Report on FSA '97

Film South Asia ‘97, the first-ever festival of South Asian documentaries, was successfully organised by Himal, the South Asian magazine, in Kathmandu in 25-28 October 1997. The festival proved to be a unique opportunity to showcase the best of what the Subcontinent has to offer in terms of documentary filmmmaking. Film South Asia ‘97 was a success not only because of the thematic variety and geographical range of the 55 films screened, but also because of good local audience participation and the attendance of a large number of Subcontinental producers and directors.

The opening of the festival by the Mayor of Kathmandu in the evening of 25 October highlighted the importance given to the event by a city which is growing as the hub of the South Asian region. We feel that the energised yet informal atmosphere of the festival helped filmmakers from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka helped in ‘networking’ for the cause of documentaries in the region.

Besides filmmakers and the general Kathmandu audience, the festival was also attended by journalists, media activists and connoisseurs from all over the region. A discussion on ‘Trends in documentary filmmaking in the age of satellite television” was also held during the course of the festival. All the screenings were followed by a discussion, with the majority led by the director or producer present. Further unstructured discussions were held at the venue’s spacious foyer, during the receptions, and at the Hotel Zenith where the participants were housed. The high level of discussion added to the overall ambience of the festival. The festival also proved to be an opportunity for filmmakers to discuss the possibilities of developing a market for documentaries in South Asia, through cinema halls, video cassettes and television. The level of enquiries during and following the festival indicates that it has also helped modestly in the marketing of the films screened.

The primary criteria for selection of films for FSA ‘97 was subject: they could be made by anyone (including non-South Asians), but had to be about South Asia or South Asians. The selection panel looked for overall excellence, but also considered regional balance and thematic variety.

Altogether 135 films were submitted to Film South Asia ‘97, and 55 were selected for exhibition. For three and a half days, these were screened back-to-back in the two halls of We centrally located Russian Cultural Centre, from mid-morning through late evening. Divided by country, 37 films at FSA ‘97 were from India, eight from Pakistan, four each from Bangladesh and Nepal, and two from Sri Lanka. Looking at geographic rather than Country-wise distribution, the 55 selections are seen to cover most of South Asia. A rough thematic classification shows that 20 of the selected films were social commentaries, 10 ethnoraphic portrayals, nine about personalities, nine on environmental subjects, two historical, and five in ‘other’ categories.

The subjects handled in the festival ranged from an archival study of Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s feeling about the Partition of 1947 to the anti-liquor agitation in Andhra Pradesh, and from a archival retrospective On Bangladesh’s liberation struggle to how Sri Lankan families come to terms with bereavement amidst the civil war. Other uniquely South Asian subjects included the Narmada agitation, the selling of Nepali girls in Bombay brothels, whether Bangladesh villagers really fear the floods, and a Pakistani artiste who dares to dance.

Altogether 51 films, being produced after January 1995, were in the competitive section. FSA ‘97’s three-member jury comprised of Pankaj Butalia from India, Salman Shahid from Pakistan and Nalaka Gunawardene from Sri Lanka. They awarded the prize for best film to The Spirit Doesn’t Come Anymore by Kathmandu’s Tsering Rhitar. He won a plaque and a cash award of USD 2500. Three entries shared the prize for the second-best film: Nusrat has left the building.. but when? by Farzad Nabi from Lahore, Meals Ready by Surajit Sarkar and Vani Subramanian, New Delhi, and Father, Son and Holy War by Anand Patwardhan, Bombay. (USD 2500 was divided among the three winners.) Muktir Gaan by Catherine and Tareque Masud from Dhaka earned a Special Mention.

The Future

Encouraged by the response to this first time event Himal magazine has decided to make Film South Asia a biennial event, with the next edition planned for September 1999 in Kathmandu. We are confident that the next festival will be even more successful than FSA ’97, with more entries of higher quality covering the larger region of South Asia (which for the organisers includes Afghanistan, Tibet and Burma as well) and a connoisseur audience attending from all over South Asia. Also, the next time around, the festival organisers will seek support of the corporate world to run this uniquely South Asian event.

To ensure that audience elsewhere in the region and also overseas gets an opportunity to view the best of South Asian documentary-making, the organisers have selected 15 films from FSA ‘97 to go on a traveling film festival. Starting with end December 1997 and continuing through the spring and summer of 1998, Traveling Film South Asia will go to venues all over South Asia and in Western Europe, North America and elsewhere. The response to the announcement of Traveling Film South Asia has been heartening. Himal, the South Asian magazine, hopes as organiser that the Traveling Film South Asia will provide additional impetus for the appreciation of documentaries in the various countries and regions of South Asia. Ultimately, we also hope that this will lead to the development of a healthy market for Subcontinental documentaries all over.

A South Asian Documentary Archives, in video cassettes, has also been set up in Katlhmandu. starting in a low key with the 135 films from the latest film festival and an additional 40 from the previous Film Himalaya ‘94.