Madurai International Documentaryand Short Film Festival - A Reflection
Amudhan R.P.

O

urs is a small, local, independent, inclusive and democratic film
festival. It is small because it happens in a small town like Madurai
with a small team and little budget. It is local because it uses locally available resources and people to conduct the festival. It is independent
because it does not take money from big private or government institutions.
It is independent in deciding the shape, content and style of the festival. It
is inclusive because it does not reject films which are different in genre. It is
democratic because it involves many people to select films and run the film
festival.
Madurai City
Madurai is a small but historical town (more than two thousand years old)
located in South India. It has a long history of intellectual excellence especially during the Sangam period (between 3rd century BC to 2nd centuryAD), where poets, thinkers and leaders debated and performed in public
and were appreciated by both the Kings and the common people. It is also
known as temple town as there are many Hindu temples in and around thecity. There are churches and mosques as well. In a way, Madurai city is an
example for communal harmony as people from different religions live together peacefully unlike other Indian cities. Agriculture is the main occupation here apart from textile and other small scale industries. Tourism is another attraction here as people from within and outside India visit to enjoy
the rural as well as cultural ambiance of the town. Madurai also has manyeducational institutions both in humanities and technical sectors which attract many youth from nearby districts and states.
Madurai is known as a cultural capital of Tamil Nadu (a south Indianstate in India) as it has very unique cultural heritage where people follow
very particular traditions regarding marriage, architecture, agriculture,
clothing, material culture, music, dance and of course food.
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Madurai region is also very feudal in nature where (intra-Hindu) castebased discrimination and violence against the people from lower caste
Hindus is very common.
Cinema and Theater
Madurai has a long history of mythological as well as social plays, where ordinary people train themselves to sing, dance and act in regular and seasonal
theaters. Madurai has a Town Hall which witnessed European dance, music,
theater and cinema exclusively hosted for British officers in the early 19th
century. When popular Tamil cinema started flourishing in 1950s Madurai
became a center for cinema halls as any other towns in Tamil Nadu, whereaudiences thronged to watch their favorite stars on the silver screen.
Madurai also embraced modern art through the small circles of selftaught as well as trained painters, parallel cinema through film society
movement, and modern literature through study circles in the 1980s.
Film Society Movement
Renowned filmmakers like Satyajit Ray, Shyam Benagal, Adoor
Gopalakrishnan, Ritwick Gatak and John Abraham played a key role in creating a platform called Film Society Movement across India in the 1970s to
screen and watch serious or parallel films which were otherwise not shownin regular cinema halls that screen commercial Hindi, Tamil and Telugu
films. The government of India, state governments and the embassies of foreign countries also supported this movement by sharing films with them ina non-profit basis.
Such film societies could bring together interested individuals who believed in meaningful, sensible and artistic cinema across India to screen as
well as watch films. They also introduced film appreciation practices to theirmembers and general public, which in turn facilitated creative filmmaking
and film viewing.
Madurai also was affected by this wave of film society movement positively. I had the opportunity of watching a collection of Luis Bunuel films
during one of their screenings in Madurai. I also got to watch many Indianas well as foreign films through these screenings organized by film societiesin Madurai. The culture of small screenings without commercial motives

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that was nurtured by these societies helped persons like me to look at cinema differently.
The Propaganda Films
British India and later the independent India believed in propaganda films
to establish their kingdom in the minds of the common people. The Films
Division of India, a government-run film production and distribution department, has been producing documentaries in India since 1950s. Thosefilms were reflecting the agenda of the State such as inculcating ideas of
patriotism, development, industrialization, pluralism, communal harmony,modern education and health facilities.
The films produced by the Films Division of India in those days always
had a voice over, top-down approach and strong pro-State point of view.
They were forcefully shown in all cinema halls prior to the “main picture”
during every show. Documentaries introduced to the people like an inevitable medicine from the State always faced repulsive reaction from the audiences. Although the Films Division also made many artistic films with independent views as exceptions (films by Sukdev, SNS Sastry and others), they
were hardly shown outside a few film festivals.
Activist /Political Films
Independent filmmakers such as Anand Patwardhan, Deepa Dhanraj, KP
Sasi, Vasudha Joshi, Chalam Bennurkar and others introduced different
kinds of documentaries in late 1970s and early 1980s outside the “compulsory” State machinery, reflecting ordinary lives and struggles of the people.
Those films made in 16 mm format were shown through the film society
movement across India creating a new political space around cinema, completely different from the mainstream fiction films. These political and activist documentaries talked about people’s rights, their resistance, and State
repression and violations.
Compared to full-length fiction films, these activist documentaries arevery honest, brave, simple and unambiguous.

