In January 2004, Magic Lantern Foundation organised Other Worlds Are Breathing, a four-day film festival for the World Social Forum, in Mumbai. In this festival, 84 documentaries from all over the world on the dominant themes of the forum were screened to packed audiences. Films such as The Corporation, War and Peace, Words on Water and Seeing is Believing, to name only a few, were some of the highlights of…
The Global Market Diverted to Delhi ‘Diverted to Delhi’ is about Indians working in Delhi’s call centres who are taught to speak and think like their international customers. When unsuspecting American or Australian consumers ring customer service, their local calls are often re-routed to India, and answered by Indians impersonating local telephone operators. This well-guarded secret, called outsourcing, has its comical side, but critics see more sinister implications. For them,…
A World At War De Stand van de Zon The Eye of the Day ‘De Stand van de Zon’ gives us a very close portrait of everyday life of an ordinary Indonesian family in Jakarta: Rumidja, her sons Bakti and Dwi and her friend Ibu Sum. Not rich, not poor. This family has to deal with the paucity of food in order to satisfy their daily needs. In the city…
A World of Work and Survival Hack Workers Thrown out of their homes by their husbands, separated from their children and forced against all Uzbek customs to earn their living, women find themselves in the hellish world of markets for women as hack workers, unprotected by law and subject to violence, rape and murder. Director: Furkat Yakvalkhodzhaev Uzbekistan, 2002, 21 min Source: Phoebe Schreiner Source’s Contact: pschreiner@sorosny.org Live Containers This…
Life, Politics and Struggle Aftershocks: The Rough Guide to Democracy ‘Aftershocks’ is about the transformation of the welfare state into an instrument of corporate governance. It examines the acquisition and displacement of two quake-affected villages for lignite mining and power generation. From the viewpoint of these two villages, the film probes the globalisation of economy and corporatisation of democracy from a unique local perspective. Director: Rakesh Sharma India, 2003, 64…
The World, Abused 1 Bhaile Outsider ‘Bhaile’ is an attempt to illustrate the occurrence of tourism-related child sex abuse in India. It speaks to a cross-section of Goa to comprehensively discuss the issues involved. Its driving force is the innocence of the child. The film opens with the chaos and abandon associated with taking a vacation in Goa. In the midst of this madness, children write letters to Santa Claus…
The World, Abused 2 Choropampa, El Precio del Oro The Price of Gold A devastating mercury spill by a US-owned gold mine transforms a quiet peasant village in Peru’s Andean mountains into a hotbed of civil resistance. A courageous young mayor emerges to lead his people on a quest for healthcare and justice. But powerful interests conspire to thwart the villagers at every turn in this two-year epic chronicle of…
The Woman’s World Da Zhowand Merman – Swara Bridging Troubled Waters ‘Swara’ examines and comments on the Pakhtun practice of giving minor girls in marriage as reparation for serious crimes such as murder committed by the child’s father, brother or uncle. Director: Samar Minallah Pakistan, 2003, 40 min Producer: Aurat Foundation Director’s Contact: samarminallah@yahoo.com Die Helfer und die Frauen The Peacekeepers and the Women ‘Die Helfer und dis Frauen’ is…
Identities A Womb Of One’s Own A pregnant woman who is not a ‘surrogate’ mother is about to give birth for her close friends, a male couple. All three of them are co-parents to the child. The biological mother shares candidly the struggle she faces at every level from the state and society so that she can have her right over her own body in order to live life on…
Culture/Resistance Itihaas Jitneharuka Laagi History of Winners An award-winning singer makes a desperate but unsuccessful attempt to make a comeback after being in musical hibernation for seven years. ‘Itihaas Jitneharuka Laagi’ portrays the changes in the Nepali music scene, as represented by Kuber Rai and Dheeraj Rai. The two singers are a study in contrasts, with their diametrically opposing personalities and attitude towards music. The film invokes a Nepali adage…
