Film ForumSacred space
A fascinating new film on the Maibis of Manipur -- priestesses, philosophers, poets, healers -- suggests that it is indigenous cultures that hold the secrets to a restoration of the balance between humankind and the environment
Vijaya Mulay: Still documenting, at 87
Vijaya Mulay has witnessed two generations of documentary filmmaking. In this interview, she talks about her films, the challenges facing documentary filmmakers today, and her stint as first woman president of the IDPA
Lament of a lake
Chilika Bank$, which got the Livelihood Award at the Vataravan Film Festival 2009, tells the story of Chilika Lake and its people through the eyes of a banyan tree on its banks
The nuances of human trafficking
Understanding Trafficking stresses the difference between women who migrate and join the sex trade and women who are trafficked into the sex trade
Dangerous tastes
With the first genetically modified food poised to enter the Indian market, a timely documentary entitled Poison on the Platter shows how little the Indian public knows about what it is consuming
How a mouse can change your life
The documentary film Chhoti Si Asha shows how teaching school dropouts computer skills can help them find new livelihood opportunities
The travails of Bagh Bahadur
Kaler Rakhal explores the cultural displacement and loss of livelihood of West Bengal’s bahurupis (performing artists) in the time of ‘development’
The politics of popular culture
By reconstructing the life of Rasoolan Bai, well-known tawaif and thumri singer from Varanasi, The Other Song illustrates how romance and physicality were obliterated from culture
The mean seas
The Centre for Science and Environment’s documentary, Mean Sea Level, looks at the human tragedy behind the statistics of internal displacement due to rising sea levels and erosion in the Sunderbans. But, says the reviewer, for such an important and topical subject, the film could have explored other angles and presented a more holistic picture
Life is beautiful
C Vanaja’s award-winning film documents the grit and gumption of four HIV-positive widows in Andhra Pradesh