For about 10 years now, the Kolkata People’s Film Festival has been a steady initiative successfully drawing film enthusiasts and filmmakers alike together in a common space. The event is notable for bringing mainly documentary films from South Asia and also internationally, with a keen focus on burning and relevant socio-political issues. Conversation sessions with filmmakers whose films are screened are also a characteristic feature of this event. It is the organisation, People’s Film Collective, that has shouldered the major responsibility of hosting this event unwaveringly throughout a decade based on limited budgets and entirely on people’s donations.
The 10th anniversary of this event took place at the Mahanayak Uttam Mancha auditorium a few weeks ago. A five-day screening instead of the customary four days was scheduled for this year to mark the special occasion. Moreover, the talk session this year included notable filmmakers and authors, like Anand Patwardhan, Uma Chakravarti and Arundhati Roy.
“The Kolkata People’s Film Festival started in 2013. While this is the main event, we also hold monthly screenings at different venues throughout the year. We are entirely a people-funded organisation and carry out our pursuits through donations from people. Our objective has been to show people’s struggles and turmoils in their true form without any binds of censorship from any power structure, be it corporate or governmental. The People’s Film Collective, in its very name, clarifies that it is oriented towards the common masses,” said Kunal Chakraborty, member of the People’s Film Collective.
Descending the stairs at the entrance of Uttam Mancha, one was greeted by a lively hall bustling with people and adorned with bookstalls, fabric art and paintings. At the main counter, young volunteers from the organisation were present to assist visitors. While registration and entry were free of cost, every visitor was appealed to contribute any sum they preferred in a donation box on the tabletop, carved out in the shape of a film camera.
“Like donations from people, the People’s Film Collective also functions entirely on volunteer work. We do this out of our sheer passion for bringing important and new documentaries to more people. Prior to the event, all of us take turns and engage in different tasks like postering, providing assistance, conducting registrations and so on. Apart from that, there is a separate committee for the selection of films and members who handle projection work on the stage,” said Miraz Mondal, who has assisted as a volunteer for a year now.
The second day of the Kolkata People’s Film Festival featured author Arundhati Roy (left), who read excerpts from her book, Azadi: Freedom, Fascism, Fiction, and also conversed with the audience
Arjita Chatterjee, a college student and a longtime volunteer, said: “The People’s Film Collective brings films that you would not find on your everyday watchlist or mainstream media catalogues. Volunteering here has really impacted my perspective on films.”
Bringing relevant cinema to the foreground
It was by ascending the stairs adjoining the hall that one reached the auditorium where the films were being screened. This year’s event opened with Shahrukhkhan Chavada’s 2023 film Which Colour? (Kayo Kayo Colour?). Of the 41 films screened over five days, many, like In Search of Ajantrik (2023) by Meghnath, and The Voice of Conscience (Zameer) (2023) by Uma Chakravarti had their first international premieres, while Firefly (Jugnoo) (2023) by Jatin Parveen and A Leaving Celebration (2023) by Afshin Amerian had their first Indian premieres. There were also films from countries like Palestine, Myanmar and Sri Lanka that witnessed either their Calcutta or Asian premieres at this year’s event.
Apart from these, a retrospective category was dedicated to the screenings of older yet no less relevant documentary films. The audience had the opportunity to directly interact with most of the filmmakers whose films were being screened. Filmmakers not only came from different parts of the country but also from overseas. Ilakkiya Mariya Simon flew from Norway for the Calcutta premiere of her film A Letter to Lanka (2023) and Muhammad Abdul Quayum came down from Bangladesh for a talk session post-screening of his 2022 film, The Golden Wings of Watercocks (Kura Pokkhir Shunye Ura). The Booker Prize-winning author, Arundhati Roy, spoke on the topic, The Assault on Meaning: The Challenges of Being a Writer Today, following which she engaged in a conversation with the audience.
“There are many factors driving the selection of films for this event. The politics and topicality of the film, its language and narrative style, its manner of representation of sociocultural issues, the commitment and politics of the filmmaker, all are taken into consideration. This year, we have curated our art exhibition in solidarity with Palestine and our retrospective section is focused on communal violence in India. The People’s Film Collective has always focused on invoking a cultural sphere built on art, cinema and dialogue, as the organisation is a motley collective of people from different backgrounds, like artists, writers, academics, students, and runs entirely on steadfast volunteers and people’s donations.
“Thus, by pulling off our main event and monthly screenings on a tight budget, we cannot spend on TV or newspaper ads, and our mediums of promotion are postering and social media. Often, filmmakers who come to our events also donate. However, our unfaltering spirit of bringing relevant cinema to the forefront has been generously received by the people. We have also travelled across both urban and rural Bengal on invitation and hosted screenings there,” said Kasturi Basu, founder of the People’s Film Collective and organiser of the Kolkata People’s Film Festival.
A fitting closure
(L-R) Simantini Dhuru and Anand Patwardhan engaged in conversation with the audience, alongside host and founder of the People’s Film Collective, Kasturi Basu, following the screening of Patwardhan’s latest documentary film, Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam
The final film screened was the renowned Indian documentary filmmaker Anand Patwardhan’s recent work, The World is Family (Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam) (2023). Both Patwardhan and cinematographer Simantini Dhuru engaged in a long conversation with the audience after its screening. Following this, the event came to a close with an unplugged concert delivered by the folk singer and songwriter, Moushumi Bhowmik, known for her bewitching voice, along with filmmaker, vocalist and guitarist, Sreemoyee Singh. By interacting with the audience as well as pleasantly numbing them with their enchanting tunes, both performed a host of Bengali folk songs, as well as a cover of the Iranian pop number Mara Beboos, delivered by Sreemoyee. Thus, wrapped in music, the 10th anniversary of the Kolkata People’s Film Festival saw a fitting closure.