Minority discourses and Cinema

MINORITY DISCOURSES AND CINEMA – Event Report

Event Name: Minority Discourses and Cinema – In Conversation with filmmakers Sushma Veerappa, Sunanda Bhat.

Date: 13 December, 2014

Time: 9AM to 2PM

Venue: Room No. 911, 9th Floor, Central Block

Attended by: Students of 1MENG, 2MENG, BA English (Honors) and faculty members of Department of English.

Brief Description:

As a pre-seminar activity for the National Seminar on ‘Narrating Centres and Peripheries : Minority Discourses in India’, the MA English Film Club under Department of English, Christ University organized a  day long film seminar on ‘Minority Discourses on Cinema’. As part of this event, two independent documentary filmmakers Sushma Veerappa and Sunanda Bhat presented their films ‘When Shankarnag Comes Asking’ and ‘Have You Seen the Arana?’ and discussed the film and its various crucial aspects with the students and faculty of Christ University. The event began with a formal inauguration where the concept of the National Seminar, the objectives of the event were introduced to the students. This was followed by the screening of the two films. After each film, an interactive Q&A session was held where the filmmakers were in conversation with faculty chairpersons and student moderators and also took questions from the audience.

Resource Persons:

            Internal – Dr. Arya Aiyappan, Prof. Padma Kumar, Prof. Biju IP

            External – Ms. Sushma Veerappa, Ms. Sunanda Bhat

Films Screened:

1. When Shankar Nag Comes Asking, Sushma Veerappa (67 min)
   "When Shankar Nag Comes Asking" is a pastiche about today’s Bangalore. In the race to become a ‘global’ city, the struggle is as much in holding on to the familiar as it is about embracing the new. In what ways does one seek the familiar, when the familiar is not the same anymore? What does it take for Ramanna, Mahadeva, and the Auto-drivers at Shankar Nag Auto Stand, 8th Main Road, Basaveshwarnagar, to ‘belong’ in Bangalore today? How does Shankar Nag fit into this story about identity and belonging? (Official Synopsis)
   
   

2.      Have You Seen the Arana? Sunanda Bhat (73 min)
As hills flatten and forests disappear, as traditional values and knowledge systems are forgotten, the film is a gentle reminder that these varied lifestyles and landscapes that we take for granted, could disappear forever, to be replaced possibly by a sterile and less sustainable alternative. Interwoven into contemporary narratives is an ancient tribal creation myth. Sung for the dead, even in present times, the story recalls the passage of a mythical couple through historical sites, carrying forward and preserving earlier ideas of landscape. The song brings to life images of a terrain that still exists.
(Official Synopsis)

MCs for the event – Vishal R. and Bidisha Sinha

Order of the Proceedings:

9 AM	Reporting time for the students
9.15 AM-9.30 AM	Welcome Address by Dr. Abhaya NB
	Inaugural Address by Dr. John Joseph Kennedy
	Introduction to the Seminar by Dr. Sushma V. Murthy
	Introduction to the Film Screenings Prashant Parvataneni
9.30 AM -10.40 AM	Screening of When Shankarnag Comes Asking
10.40 AM -11 AM	Sushma Veerappa in conversation with Santosh SR Session Chaired by : Dr. Arya Aiyappan
11 AM – 11.10 AM	Tea Break
11.15 AM – 12.30 PM	Screening of Have You Seen the Arana?
12.30 PM – 1 PM	Sunanda Bhat in conversation with Prashant Parvataneni. Session Chaired by : Prof Padmakumar and Prof Biju IP
1 PM	Vote of thanks Bidisha Sinha

General Objectives

1.      To question the concept of ‘minority’, ‘margin’, ‘centre’, ‘periphery’ through the themes and forms of the films and set the tone for the National Seminar.

2.      To provide a platform for a dialogue between academic community and artists to understand where the two disciplines overlap, intersect and what they can contribute to each other.

3.      To acquaint the students of Christ University to non-conventional forms of filmmaking, challenges of Independent filmmaking in India.

4.      To highlight the importance of finding artistic expression for socio-political realities and minority discourses prevalent in contemporary Indian society.

       

Learning Outcomes:

·         Students engaged in an active and critical dialogue over the issues of minority, marginalization and identity with academicians and artists (filmmakers).

·         Students gained a greater understanding of the process of making an independent documentary film undertaken by practicing filmmakers.

·         Valuable insights on the politics and ethics of representation came out of the discussions following the film screenings.

·         An understanding of film form as a fine art and the ways in which it differs from mass media were crucial takeaways of this event.

·         The MA English Film Club members gained ways in which one can act as a critical and discerning reader of cinematic texts.

·         A necessary spirit of critical inquiry, questioning and dialogue helped set a tone for the up-coming National Seminar where these issues will be debated in greater academic detail.

Feedback:

The general feedback provided by the audience was positive and they expressed their appreciation for the engaging films and insightful discussions. The organization of the event was appreciated by the guests. There was only a minor delay in the schedule but the event flowed on smoothly without any major glitches. No discipline or technical issues were faced. The event provided a healthy platform for students of university to gain exposure to films and filmmakers. For eg. undergraduate students of Journalism from Department of Media Studies interviewed the filmmakers for their college bulletin of Christ Campus TV (CCTV). Hence, the event even managed to transcend departmental boundaries.

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