisioning Just Communities” which will be showcased in the peripheries of Bangalore viz, Anekal, Kolar and later travel to peripheral cities and towns across Karnataka.
We plan to bring together aesthetically crafted films revolving around the broader issues related to women rights, youth and masculinities, LGBTQ rights, farmers rights, migration, trafficking etc This festival will be organised in collaboration with local educational institutions, media institutes and other local communities.
We invite you to be part of this initiative by contributing short, documentary, animation and feature films on the above mentioned themes.
Selection Process
It is a non competitive film festival aimed to highlight contemporary socio-political and cultural issues to the youth residing in the peripheries of metropolis Bangalore with a view to empower them. Please submit films made in 2017 and 18 and films that will get completed by May 30th 2019. There is no entry fee for films submitted.
All the submitted films will be subject to a selection process by the festival selection committee comprising of eminent professionals including documentary film makers, film critics, social activists, academician’s et al.
It will be a 2 tier Selections:

1. Pre-selection- the films will be shortlisted broadly based on the theme of rights and entitlements
2. Final Selection- selecting the best films in terms of form and content
Applicant must pay for the shipment of films or appropriate internet transfers to Bangalore Film Society.
Guidelines
Entries to the Film Festival must include:
1.Two DVDs of the film with English subtitles, if sent by courier
2. A signed copy of the entry form (can be sent via email)
3.Three high-resolution stills of the film (can be sent via email)
4.A high-resolution passport size photograph of the director (can be sent via email)
5. Promotional materials: synopsis of the film, brief CV of the filmmaker, awards won, festival attended etc,

All the submitted films will become part of Bangalore Film Society archive and will be made available for non-commercial screening purposes on a written authorization by the producer/director of the film. Please send your authorization letter for the above purpose along with the film.
Last date for submissions: July 30, 2019
Address:
Georgekutty A.L
Bangalore Film Society,
No.33/1-9, IVth Cross, Thyagaraju Layout,
Jaibharath Nagar, M.S. Nagar P.O
Bangalore 560 033.
Karnataka/India.