Retrospective of Ingmar Bergman Films on 11th Feb 2007

Konangal will be presenting it's first retrospective of films by masters on 11th February. The master chosen for our first retrospective is Ingmar Bergman and his three all time classics Seventh Seal, The Hour Of The Wolf and Cries and Whispers will be screened during this retrospective.

Ingmar Bergman

' Making films is my justification for existing. If I start playing fast and loose with ethics, I'll lose my inherent value as a human being, everything that gives me the feeling I've a right to make films. And this is why I must never forget that each film may be my last. '
Bergman on Bergman (1968)

The Swedish master has directed nearly 62 films and TV serials. He retired from film making in 1984 and drama and Tv seriels in 2003 at the age of 83 .

'I came out of that movie house reeling like a drunkard, drugged speechless, with the film rushing through my bloodstream, pumping and thudding. '

Gunnel Lindblom, star of The Silence, describing
her first experience of a Bergman film in 1949

Ingmar Bergman's mature cinema provokes the viewer into an intimate engagement in which a range of uncomfortable feelings are opened up, shared and laid bare. And this often occurs, quite literally, face-to-face. The detail of this fine-focus dissection forces us to confront both the inscrutable materiality of the face, and its role as the communicative nerve centre of the individual subject's investments. The camera moves in uncomfortably, almost seeking to go inside – until a giant abstracted face fills the frame, stopping the zoom dead. The viewer is confronted with a close yet also alienating proximity to such a large expanse of human exterior, while we watch our enormous diegetic companion ask of itself 'what' it is, as it faces a very personal void. A dual gaze of inquiry takes place here, whereby the onscreen subject's gaze of self-conscious crisis meets the viewer's implicated looking upon – and participation in – that image. Both face and viewer seem to feel the intermixing and breaking down of diegetic and meta-diegetic space, and intensities of looking. This is sparked and enforced by Bergman's tight use of a 1.33:1 frame which often excludes any clear glimpses of the world beyond a face which finds no up, down, left or right in which to direct its gaze. - Excerpts from article on Ingmar Bergman by Senses Of Cinema -www.sensesofcinema.com



Cries and Whispers (1972): Ingmar Bergman's dream play is set in a manor house at the turn of the century where a spinster in her late 30s (Harriet Andersson) is dying. Her two sisters (Ingrid Thulin and Liv Ullmann) have come to attend her, and they watch and wait, along with a peasant servant (Kari Sylwan). The movie is built out of a series of emotionally charged images that express inner stress, and Bergman handles them with the fluidity of a master. Superbly photographed by Sven Nykvist in a style suggesting Edvard Munch, and with blood-red backgrounds, the film is smooth and hypnotic; it has oracular power and the pull of a dream. Run time - 106 minutes. Language - Swedish . Subtitles - English


The Hour Of The Wolf ( 1968 ) : A brilliant Gothic fantasy about an artist who has disappeared, leaving only a diary; and through that diary we move into flashback to observe a classic case history of the Bergman hero haunted by darkness, demons and the creatures of his imagination until he is destroyed by them. The tentacular growth of this obsession is handled with typical virtuosity in a dazzling flow of surrealism and full-blooded Gothic horror
Run time - 90 minutes. Language - Swedish . Subtitles - English


The Seventh Seal (1957) : Ingmar Bergman's medieval morality play about man in search of the meaning of life is set in 14th-century Sweden. But it's a magically powerful film. The story seems to be playing itself out in a medieval present. A knight (Max von Sydow), tormented and doubting, returns from 10 wasted years in the Crusades, and Death (Bengt Ekerot) comes to claim him. Hoping to gain some revelation or obtain some knowledge before he dies, the knight challenges Death to a game of chess. Run time - 96 minutes. Language - Swedish . Subtitles - English

Retrospective screenings will be at
KASTHURI SREENIVASAN CULTURE CENTRE, AVANASHI ROAD, (NEAR ARVIND EYE HOSPITAL) COIMBATORE -641014; PHONE: 2574110.
Timings : Morning 9.30 AM to Evening 6.30 PM with one hour lunch break.
We request all to be in your seats in the auditorium by 9.30 am. The program will start at 9. 45 am . For More details please call 94430 39630 .