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H U M A N R I G H T S E D U C AT I O N I N A S I A - PA C I F I CVideo Projector - The New Tool
1990s in Madurai and India saw the fall of film society culture due to manyreasons and the emergence of video culture which in a way brought in more
people to watch and screen films locally. People like me who had started
watching movies in 35 millimeter (mm) format through film societies, felt
liberated as the technology became easier and cheaper. Arrival of vhs cassettes and video projectors opened up the field to others like me who were
not from the film society movement. Sarat Chandran, a filmmaker and activist in Kerala (the neighboring state) started organizing small film screenings with his vhs cassettes and video projector. I happened to witness oneof his screenings. I assisted him. We became friends right away. He agreed
to travel to Madurai to screen films with us.
That was the beginning of our film festivals and screenings in Madurai.
Anti-nuclear Film Festival
When the Indian government tested nuclear bombs in Pokran in 1998 andwhen Pakistan followed up with its own testing of nuclear bombs, war hysteria filled with hatred and machismo engulfed the Indian subcontinent.
Some of us who felt very disturbed by this hate wave and wanted to respondto it creatively. We organized a two-day anti-nuclear film festival with thehelp of Sarat Chandran. He supported us with his collection of films as well
as video projector.
The response we got from the audience encouraged us to organize morefilm festivals. Sarat was always there to help us. It also motivated us to organize an annual film festival.
Madurai Film Festival
After the success of small film festivals in 1998 in video format, we decided
to conduct an exclusive annual film festival for documentaries and shortfilms. As Sarat Chandran, KP Sasi (another contemporary filmmaker andactivist to Sarat) and I were interested in making documentaries, organizing
a film festival for documentaries exclusively became a reasonable and viableoption.

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As the film society movement was showing interest in parallel fiction
films, because they were truly parallel to commercial Hindi, Tamil andTelugu films, we the documentary filmmakers felt the need to have our own
film festival for the even more marginalized form called documentary.
Non-competitive and No ThemeThe Madurai Film Festival has been a non-competitive film festival since
its inception. As we wanted to create a space for dialogue and discussion
through films, we never felt the requirement for a competition. Winning a
prize or an award should not affect the quality of the discussion, we thought.
The festival should focus on quality films, sensible viewing and participatory
audience.
The idea is to bring a set of films to Madurai. Bring some filmmakers
too. Create a platform for both the audience and filmmakers/films to meet.
Initiate a discussion around the films. Create a community and encourage
people to plan some positive actions such as learning, travelling, reading,screening films, making films and joining some social or political or culturalgroup for direct action.
We also never wanted a particular theme for our film festival as we
wanted a platform for contemporary films or recent films. We always havethe retrospective of senior technicians and filmmakers to recall the oldfilms. We also have special packages that would bring not so recent films.
Besides we may have many film festivals now in India for documentaries;
but when we started in 1998, there were hardly film festivals for documentaries or even film festivals for that matter.
Organizing a detailed, serious and curious film festival has been theaim. Thus we do not have a theme.
Film Festival Structure
Although we do not have a theme or focus for the films, we have beenvery particular about the films that we select/do not select, thanks to our
Selection Committee members. Also, we have created an image about ourfilm festival among the filmmakers and audience that we are more interested
in activist films, the films that talk about human rights, social justice andpeople’s resistance. The filmmakers themselves decide to send or not send
their films to our film festival.

