Documentary Movies (417 results)

Bostrobalikara: Garment Girls of Bangladesh

Documentary revealing the problems of sweatshop workers in the Bangladeshi garment industry.

A Flowering Tree

A closer look at a taboo subject in India: menstruation and how it is embedded in Hindu rituals and beliefs, dating back to ancient times. A short docu-fiction in the enigmatic, associative narrative style typical for this award winning South Indian director. This film by Tiger Award winner (in the category short film) contemplates in a very exciting visual manner on one of the taboo subjects in India - female menstruation and its connection with Hindu rites and beliefs. While in Brahmin Orthodox culture the period of menstruation is considered to be impure and women are not supposed to cook or touch any food prepared for other family members, the main character in this film evokes old menstrual rituals and places them in ancient Indian culture.

El sastre

India

"India" developed out of my three journeys to Pune in 2001, 2002 and 2004. I arrived in a forgein country, and felt surprisingly familiar in the foreign. There in the streets, walking among the people, surrounded by their movements, their gestures, by the colors, the light, the beauty. Small things awakened my attention, sometimes only a short glimpse, a hand movement, the color of a sari, a temple hidden in a courtyard. It was like a long hot bath that I took there in Pune's streets - something unique and very beautiful.

End Note

Three women reminisce about their times at school and rekindle and affirm old friendships. They share a strange secret about each other that is never made known to us. The film is a cinematic interpretation of Samuel Beckett’s 1967 dramaticule, ‘Come and Go’.

Final Solution

This award-winning documentary explores the changing face of right-wing politics in India through a study of the 2002 Gujarat Riots. It specifically examines political tendencies reminiscent of the Nazi Germany of early 1930s. Final Solution is anti-hate/violence, as 'those who forget history are condemned to relive it'.

Madness in the Desert

The story of making "Lagaan," one of the millennium's seminal Indian films, is told from the point of view of production team member Satyajit Bhatkal.

Antarctica: A Frozen History

Antarctica: A Frozen History takes a look at the history and stories of the human explorations in the Antarctic. Although quite slow paced and relatively old, the documentary film successfully incorporates reconstructed film material and original Antarctic expedition footage to fully illustrate the hardships of the heroic and extreme arctic explorations. Human endurance is tested to the maximum, as the documentary takes a look back at those who have tried, failed and conquered this most unforgiving landscape. Some of these stories entail Robert Falcon Scott, a Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the Discovery expedition of 1901–1904 and the ill-fated Terra Nova expedition of 1910–1913. Scott reached the South Pole in January 1912 only to find he had been beaten to the spot by 33 days. His entire party died on the return journey; eight months later, a search party discovered some of their bodies, diaries and photographs.

The Razor's Edge

Kshurasyadhara (The Razor's Edge), based on the temple oracles of Kerala. The film premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR),2002 and was shown in film festivals at Tehran, Milan, International Film Festival of Kerala, MIFF. "Kshurasyadhara" won the best Malayalam film commendation award 2001, Indian Documentary Producer's Association (IDPA), Best Director Award of the Kerala State Film & TV Awards 2001, and the National Jury award of the Mumbai International short & Animation film festival (MIFF) in 2002. "Kshurasyadhara" is now a part of permanent archives at the United States Library of Congress.

Performing the Goddess

"Chapal Bhaduri, a leading lady of Bengal’s traditional folk traveling theatre-in-the-round, the Jatra, spent his life playing women. This film is an intimate biography that brings you face to face with this unique individual, sharing what it means to him to become a woman night after night, talking of the woman inside his body, of troubled sexuality, of a long partnership with his older lover, of the loneliness of living on the edges of conventional society–and showing how he metamorphoses into the goddess to perform her story." - The Bangalore International Centre

BOMgAY

Based on the poetry of R. Raj Rao, Bomgay is a collection of six vignettes that depict the underground and complex nature of the gay identity in urban India. Part Genet, part Bollywood, this film combines acidic verse and insightful imagery to reveal the emerging gay community in the post-liberalized India of the 1990s.

Gopala Gopala

Gopal causes much angst among his male neighbours as he is friendly with their spouses. They are relieved when he marries Usha. But Usha leaves him after learning that he was married once before.

Song of Freedom

This historic film, completed in 1995 by filmmaking duo Tareque Masud and Catherine Masud tells the true story of a troupe of singers traveling through the refugee camps and zones of war during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. The film blends documentary and fictional genres in a musical structure to tell the story of the birth of a nation and the ideals of secularism and tolerance on which it was founded. The filmmakers combined footage of the cultural troupe and their activities, shot by American filmmaker Lear Levin in 1971, with historic footage collected from archives around the world, to create “Muktir Gaan” (Song of Freedom).

The Travelling Song

'Rasayatra' presents the life and music of Mallikarjum Bheemarayappa Mansur (1910-92). Visualising the music of the maestro the film explores Mansur's love and passion for music. Using his interviews the film takes us on a journey through his life, starting from his love for music as a child to his greatest achievements. Exploring Indian classical music the film also enters the realm of the poetic meaning of the lyrics and Mansur interpretations of those. Filled with personal anecdotes it talks about his personal life and how his music never got affected by it. The film is a tribute to the music and to the man.

I Live in Behrampada

The communal riots that reduced Bombay into two distinct communities in December '92 and January '93 also created an underclass of citizens. During this time, Behrampada a slum colony in the city's western suburb with its predominantly (80%) Muslim population was cast as the villain by the majoritarian media and the communal forces. I Live In Behrampada traces the history of this Muslim ghetto which was first populated in 1950 and grew through the efforts of the slum dwellers who turned the slimy marsh land into solid ground. But in the face of rapid development yesterday’s pathfinders have become today’s interlopers. Is the dividing line language, culture and religion or class?

Kamlabai

Conversations with 92 year old Kamlabai Gokhale, a pioneering actress of the Marathi stage and the first lady of Indian film. The documentary gives an impression of the history and growth of Indian film and theatre as it was experienced by a woman who struggled against the social structures of her times.

Siddheshwari

An impressionistic biographical look at Siddheshwari Devi (1908–1977), the classical Indian singer whose voice was appreciated by the maharajas and public alike.

Children of Mini-Japan

Highlights the plight of young children employed in the fireworks industry. Their childhood is lost in the dark factories with no basic amenities even.

Sukumar Ray

The film presents the life and work of the writer Sukumar Ray, Satyajit Ray's father. Ray made this film as a tribute to celebrate the centenary of his birth.

Mati Manas

In a poetic hour and a half, director Mani Kaul looks at the ancient art of making pottery from a wide variety of perspectives.

India Cabaret

An exploration of the 'respectable' and 'immoral' stereotypes of women in Indian society told from the point of view of two striptease dancers in a Bombay cabaret.

The Music of Satyajit Ray

Based on interviews with Ray himself, and packed with clips from his films, as well as rare-to-come-by footage of his recording sessions, the documentary follows Satyajit Ray’s journey as a music director and composer of his own work on screen.

Desert of a Thousand Lines

Based on the text written by Vijaydan Detha and Kamal Kothari, the film is set in the arid desert of Rajasthan, a setting similar to Duvidha, where two rival clans face off one another in the desert.

Bala

A documentary about the aging prima ballerina Balasaraswati (popularly known as "Bala"), the most famous exponent of the Bharatanatyam dance.