Power of visuals - The Hindu 'Young World' report. .

Movies are being used in schools to create awareness on moral values, patriotism, and health issues. "Children of Heaven " , an Iranian Film made waves at a Coimbatore school shortly.

When Ali in the movie "Children of Heaven" enters a race just to win a pair of brand new sneakers for his sister, every student in the audience cheers him up. "That explains the power of visuals," says Pon. Chandran of Konangal Film Society, which screened the Oscar nominated Iranian film to over 600 students at Sri. Ranganathar Matric H.S. School, Kalappanaickenpalayam in Vadavalli, as part of its outreach programme.

"The language is Persian, the setting is in Tehran and some of the kids in the audience, especially the pre-KG section, cannot read the English subtitles; yet the visuals communicated effectively," he adds.

The story is simple. While at market shopping, Ali loses his sister Zohre's school shoes. He decides that his sister and he will share his sneakers till he gets a new pair for her.

Every frame in the movie sends across a message to children. "Take for instance, extra-curricular activities. It is not just about playing chess or cricket, but also helping out parents. During weekends, Ali joins his father in gardening, so that they can make some extra money. So is the girl Zohre, who helps her mother with household chores and even takes care of the baby, the third child," Chandran adds.

A welcome change

The Film Society believes introducing such films to school students is the key to bringing about societal change.

"It exposes them to a new world of alternate cinema, a welcome change from the kind of commercial films they get to watch now. It initiates a search in their minds and moulds them as better individuals," he adds.

K. Thanalakshmi, member of Konangal, says that taking world-class cinema to children is important to instilling values of sensitivity in them.

"Now children get an overdose of fast-paced movies," she adds.

The concluding race scene in the movie is catchy.

"To win the pair of sneakers, Ali must come third, but he comes first. Instead of enjoying success, he cries because his sister will not get the shoes," Chandran adds.

Subtle end

However, a quick shot of their father's bicycle at the end of the movie shows what appears to be the pink shoes Zohre had wanted, implying she got the shoes after all.

"Our students and the faculty enjoyed the screening. We want to make it a regular extra-curricular activity and create awareness on moral values, patriotism, service, society and health issues among students," says V.M. Velayutham, secretary, Ranganathar School.

Surya Nagappan, librarian and a member of Konangal, says the screening has created interest among students to explore meaningful cinema in a big way.

Courtesy The Hindu - Young World dated 26.01.2007

MESSAGE FROM SRI. P.K .NAIR

We are happy to recieve the following message from the doyen of Film Society movement in India , Sri.P.K.Nair.

" Dear P.Chandran ,

I am glad to know you are showing UMBERTO D with Tamil subtitles . You 've done a great break through . This is exactly what I wanted to do at the Archive because I feel that's the only way to make the great classics of Cinema to our ordinary people and thereby improve their tastes . Pl keep me in touch with the feedback you've from the audience .

Warm regards

P.K.Nair "

P.K. Nair

P.K. Nair archivist, film scholar and film festival consultant, has headed the National Film Archive of India in Pune for nearly three decades. He built it up from scratch to its present international status as one of the leading film archives in Asia. He played a leading role in developing film studies in India, and is an authority on Indian cinema. He has taught extensively in India and abroad, and has guided several research scholars through their doctoral theses on various aspects of the art form. He has served as jury member of several national and international film festivals, and continues to be actively involved in film archiving, and the training of young archivists, filmmakers and film critics. A dedicated film historian and film scholar, he has made an in-depth study of Indian silent cinema and written extensively on various aspects of the evolution of cinema in India.