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We generally approach like-minded people and request them to bepart of the Selection Committee. Filmmakers, critics, journalists, teachers,
scholars, writers and film society activists would be part of the Selection
Committee depending upon their availability. We encourage the members
to be more adventurous regarding the selection of films based on style. Films
can have different styles: having a voice over, observational, personal, musical, direct and forceful, subtle and deliberately ambiguous, interview-based,very close to fiction, so on and so forth. We include all styles of films. As weare in a small town far away from big cities, we do not want to deny the opportunities to the audience by not selecting experimental or style films. It is
our responsibility to introduce different styles to the audience of Madurai.
Regarding the content, we always request the Selection Committee
members to reject films that spread hatred. We also urge them to keep inmind the local, national and international debates that are going on regarding civil rights, human rights, labor rights, women’s rights and environmental protection. We want to be an international, modern, liberal and responsible film festival. We always keep the Selection Committee on the loop to
make sure that we select the right films.
Our Partners
The credit for selecting right films should also go to the organizations or
institutions or groups with whom we collaborate to organize the film festivals. The structure of the film festival also influences the kinds of films to
be shown. We, as a film festival, do not want to centralize the activity byorganizing the film festival at one venue or single location. We always haveparallel screenings across the city or district or region to enable many organizations, institutions and groups to participate. Because we plan/organize
parallel or multiple screenings, we always take our partners, who conduct/host those screenings into consideration.
We usually approach educational institutions, voluntary organizations,film societies, cultural groups and trade unions to associate with us andto host parallel screenings. The allotment of films to the venues is decided
along with the host organizations. It is a collective decision. The idea is tostrengthen them by catering to their intellectual, political and artistic needs.
Some venues have students as audiences, who might want short duration films, animation films and music videos. Some venues have activists

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who would prefer straight-jacket activist films, talking about contemporary
issues that affect the country or the world. Some venues have film fans, who
would prefer to watch films that are more artistic and stylish. We keep everything in mind in programming and scheduling.
At the same time, we also push them to watch films that challenge theirfilm watching practice. We do it by including films that are not their “type.”
We convince the host organizations to take that “risk.”
A film festival cannot afford to screen only the films that do not challenge the audience. We too feel that we should introduce films to the audiences of Madurai that challenge them creatively, politically and aesthetically.
Post-screening Discussions
Right from day one, we have always looked at film screenings and film festivals as a tool for dialogue between filmmakers, between filmmakers andaudience, and of course between audience members. We always allotted
proper duration for discussions. We also invite either filmmakers or others (intellectuals, writers, journalists, teachers and others) to initiate discussions once a film gets over.
Such discussions always spill over the films, sessions and breaks. People
become friends after these discussions and start continuing to work or interact later. Our festivals have brought many kinds of people together.
The character of the discussions varies between the venues and films.
Some venues provoke debates on the style of the films. Some venues initiate
thoughts on the content.
But we always use the opportunity to talk politics sensibly, calmly, indetail and in depth.
Experts who are invited to initiate the discussions also play a key role inmoderating the flow of the discussions. The idea is to create an ambiance forthe people to express themselves freely.
Parallel Activities
We have also experimented with the form of the film festival (in certain
editions) by including parallel activities such as painting and photo exhibitions, poetry readings, interaction with writers and intellectuals, theater
performances and other art initiatives. Such efforts have always brought in22

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more people as audience as well as performers. It also helped people to approach cinema or documentary films more as an art form. Filmmakers who
participated in those editions could also appreciate the dialogue between
different art forms. However, we could not continue those programs due tologistical reasons.
Films on Human Rights and Civil Rights
Filmmakers such as Anand Patwardhan, Amar Kanwar, Sanjay Kak,
Deepa Dhanraj, KP Sasi, Rakesh Sharma, C Sarat Chandran, P Baburaj,
Meghnath, Biju Toppo, Gopal Menon, Dipu, Sreemith, RR Srinivasan, LeenaMadurai International and Short Film Festival — A Reflection

