Auroville Film Institute chose the Rann of Kutch to set up a hands-on workshop for 20 participants, who made 16 films in 35 days. , Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
A hands-on documentary film-making workshop recently organized by the Auroville Film Institute (AVFI) in the white desert region of the Rann of Kutch has produced a remarkable 16 short films by 20 participants over a period of 35 days.
The film workshop was a part of AVFI’s flagship program of taking filmmaking training workshops amidst the rainbow manifestations of nature, where film pedagogy meets deep ecology. “Film schools are generally stable and attract students from all over. But films, especially documentary films, are set among real people and places at various sites. So what if the film school traveled to these real people and places and organized filmmaking workshops that emerged from these encounters with the real? says Rivu Laha, co-director and cinematography mentor of the workshop.
The aim was to connect with the image of Kutch; Critically dismantle it, as well as constructively rebuild it, a “challenging but very useful process”. “To work collectively as well as individually on different perspectives, perceptions and projections of Kutch,” said Richa Hushing, the other co-director of the workshop and course designer.
The winter workshop was planned in the Rann of Kutch, site of the famous Rann Utsav, with its base at Hodko village next to the tent city. Pragmahal, Darbargarh along with Dholavira, Lakhpat, Chari Dhand, Nirona, Nakhatrana, Mandvi and Bhuj were additional sites of exploration.
According to AFI, Kutch was chosen for several reasons – mainly for the spectacular landscape and cultural ecology of the region. The intention was to explore tangible and intangible cultural heritage. Besides, Kutch held the added attraction of being one of the last princely states of India. “We also have here the history of the Indus Civilization and its division… We have Mohenjodaro on one side and Dholavira on the other. There are so many stories, tales of memories and imagination and mesmerizing realities of day-to-day life – the idea was to explore the cinematic wonder of it all” said Richa.
The workshop followed a specific pedagogy where basic film orientation went hand in hand with landscape orientation. “We worked with ways to see,” said Sanket Ray, an assistant facilitator. The participants included people from all parts of India including two locals from Bhuj and four international delegates from Poland, France, Istanbul and Canada.
Films produced in the workshop include Kabir Dave’s ‘Music of Kutch’, Nakul Jain’s ‘Mandvi Ka Malam’, Priyanshi Shukla’s ‘Ode to Marvi’, Shrestha Agnihotri’s ‘Self Portrait in Kutch’, ‘Dholavira… The Nest’ by Ricky Radzikowski and Kirtan, ‘The Move’ by Pinar Ekinci (Instabul).
“Creation occurs when certain conditions are present… freedom to experiment, possibilities for action (place and time) and support from mentors and peers,” said Ricky Radzikowski of Poland.
Omniverse Experience Design Company was the partner for the event in association with Sahjeevan Trust, Rambal (Research and Monitoring in Banni Landscape) and Prag Mahal, Bhuj. According to Richa, the film tourism policy formulated by Gujarat can enable trans-mediation of the region’s archaeological, anthropological, ecological, tangible and intangible cultural heritage value through cinema.