Monday special: Films with a vital dramatic grip

Documentaries like ‘The Cartel Land’, portraying drama and vigour of life will be the highlight of the fourth day of the 9^th IDSFFK. ‘The Cartel Land’, by Mathew Heineman  is about American and Mexican vigilante groups fighting drug cartels;  this documentary which rivals any fictional thriller is sure to grip the viewers’ imagination.  Risking his life, the filmmaker followed the vigilante groups and the unsettling visuals will linger in the minds of viewers for long.

Sanjay Kak’s two documentaries in ‘Film maker in Focus Section’ will be another attraction on Monday.  While his documentary This Land, My Land, Eng-Land portrays the life of migrant Asian generation in Britain, House and a Home is about Indians in South Africa and their activities to help the British empire expand in another part of the world and finally their life in the post-Apartheid South Africa of 1990s.

‘Home –Our Garden of Eden‘  directed by Suresh Elamon and ‘Walking with the Wolves’ by Krupakar and Senani are the highlights in ‘Focus on Wildlife’ section on Monday. While the former portrays the wonders of nature and wildlife that we can observe in our backyard, the latter shows how the shepherds and wolves managed to defy challenges of the modern world.

Richness of culture and tradition of Manipuris will be revealed through Aribam Syam Sharma’s films to be screened on Monday. While his 1991-film Meitei Pung talks about the relevance of Meitei Pung , the barrel-shaped drum, in the lives and rituals of Manipuris,  his 1988-film Koro Kossi – is rich with visuals and information about a gate-pulling ceremony performed in a Mao Naga village. Another film Manipuri Pony, centres around Sagol Kangjei, which is the progenitor of the modern game of Polo.

A total of 19 films will be screened in the competition section on Monday.  Jahanaara directed by Amal Ramachandran, By the Way by Jhimli Roy, Taandav by Devashish Makhija, The Road Less Travelled by Mithunchandra Chaudhari, Leeches by Payal Sethi and Darbe Guje by Jishnu Sreekandan will be screened in the short fiction competition category. Daddy, Grandpa and My Lady directed by Jung Hyun Kim, The Ballad of Laila-Leela by Lubna Sharmin, Sweetheart by Christo Tomy, Kalank (Stigma)- Inspired by True Events by  Amit Narwade, The Waves by Pradipta Bhattacharyya are also included in the short fiction section.

Unearthing the treasures of Ariyalur by Vaishnavi Sundar, The  Hunt by Biju Toppo and The Song of Margaret’s Hope by Subhadipta Biswas will be screened in short documentary competition section. Rasan Piya by Niharika Popli and The Man who Dwarfed Mountains by Ruchi Shrivastava are included in the long documentary category.  Nuptial Memoirs by Snigdha Banerjee, Fishi-Ru by Anjali Nayar and Euphoria by Abhijith Krishnan will be screened in the animation competition category.