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Manimekalai, Kombai Anwar, Divya Bharathi have made films on various issues dealing with human rights and civil rights from across India.
Their films deal with state repression, sexual violence, religious andcaste violence, displacement and destruction due to development, police

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atrocities, violations by security forces, industrial pollution, contaminationof natural resources, ultra-nationalism, domestic violence, rights of sexual
minorities, communal harmony, inter-caste and inter-religious marriages,
welfare state, right to life and livelihood and social justice.
When the government and private-run media are controlled and biased,
our film festivals become a space for dissemination of information, people
to people interaction, region to region communication, inter-religious andinter-caste dialogue.
Our Funding
We do not take corporate or state funding as a policy. We deliberately spend
less only to protect ourselves from dependency. We collect minimum donations from individuals and groups to avoid anyone’s influence or control.
We invite filmmakers to attend the film festivals on their own. We provide
them basic hospitality. We invite our partner organizations or institutions
or groups to look after the logistics as mutual contributions. We bring films
and filmmakers. They provide hall, equipment and basic facilities. We jointly run the festivals. We share the coordination responsibilities. That’s it. We
have crossed two decades.
The Threat to Freedom of Expression
Not having a clear law on control/overseeing/regulation of film screenings
and film festivals has caused problems in India. Till 2004, there was no interference in film festivals from the State. But the Mumbai InternationalFilm Festival (miff) in 2004 saw new rules and restrictions. Suddenly thefestival brought in new guidelines indirectly to restrict films that differ or
criticize the governments in India. Some films were denied permission because of the new rules and restrictions.
Filmmakers opposed it. Some withdrew their films from the festival.
They even organized a parallel film festival as symbol of protest right infront of miff venue. That created a movement called vikalp (Alternative)
across India which organized regular screenings and film festivals.
Such an initiative triggered alarm bells in the government circles that inturn brought in even more new restrictions.

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Now festivals have to send the selected list of films (that do not have
Censor Certificates) with synopsis and other details to the Ministry ofInformation and Broadcasting, Union Government of India to get the temporary clearance certificate. Film festivals may have their own selection
committee. They can recommend a list of films to be screened at the festivals. But we need to get permission from the big brother called Governmentof India.
Threat from Non-state Players
Apart from the government agencies, we have non-state players who canalso stop screenings. Despite getting censor certificates or clearance certificates, political parties, cultural groups, social watch agencies can also barge
in and attack the festival organizers, break the projectors and furniture, beatup members of the audience, and escape happily without being touched by
the law. State authorities will only file a case against the festival organizers
for creating social unrest. The attackers will be left free.
Patriotism, national security, Indian culture, caste pride, regional rightand linguistic representation, etc., can be the reason for anyone to get angry
about any film. They always inform the media before attacking. The attacks
are only used to create publicity for them. They openly attack. They justify
the attack. The political parties also soft pedal on them. It is slowly getting dangerous to make films, to show films and to organize film festivals
in India.
Our Strategy
Some film festivals like ours do not get permission for any screening. They
also operate quietly. They also create a public support system to create a security network to protect the film festivals. Going to court or police station
would not help. Consistently working with the local organizations, communities, grassroots groups and audiences is the only way out. Not giving up
our right to freedom of expression has been our focus.
We do not organize our film festivals secretly. We publicize the event.
We do press meets. We invite well-known people to the event and create afestival mood around it. We avoid sensational statements. We have crossed
nineteen editions. We have not had any major problem from either State

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or non-state players so far. Probably we have not made major noise. But wehave worked with the filmmakers, teachers, scholars, students, intellectuals,
activists, writers, journalists and others for over two decades consistently tocreate an ambiance for documentary filmmaking and free thought.
That has encouraged many small film screenings, film festivals and filmrelated activities in and around Madurai. We also have many new filmmakers such as Divya Bharathi in recent times from Madurai region.
That is our contribution. And we are very happy about it.
Our Future
We want to continue to organize film screenings and film festivals. We wantto organize film-making workshops. We also want to create a cooperative offilmmakers. That is the answer to counter both corporate and state power.