ANWAR JAMAL (clic)
Renowned Indian film director
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HARVEST OF GRIEF (clic)
67' Documentary film
Director : Anwar Jamal
Producer : Rasil Basu
Blessed with agricultural abundance, Punjab is a land of plenty... plenty of grief. The state government does not want you to know that Punjab's farmers are killing themselves, driven to despair by mounting indebtedness and the rising cost of cultivation. This film brings out the stark dichotomy of a once propsperous state whose farm output is still second to none, but where small and landless farmers are being pushed to the brink of grinding poverty.
Mechanisation, indisciminate use of fertilisers and pesticides, rapid soil depletion, rising seed prices, and the vice-like grip of loan sharks have landed Punjab in a severe agricultural crisis.Suicides by famers are fast becoming the norm, leaving in its trail widows and orphans grappling with an uncertain future.
The Green Revolution has pushed Punjab agriculture into the red. The countryside is bleeding and its proud farmers are wilting. Is there a way out of this morass?
Harvest of Grief explores the real picture...
67' Documentary film
Director : Anwar Jamal
Producer : Rasil Basu
Blessed with agricultural abundance, Punjab is a land of plenty... plenty of grief. The state government does not want you to know that Punjab's farmers are killing themselves, driven to despair by mounting indebtedness and the rising cost of cultivation. This film brings out the stark dichotomy of a once propsperous state whose farm output is still second to none, but where small and landless farmers are being pushed to the brink of grinding poverty.
Mechanisation, indisciminate use of fertilisers and pesticides, rapid soil depletion, rising seed prices, and the vice-like grip of loan sharks have landed Punjab in a severe agricultural crisis.Suicides by famers are fast becoming the norm, leaving in its trail widows and orphans grappling with an uncertain future.
The Green Revolution has pushed Punjab agriculture into the red. The countryside is bleeding and its proud farmers are wilting. Is there a way out of this morass?
Harvest of Grief explores the real picture...
ANWAR,
DREAM OF A DARK NIGHT
Director : Anwar Jamal
Script : Saibal Chatterjee
Camera : S. Chockalingam
Editor : Archit Rastogi
Producer : Rajiv Mehrotra
SYNOPSIS
The world we live in is in the throes of a desperate quest for peace and tranquility. But it is increasingly losing its way in an intractable maze of violent conflicts, ethnic skirmishes, economic meltdowns and corporate scams. Here, hope dies first. But dreamers do continue to dream. Meet Anwar. Anwar is Delhi slum-dweller, rag picker and car cleaner. He is a mere speck in the big picture of this bitter ongoing global struggle. But his story of resilience is no less significant, no less remarkable. Anwar has left behind a mortgaged piece of agricultural land in his pretty village in pursuit of a dream. He wants to build a movie hall of his own in his sleepy hamlet on the Indo-Bangladesh border. So he slogs from dawn to midnight in the big, heartless city. Four years on, and many ups and downs later, Anwar’s dream is a reality. His village picture hall is up and running and people are streaming in… This film – a story as much of one man as of Everyman – is an attempt to celebrate a defiant dream that illumines a night of all-enveloping, impenetrable darkness.
SWARAJ
2004 / Hindi / Social
Director : Anwar Jamal
The film is set in a small village in Rajasthan, where the women and the lower castes have little say. Four strong-willed women, however, try to change things, and as the story unfolds, the village becomes a universal microcosm of democracy; the events a parable for the world today. The film confronts opposite views of political power. The high caste men, who dominate the village council, seek political power for their selfish interests. The women, on the other hand, perceive political power as an enabling instrument to fulfil the needs fo their community. The search for water is their first priority. Visually, the film revolves around the metaphor of a journey -- a journey through the desert towards a feminine space where the four women, freed from the strict code of conduct in the rural society, relive their histories, and draw strength from each other. The sun, the moon, and the desert itself, travel with them.
This film is produced by Indian Institute of Social Sciences and directed by talented director, Anwar Jamal. It has been shot entirely on location in a remote village in the state of Rajasthan. It is inspired by the real life story of Leelavati, the elected Municipal Councillor of Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India.
ROBYN HUGHAN (clic)
Australian Documentary Film Director
"A truthfully daring documentary, compelling to watch and guaranteed to bring a tear to the eye of the most hardened of hearts." - Benalla Ensign.
A NUN'S NEW HABIT ( 56' )
Director : Robyn Hughan
Producer : Veronica Sive - Robyn Hughan
Language: English
SYNOPSIS
A Nun's New Habit follows the story of Sister Carmel Wauchope, a sister of the Good Samaritans who resides in the outback town of Whyalla, not far from the recently closed Baxter detention centre. Sister Carmel kicked off her habit some 20 years ago. However, her current habit, the plight of refugees who have been detained in the detention centre and the ongoing psychological damage and trauma suffered after their release is arguably just as profound.
Sister Carmel is a gem, and through her we learn the ongoing hardships the refugees face and how important it is to maintain a sense of love, compassion and humanity in today's world…..a world which often seems to be full of fundamentalism and hatred. For Sister Carmel, religious tolerance is of the utmost importance and her respect for the refugees and their Muslim faith is an inspiration. In return these young men openly adore her.
A Nun's New Habit is a fascinating profile of an ordinary religious sister with extraordinary compassion for some of the most marginalised people who have arrived on Australian shores today.
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"A Nun's New Habit is a fascinating profile of an ordinary religious sister with extraordinary compassion for some of the most marginalised people in Australian society – refugees and asylum seekers. Your film would be an excellent educational tool for senior primary and secondary students in units of religious education, politics, social science, legal studies, ethics or religion and society. It is also a wonderful contribution to the promotion of religious life, where professed women and men, in the name of Christ and in the spirit of their founders, seek out the lost, poor and broken of our own day, and advocate on their behalf. A Nun's New Habit gets behind the slogans and stereotypes of the immigration debate and religious life by presenting the humanity of the people involved." - Rev Dr Richard Leonard SJ/ Director Catholic Television.