Screening On Sunday 21st Jan 2007

Vittoria De Sica's (Director of 'Bicycle Thief' ) classic UMBERTO D will be screened at 5.45 pm on Sunday,21st January 2007 at Ramu Dairy ( Behind Bharat Electronics) 7th Cross, 100 Ft Road, Gandhipuram, Coimbatore. Phone :94430 39630
Run Time :91 minutes. Colour - Black & White.
Language - Italian . Sub titles - Tamil.



UMBERTO D
The story is about a retired civil servant Umberto D. Ferrari and his dog Flick who are evicted from their Roman pension by a self-absorbed landlady because he has fallen behind with his rent. Forced into the streets, the elderly pensioner feigns illness in order to live rent-free in hospital, tries street begging but lacks the resolve, contemplates -- even tries -- suicide, but his beloved dog distracts him from the explosive passage of the express train. This powerful narrative in the classic social realist style has a universal application regardless of period or cultural setting. It's a monochromatic world of shadow and half-light, often evening and dawn locales rendered in the black and white film stock typical of the neo-realist period. This is Vittoria De Sica's masterpiece.

Screening of Akira Kurosawa's DREAMS

Dream merchants

It was an interpretation of dreams at the screening of Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece

PHOTO: M.PERIASAMY

MEANINGFUL The screening

It was a new beginning as Konangal Film Society brought the Japanese film Dreams (made up of a series of eight distinct dreams) by Akira Kurosawa for cinema lovers in the city.

Post-screening, they discussed, analysed and interpreted the film, which was a journey into the unconscious.

The essence of Japan

"Akira captured Japanese culture, its values and issues that affected people's everyday life, especially youngsters (30,000 of them attended his funeral). He wanted people to watch his movies with a detached gaze but also wanted his films to leave behind an in-depth impact," says Pon. Chandran of Konangal, which recently screened the film at the Swarnabhoomi Art Gallery. Breath-taking cinematography and soulful music in his films add to the impact. "For this 88-year-old filmmaker who died in 1998, his films defined his life," he adds.

Natural

Innocence, fear, uncertainty, pain and joy — every dream had its share of emotions. The journey begins in innocence.

The Peach Orchard

In Sunshine through the rain, a little boy goes into the forest and witnesses the forbidden sight of a wedding procession of foxes.

The film goes back in time when laws of nature prevailed.

The movie ends with the boy going in search of a fox beneath the rainbow to apologise for prying. In The peach orchard, the same boy, a little grown up now, encounters the spirits of the peach trees.

In The Blizzard, a team of mountaineers is elated when saved by spiritual intervention.

A colourful world

The angel they see in their dreams descends to help them out from a blizzard. The thought process of an art student as he explores the paintings of Vincent Van Gogh transports him into a colourful and an enjoyable world in Crows. In The Tunnel, an army man encounters the ghosts of the entire third platoon that has been killed in action.

He enjoins the spirits to rest in peace rather than get back to the painful war-torn world. Mount Fuji in Red shows the destruction caused by atomic reactors and the helplessness of the common man. Giant dandelions, unusual roses and human beings with horns in The Weeping Demon captured the portrait of a post-nuclear world. The last dream Village of the watermills is about harmony with Nature, where people live longer and even death is a celebration.

Life's journey

Akira's dreams, a collective dream of the 20th century man, begins with innocence, progresses to an intellectual view of the society and culminates in what was perhaps Akira's idea of a perfect state of existence.

Read more about Konangal at http://konangalfilmsociety.blogspot.com/

K. JESHI

Courtesy : The Hindu

OUTREACH PROGRAMME

AS PART OF OUR OUTREACH PROGRAMME KONANGAL WILL BE SCREENING "CHILDREN OF HEAVEN" TO THE STUDENTS OF SRI. RANGANATHAR MATRIC HIGHER SECONDARY SCHOOL, KALAPPANAICKEN PALAYAM, VADAVALLI, COIMBATORE ON 12.01.2007.

We are also eager to make such screenings in other schools, in and around Coimbatore. Those who are interested may contact us for booking the programmes

Cinema— from a different angle

THE FILM BUFFS (From left to right) Dhanalakshmi, Chandran, Thirunavukkarasu, Gopi, Mugil and M.Mohamed Abubacker.

