Arts_Illustrated_-_February-March_2016

DIGITAL COPY ON MAGZTER

the film involved shooting/conversing on a river bed

of trash in Mankhurd, Mahim Fort, a rooftop of a

28-storey Andheri apartment block, all in Mumbai;

the launch of the Aam Aadmi Party in New Delhi;

and the site of Delhi’s announcement as capital on its

101st anniversary.

The Memory segment of the festival features three

films. Ayisha Abraham’s ‘En route’ or ‘Of a Thousand

Moons’ is a collage of moving images of post-

colonial India, bringing back to life phantoms of the

past. In ‘Jan Villa’, Natasha Mendonca returns to

Mumbai, her city, after the floods of 2005 to see the

personal impact of the devastation. Desire Machine

Collective’s ‘Residue’ is shot in the no man’s land

of a disused thermal power plant on the outskirts

of Guwahati. The relationship between matter and

memory is explored using raw symbols and images;

an apocalyptic world where the natural, machine and

human co-mingle.

Akbar Padamsee’s ‘Syzygy’ (1969–1970) adds a touch

of the classic to the festival selection. One of two

short abstract films made by the fiercely experimental

modernist, it features a set of animated geometrical

drawings. An outcome of Padamsee’s Jawaharlal

Nehru fellowship, in it he combines two metrical feet

into a unit through animation.

‘The films are to be screened in procession, and not

to be viewed as stand-alone installations. The idea is

for viewers to engage with the material, and give it

the attention and respect it deserves. And we plan to

facilitate conversations with some of the film artists

after the screenings,’ says Heredia.

Call it avant-garde, experimental or artists’ film/

video, the festival draws attention to the materiality

and experiential qualities of the moving image,

turning form into the content of the work. Made

outside of the constraints of commercial cinema,

it forces the viewer to engage with it on its terms,

without bowing down to economic, stylistic or

ideological pressures. One of the much-needed

platforms as an alternative to the cinema of

traditional narrative and spectacle.

Stills from Noon Day Dispensary, Priya Sen, 27:00, Digital, Colour, Sound, 2014

Image Courtesy of Experimenta

Still from Bare, Santana Issar,

11:00, Video, English, 2006

Image Courtesy of Experimenta

(^98) / arts illustrated / feb 2016 - mar 2016 /IAF - Delhi Connecting Art