Erwin van't Hart: Cinema India
Gaarud/The Spell
Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni, India, 2010, 35 mm, 11'
Gaarud gives us, in the form of a long tracking shot, a fascinating insight into what happens behind closed doors of a block of tenements near the railways station in a small Indian town inhabited by people from all different backgrounds but all on the seamy side of life. Very briefly, we share their very personal lives. The camera takes us into the kitchens, the living rooms and even the toilets and bedrooms of the inhabitants.
Vilay/Dissolution
Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni, India, 2010, 35 mm, 13'
Nachiket is a young architect. He sees how the city has changed in recent years. Everything seems to accelerate when his grandmother dies suddenly. An ancient culture seems to die along with her. He not only witnesses this decay, but is also a part of it.
Jan Villa
Natasha Mendonca, USA, India, 2011, digiBeta, 20'
Natasha Mendonca returns to Mumbai, the city of her birth, after the devastating floods of 2005. Alongside all the silent witnesses to nature’s violence, she primarily records the personal consequences of this destruction and the way the disaster has undermined the security of hearth and home. Jan Villa is not a linear narrative, but an impressive associative essay whereby the images seem sucked inwards as if in a vortex.
Tanko Bole Chhe/The Stitches Speak
Nina Sabnani, India, 2009, digiBeta, 12'
An animated documentary that celebrates the art and passion of the artisans associated with the project Kala Raksha (“Art Preservation”) in the Kutch desert region of India. Through the use of the narrative art of appliqué in the film, they articulate through their embroideries their responses to life, and to events as traumatic as the earthquake and as joyful as flying a kite. Through conversations and memories, four voices share their involvement in the evolution of a craft’s tradition.
Six Strands
Chaitanya Tamhane, India, 2010, digiBeta, 16'
This spiritual tale about a nameless woman who produces the most expensive tea in the world was shot on breath-taking locations in Darjeeling. The Moonlight Thurston tea triggers exciting sensations, memories, even love and passion. Visually rich and layered, Six Strands emanates a mystical quality.
Ever since the first edition of Kino Otok, I’ve been involved in the festival as one of the projectionists, part of the Dutch crew Openluchtbioscoop. It always is a real pleasure for us to come to Izola and to be part of such a dedicated festival – a festival that has become »our own«, if I may call it that.
We became friends – and last winter, when the beloved Kino Otok director came to Rotterdam for the festival, we could discuss different topics, such as, for example, the initiation of a short film program. Although in the end this turned out to be a bit too ambitious – for the moment at least – we are giving our collaboration a fresh kick-start with a selection of short films from the International Film Festival Rotterdam. With a reputation for its daring programming and innovative character, one of Rotterdam’s best kept secrets is its huge short film program, which could actually be considered a whole festival on its own. With more than three hundred titles presented in one grand weekend, it is a vibrant meeting place for artists, professionals and short film aficionados from all over the world. One of the highlights of this year’s festival was a series of short film programs from the South Asian region researched by my Rotterdam colleagues Rada Šešić and Peter van Hoof.
Kino Otok will present a selection of five films, all from India, amongst which are included the Tiger Award winner Jan Villa by Natasha Mendonca and two works by director Umesh Kulkarni, who is mainly known for his feature films The Wild Bull (Valu, 2008) and The Well (Vihir, 2009), which were widely shown at several international film festivals. He is also seriously involved with making short films and considers it to be a true genre in itself, not just a stepping stone to make feature films. »Short films are like energy injections for me; they are my first love. The kind of experimentation one can do in short films cannot be done in any other medium. And it is an art form which is not at all recognized in India.«
No need to say more, Umesh, we look forward to welcoming you to Izola and to talking to you in person.
Erwin van’t Hart
Short Film Programmer of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (and still projectionist at Kino Otok)
Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni, India, 2010, 35 mm, 11'
Gaarud gives us, in the form of a long tracking shot, a fascinating insight into what happens behind closed doors of a block of tenements near the railways station in a small Indian town inhabited by people from all different backgrounds but all on the seamy side of life. Very briefly, we share their very personal lives. The camera takes us into the kitchens, the living rooms and even the toilets and bedrooms of the inhabitants.
Vilay/Dissolution
Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni, India, 2010, 35 mm, 13'
Nachiket is a young architect. He sees how the city has changed in recent years. Everything seems to accelerate when his grandmother dies suddenly. An ancient culture seems to die along with her. He not only witnesses this decay, but is also a part of it.
Jan Villa
Natasha Mendonca, USA, India, 2011, digiBeta, 20'
Natasha Mendonca returns to Mumbai, the city of her birth, after the devastating floods of 2005. Alongside all the silent witnesses to nature’s violence, she primarily records the personal consequences of this destruction and the way the disaster has undermined the security of hearth and home. Jan Villa is not a linear narrative, but an impressive associative essay whereby the images seem sucked inwards as if in a vortex.
Tanko Bole Chhe/The Stitches Speak
Nina Sabnani, India, 2009, digiBeta, 12'
An animated documentary that celebrates the art and passion of the artisans associated with the project Kala Raksha (“Art Preservation”) in the Kutch desert region of India. Through the use of the narrative art of appliqué in the film, they articulate through their embroideries their responses to life, and to events as traumatic as the earthquake and as joyful as flying a kite. Through conversations and memories, four voices share their involvement in the evolution of a craft’s tradition.
Six Strands
Chaitanya Tamhane, India, 2010, digiBeta, 16'
This spiritual tale about a nameless woman who produces the most expensive tea in the world was shot on breath-taking locations in Darjeeling. The Moonlight Thurston tea triggers exciting sensations, memories, even love and passion. Visually rich and layered, Six Strands emanates a mystical quality.
Ever since the first edition of Kino Otok, I’ve been involved in the festival as one of the projectionists, part of the Dutch crew Openluchtbioscoop. It always is a real pleasure for us to come to Izola and to be part of such a dedicated festival – a festival that has become »our own«, if I may call it that.
We became friends – and last winter, when the beloved Kino Otok director came to Rotterdam for the festival, we could discuss different topics, such as, for example, the initiation of a short film program. Although in the end this turned out to be a bit too ambitious – for the moment at least – we are giving our collaboration a fresh kick-start with a selection of short films from the International Film Festival Rotterdam. With a reputation for its daring programming and innovative character, one of Rotterdam’s best kept secrets is its huge short film program, which could actually be considered a whole festival on its own. With more than three hundred titles presented in one grand weekend, it is a vibrant meeting place for artists, professionals and short film aficionados from all over the world. One of the highlights of this year’s festival was a series of short film programs from the South Asian region researched by my Rotterdam colleagues Rada Šešić and Peter van Hoof.
Kino Otok will present a selection of five films, all from India, amongst which are included the Tiger Award winner Jan Villa by Natasha Mendonca and two works by director Umesh Kulkarni, who is mainly known for his feature films The Wild Bull (Valu, 2008) and The Well (Vihir, 2009), which were widely shown at several international film festivals. He is also seriously involved with making short films and considers it to be a true genre in itself, not just a stepping stone to make feature films. »Short films are like energy injections for me; they are my first love. The kind of experimentation one can do in short films cannot be done in any other medium. And it is an art form which is not at all recognized in India.«
No need to say more, Umesh, we look forward to welcoming you to Izola and to talking to you in person.
Erwin van’t Hart
Short Film Programmer of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (and still projectionist at Kino Otok)
