Amar Kanwar, Anupama Srinivasan, Gurvinder Singh

Different periods in history have imposed different norms on the practice of filmmaking. How are filmmakers trying to question, resist & break these norms to evolve their own personalised forms? Films for freedom & the School of Arts & Aesthetics, JNU, invite you for a brainstorming session on the creative process of filmmaking. The idea is to bring together on the same platform, filmmakers with varied concerns and approaches, to present a multiplicity of viewpoints. The filmmakers will present their work, and share with us their philosophies of image making. The audience in turn will get a chance to question, discuss and debate both their work and their words. Within this framework, we will focus on how digital filmmaking has profoundly impacted questions of 'norm' and 'form', and how it is redefining the very concept of a 'film', a 'filmmaker' and the process of filmmaking.

Schedule

18th September 2004

10:00 am: Introduction
10:30 am: Om Dar-b-dar  (100 mins)
A film by Kamal Swaroop. Followed by a presentation by
the filmmaker and discussion with the audience
Discussion moderated by Gurvinder Singh.

2:00 pm: My Friend Su (55mins)
A film by Neeraj Bhasin. Followed by a discussion with
the filmmaker. Discussion moderated by Rahul Roy.

3:30 pm: A package of Short Films:
Reverb (7min): Sunayana Singh
Juxtapose (1min): Saumyananda Sahi
Go Slow, School Ahead (2min 30sec): Giftie Sahany
The Greatest Discovery that was Never Made (2 min): Sandeep Francis
Discussion moderated by Anu Srinivasan.

4:00 pm: Nusrat Has Left the Building... But When?  (20 mins)
A film by Farjad Nabi.
Discussion moderated by Amar Kanwar.

4:45 pm: Keshkambli  (25mins)
XYZ (22 mins)
Two films by Amit Dutta. Followed by a discussion with
the filmmaker. Discussion moderated by Gurvinder Singh.

 19th September 2004
10:00 am: Nee Engey (Where Are You?) (90mins)
A film by RV Ramani. Followed by a presentation by the
filmmaker, which will include selections from his other films.

12:15 pm: A Winter Tale (68 mins) A film by Gurvinder Singh.

2:30 pm: A Night of Prohecy (77mins)
To Remember (7 mins)
Two films by Amar Kanwar, followed by director’s
discussion with Sameera Jain.
Discussion moderated by R.V.Ramani.

4:15 pm: Unmathabudham Jagath (The Egotic world) (33 mins)
Hawa Mahal (58 mins)
Two films by Vipin Vijay, followed by a presentation
by Vipin Vijay and Debkamal Ganguly.
Discussion moderated by Amar Kanwar.

About the Seminar

When we begin making films, what stares us in the face is the set of norms that filmmaking has imposed on us over the history of its practice. These are invariably the norms of storytelling or narrative, and they define the relationship of the filmmaker with her medium. These norms usually become a censor, often a self censor, as anything that questions these norms is rubbished or becomes a big risk for the filmmaker. These norms play their own politics that revolve within the ambit of the practice of filmmaking, film financing, distribution and audience perception.

Why do we want to make films? Perhaps because we want to show reality, perhaps because we want to delve into fantasies, perhaps we want to explore the whole gamut of variations in between… Our different ways of perceiving and depicting the world within and around us – perhaps this is the first step towards challenging or questioning norms. Different periods in history impose different norms, depending on the prevalent aesthetics and social conditions of a particular time. There can be no standard or static norm, and so there can be no standard way of breaking this norm. This breaking or questioning will change from individual to individual, and from period to period. Filmmakers break these norms to arrive at their own understanding of form and to move towards a personalized form. But does this personalized form become a further norm that eventually suffocates their practice? Is this issue of the norm and its breaking, only to arrive at another norm, an endless cycle?

We see this seminar as an opportunity for filmmakers, film lovers, students and artists to come together and brainstorm about the creative process of filmmaking. It will be provide a space for filmmakers to talk about their work, and share with us their philosophies of image-making. It will also give the audience a chance to question, discuss and debate the choices that the filmmaker has consciously or sub-consciously made. More often than not these choices reveal the world-view of the filmmaker, and profoundly impact the way in which a subject is treated, and the way in which a viewer receives it. We will try to unravel and understand some of these issues through presentations by filmmakers, accompanied by screenings of whole films and/or excerpts. The structure of the seminar is informal and is designed to give all of us adequate time to listen to the filmmakers, watch films, think and respond. After a filmmaker makes his presentation, a set of questions will be placed before him by another filmmaker, setting up a dialogue of sorts between the two. Then the floor will be opened for discussion. The idea is to bring together on the same platform various filmmakers with varied concerns and approaches, to present a multiplicity of views.

We thought it would be most meaningful to invite as our speakers, a diverse group of filmmakers. They could be young filmmakers, experienced practitioners, film students, or anybody who felt an urge to make a film, and so went ahead and made one! There will be an attempt within this framework to look at what digital filmmaking is doing to the entire question of ‘norm’ and ‘form’, and how it is redefining the very concept of a ‘film’, a ‘filmmaker’ and the process of filmmaking.