In the name of Development!!
A film festival dedicated to the victims of development
Organized by We Feel
Responsible
Chennai, Tamil Nadu
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Day 1 – WATER
** Hunting down water: by
Sanjay Barnela
Duration:
patterns of water use are changing, with increased
cultivation of water-intensive cash crops. Water is
pumped or diverted from the rural countryside to meet
the unending needs of
drinking purposes, but also, to wash cars, to fill
swimming pools, to ensure adequate water in water
amusement parks or simply to flush. As water is
diverted from the countryside to meet the unending
demands of
particularly the very poor within rural
had to face the brunt of the water crisis. Hunting
down water looks at the politics and conflicts of
water in our everyday lives.
** Whose Water: by Krishnendu Bose, Earthcare Films
Duration:
This film explores the
notion of state ownership of
natural resources. In
natural resources unless otherwise decreed. This is a
story about Rajasthan where 1000 villages have been
revolutionized by bringing backwater into their life.
Tarun Bharat Sangh, a motley group of people, headed
by Rajender Singh acted as
a catalyst and inspiration
for the communities and galvanized them to revive
their traditional water harvesting system. Dry rivers
were revived and communities’ general economic well
being swelled. It sounds like a fairy tale and the
results are almost like one!
Day 2 – POLLUTION
** Taking back our air: by
Nityanand Jayaraman, Radha
Narayanan, Shweta Narayan and Alphonse Roy
Duration:
Some say it’s not possible
to live without plastics,
without chemicals. This film looks at what it is like
to live alongside factories that produce the
chemicals
that society is addicted to. This is the story of a
pollution impacted community in SIPCOT Industrial
Estate Cuddalore
(Tamil Nadu) and their ongoing
struggle for a survival. After waiting 20 years in
vain for the Government or judiciary to intervene on
their behalf, the residents of SIPCOT decided to take
matters in their own hands. The film is an attempt to
mobilize more support for the community, particularly
from consumers of the chemicals manufactured in their
backyard.
** Chaliyar
– The Final Struggle: by P. Baburaj and C
Saratchandran
Duration:
The Government of Kerala in the mid 1980’s persuaded
the Birlas to open a rayon
pulp factory in Mavoor,
for the last 36 years and since then thousands of
workers earn their living trading future lives for the
present. The toxic fumes contaminate their
neighborhood spreading diseases and death. Effluents
pour into the
its way to the sea. At a time when environmentalism
was unheard of, a man leads his people to save their
beloved river and their lives from the killer factory.
Their dream is to bring
their beloved Chaliyar back to
life.
Day 3 – AGRICULTURE
** The Grains of Truth: by
Greenpeace Films
Duration:
This documentary reveals
the experience of American
grain farmers with genetically engineered crops. The
video interviews a range of farmers who speak of crop
failure, lost markets and increased on-farm costs as
GE companies (such as
Monsanto) attempt to take
control of all aspects of their business.
** Bt cotton- The true story: by Greenpeace Films
Duration:
This film discloses the
plight of farmers in the
adopted Bt cotton farming. It traces the story of Bt
cotton, its failure and the aftermath.
** Unconverted Image
The slow poisoning of
Duration:
A frightening story of how
being poisoned by pesticides. The country is not only
one of the largest users of pesticides, but also one
of the largest producers. The film takes you to
indiscriminate and unregulated use of pesticides has
poisoned the land, water, air, and food. This, in
turn, has led to serious health complications like
cancer, mental retardation, and cerebral and genetic
abnormalities.
Day 4 – CORPORATE CRIME
** Hunting Down Warren
Anderson: by Amos Cohen
Duration:
A gripping film about the
1984 Union Carbide Disaster
in
Warren
Anderson, former CEO, Union Carbide Technology.
The man accused of playing
a part in the deaths of
more than 20,000 Bhopalis has
successfully evaded
justice, and leads a life of luxury in the
documentary follows the hunt for this absconder from
justice.
** Mickey Mouse Monopoly:
by Miguel Picker and Chyng
Sun
Duration:
Disney, Childhood &
Corporate Power - The Disney
Company's massive success
in the 20th century is based
on creating an image of innocence, magic and fun. Its
animated films in particular are almost universally
lauded as wholesome family entertainment, enjoying
massive popularity among children and endorsement from
parents and teachers.
Day 5 - YOUTH CULTURE
** Hangover: by R. Vydianathan, Nityanand Jayaraman
and We Feel Responsible
Duration:
College cultural
celebrations have caught up with the
commercial trend successfully. However, this
commercialisation
has come at a cost to the
environment and youth culture. Even as recently as
five years ago, campus festivals were not extravagant,
less wasteful of resources, and more reflective of a
youth culture where youth are in control. Where once
support was sought from small entrepreneurs, students,
local businesses and alumni, today’s festivals are
almost totally sponsored and controlled by
multinational corporations. This film draws the
relevance between the youth lifestyles and their
ecological footprint.
** The Merchants of Cool:
by Douglas Rushkoff
Duration:
An interesting yet very
disturbing documentary
revealing how major corporations are targeting and
exploiting the youth market, through the creation and
sophisticated marketing of a new youth culture.
Basically, this involves a
process of intensive market
research designed not only to reveal the current
demands of teenagers, but further, to create the
future trends and associated lifestyles which youths
are then enticed to absorb and emulate.
Day 6 – HOPE
** Kanavu:
by C. Saratchandran
Duration:
Kanavu is a unique experiment in cultural formation
and learning that is unfolding in the Wayanad District
of Kerala under the
initiative of the well known
Malayalam
Novelist and theatre personality K J Baby.
Kanavu attempts to reassert the tribal identity and
impart to tribal children a sense of self worth and
dignity through a unique educational process. It is
about reclaiming dreams.
** In search of other
worlds of power: by Claire
Mollard, Zeina Sfeir, Tushar Kulkarni,
Manish Jain.
Duration:
“Other Worlds of Power”
documents the experiences,
ideas, dialogues, issues, initiatives, dreams and
struggles that people from across the globe have been
engaged with. We all may need to unlearn much of what
our education has taught us (both in terms of content
and processes) if we wish to practically create
Another
World in our own lives. In this
film, one will
find many learning resources for re-discovering and
re-connecting to other worlds of power — starting with
the power that lies within yourself.
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"Don't ask yourself
what the world needs - ask yourself what makes you
come alive, and then go do it. Because what the world
needs is people
who have come alive." -- Harold Thurman Whitman