It is no multiplex and it is certainly not the Kodak theatre. A board outside says: Ramu Swadeshi Angadi. It is a small home-outlet selling dairy products. Througthe open door you glimpse an elderly gentleman reading. From his pristine white cap and outfit, he appears a Gandhian. (You are right, he is one). His home is the unlikely venue for a screening of a Bosnian film, No man's land.

But you soon discover that Konangal is pretty unorthodox. It is made up of an advocate, a visual communications student, a human rights activist, a research scholar, a theatre personality and so on. What bonds them is a love for cinema and a commitment to human rights. And all they want to do is enjoy films and enable everyone in Coimbatore to do the same. And with this in mind they have started their film club that they call Konangal, meaning angles. The president of Konangal, Pon Chandran, says it is an effort, "To get people united in one forum to view the diversity of the world."

Polanski, Kurosawa, Fassbinder, Bergman... the names roll effortlessly off the tongues of these film enthusiasts. But they are quick to point out that the idea is not to alienate people by showing alternative cinema, but to give them an opportunity to view some works of art. So Modern Times and Bicycle Thieves and the films of Ritwik Ghatak and Satyajit Ray have been taken to the people.

In 2003 Konangal organised a film festival of short films and documentaries at the Coimbatore Malayali Samajam. These films were screened in ten other places across Tamil Nadu in small towns and villages and it led to the formation of many small groups of film enthusiasts.

Konangal wants to take good films to schools and colleges and any other institutions that will let it screen movies on their premises. Recently, the students of Sri Dharmashastha watched the internationally acclaimed children's film, Children of Heaven. And on the occasion of Dr Ambedkar's birthday, a short film was screened for a group of sanitary workers.

The film society is working on making the film movement more active in Coimbatore. It is however constrained by the fact that it does not have the required infrastructure to do it in a sustainable way. Even now the projector and other equipment is on loan from a well-wisher and fellow film enthusiast and the members have financed all the screenings. The films are sourced from individuals and groups that have a collection of alternative cinema.

Still the society screens at least one film a month and is planning to turn that into twice a month with one contemporary film, and the other a classic. And every two months or so, it wants to hold a retrospective of some of the great masters. Film appreciation workshops are also in the pipeline.

Konangal is hoping corporates, educational institutions and cultural organisations come forward to help its cause. All it needs is a venue where films can be screened and film festivals held. Some tentative efforts to enlist the help of cinema halls in the city have drawn a blank. But the members hope the tide will turn in their favour and their movement will gather momentum. They say they owe a great deal to their precursor, the Coimbatore Film Society and look forward to working alongside other film buffs and film appreciation movements like Nai Vaal to make Coimbatoreans a party to their endeavour. If you are interested to know more about Konangal, call, 9443039630/9443523715/ 9443913805

Art imitates life

No Man's Land. The film is about two soldiers — one a Bosnian and the other a Serbian. They are stranded in no man's land. There is a third injured soldier who is lying on a landmine that will blow up if he moves. They await help from the neutral United Nations' forces and the whole drama is being watched with great interest by the media. The movie deals with the interaction between the soldiers and their notion of the war they are fighting.

About 30 people in an asbestos-roofed barsaati in 7th street Tatabad watched the film. A short introduction was given about Konangal. There was deliberately no introduction to the film, except that it was an Oscar nominated one and made by a Bosnian. A post-film discussion was initiated by the members. They urged the viewers to come forward with their views and opinions and interpretation of the film. Once they broke the ice, the audience warmed up to the discussion of the film, its visuals, the ideas it projected, the rights and wrongs of the situation, etc. From the film, the discussion veered to how the Serbian-Bosnian conflict was but a reflection of the world, society and individual lives. Enthusiastic participation from the viewers concluded the evening.

Courtesy : The Hindu

http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?file=2006051101700101.htm&date=2006/05/11/&prd=mp&