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In the age of mainstream Bollywood and online streaming platforms like Netflix releasing new content every few days, it is quite possible to miss out on the beauty of documentary filmmaking – an underappreciated form of filmmaking that continues to serve as a mirror for the society we live in. While there are some exceptional documentaries, like Nero’s Guests and most recently, An Insignificant Man, that float around in our consciousness, most of what this country produces is often overshadowed by our blockbuster Eid and Diwali releases. However, with Public Service Broadcasting Trust’s (PSBT) annual Open Frame Film Festival, here’s a chance for you to catch up on everything you might have missed.
The Open Frame Film Festival organised by PSBT – a non-profit NGO that mentors and supports independent filmmakers across the country – is held every year in the country’s capital. The ongoing 18th edition of the festival will be taking place from 10-18th September, at the India International Centre in New Delhi. In the last 18 years, PSBT has done an exemplary job of exploring a wide range of themes like human rights, feminism, development etc. that showcase the existing ground reality of the country. This year’s lineup will only be adding on to this continuing legacy.
The festival was kicked started with a series of Documentary Masterclasses with revered filmmakers like Paromita Vohra, Avijit Mukul Kishore, RV Ramani, and Vipin Vijay – with each filmmaker presenting and lecturing on the various nuances of documentary filmmaking and how it’s transforming vis-a-vis the coming up of technology/digital mediums. The festival will also be hosting an intriguing conversation with ‘Masters of Cinema’ – Adoor Gopalakrishnan and Shyam Benegal, moderated by documentary filmmaker Rajiv Mehrotra. Unfortunately, the registrations for many of these workshops have already closed but don’t let that stop the cinephile in you.
From an array of films that deal with LGBTQ+ narratives (celebrating Supreme Court’s landmark judgement from just last week) like Anindya Shankar Das’ Zara Nazar Utha Ke Dekho and Mitali Trivedi and Gagandeep Singh’s Please Mind The Gap to an entire collection of PSBT-Doordarshan shorts that explore cultures and traditions that are native to the Indian subcontinent, the festival will be showcasing a plethora of both Indian and international productions – including the Sundance World Cinema Grand Jury Prize winner Last Men in Aleppo by Feras Fayyad.
Some other interesting documentary films to look out for include Koi Chaand Bhi Nahi by Ajay TG and Maheen Mirza’s Agar Who Ek Desh Banatee, both of which deal with the rural adivasi communities of Chhattisgarh and how they struggle to protect their livelihood and lifestyle.
To access the screening schedule and other details, you can visit their website.
Feature Image Courtesy: PSBT
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