Oct 27, 2008

2nd Nov 2008; Screening of Adoor Gopalakrishnan's Elippathayam (Rat Trap)

Elippathayam
(Rat Trap)
A film by Adoor Gopalakrishnan
Year : 1981
Malayalam with English sub titles
Run time : 121 minutes
2nd Nov 2008 ; 5.45 pm
Ashwin Hospital Auditorium
Call : 94430 39630
http://konangalfilmsociety.blogspot.com/

Additional screening : Introduction to the film
by Adoor Gopalakrishnan (22 minutes)


Adoor's first film in colour, Elippathayam is an allegory about the collapse of the feudal system in Kerala.
The film is trying to explore the question, what is being? It is an incisive examination of what constitutes an individual. In close scrutiny, a person is made out of his actions and interactions. It is always a give and take. For Unni, it is always taking and not giving, while for his sister Rajamma it is always giving and not taking.
Unni is the head of a feudal Nair family, unable to cope with the changing social conditions leading to the decline of the feudal system in Kerala. While his elder sister Janamma fights for her own family share from the feudal spoils, his younger sister Rajamma obediently serves him like a slave, and finally collapses under the strain.
Sridevi the rebellious youngest sister walks away from the family rejecting the old system. Confronted with adverse conditions, Unni withdraws like a rat into a dark hole.


Remarkable for its focus on characterization and detail, Rat-Trap is set in rural Kerala. Its story concerns Unni, the last male-heir of a feudal and decaying joint family. His inability to accept the socio-economic changes of a new society result in his gradual withdrawal into a metaphorical rat-trap sprung from his own isolation and paranoia. The decline is vividly told, with colour and music used as a striking and significant constituent of the film’s thematic development.

Adoor Gopalakrishnan

Satyajith Ray's role in revolutionising Indian cinema during 1950s with his first film Pather Panchali was taken-up by Adoor Gopalakrishnan in Kerala to create a drastic change in Malayalam cinema. Adoor's first film Swayamvaram (1972) pioneered the new wave cinema movement in Kerala.

Adoor Gopalakrishnan was born in 1941 in Kerala. He belongs to a family with strong links to the performing arts, especially Kathakali, a highly-stylised form of dance drama. From the age of eight Adoor began acting for the stage, later producing and directing over twenty plays, several written by him. He is the author of two books on the theatre as well as a book on the cinema, "The World of Cinema", for which he won a national award in 1983. In 1962 Adoor enrolled in the Film and Television Institute in Pune and graduated in 1965 with a diploma in Scriptwriting and Direction. The same year he founded the Chitralekha Film Society of Trivandrum as well as the Chitralekha Film Cooperative. Both played a key role in the development of film culture in Kerala. In 1972

Adoor made Swayamvaram/One's Own Choice, his first full-length feature film. It launched the New Cinema in Kerala and became one of the major films of the Indian New Wave. He has since made seven more films (along with over 25 shorts and documentaries), all of which have won major national and international awards: Kodiyettam/Ascent (1977); Elippathayam/Rat Trap (1981); Mukhamukham/Face to Face (1984); Anantaram/Monologue (1987); Mathilukal/The Walls (1990); Vidheyan/The Servile (1993), and Kathapurushan/Man of the Story (1995).

Elippathayam received the prestigious British Film Institute Award in 1982; Mukhamukham won the FIPRESCI prize in 1985; Kathapurushan was honoured in India in 1995 with the National Award for Best Film. Retrospectives of Adoor's films have been held in Pesaro, Helsinki, La Rochelle, Nantes, Munich, and New York. All of Adoor's films draw on the history and culture of his native Kerala. Kerala's transition from feudalism to modernity serves as a backdrop to his complex meditations on the psychology of power, the nature of oppression, the corruption of patriarchy, and the coexistence of the modern and the feudal in post-Independence democratic India.

Elippathayam, his masterpiece, vividly captures the descent into paranoia of a man trapped within his feudal universe. In Mukhamukham, a study in failed idealism, a Communist leader gives up on revolution and decides to go to sleep instead. Vidheyan, a parable-like story, deals with the abuse of power, the plight of the outsider, and the nature of a master-servant relationship.

The more recent films--especially Anantaram, Mathilukal and Kathapurushan--display a new concern with interiority and reflexivity, foregrounding time, memory, consciousness, and the nature of storytelling itself. Adoor's genius lies in his ability to create visually complex films that operate on multiple levels, that are culture-specific and yet universal in significance.

(source : http://www.cinemaofmalayalam.net ,
http://www.adoorgopalakrishnan.in/profile.htm )

Oct 22, 2008

26th Oct 2008 ; Screening of The Butterfly


The Butterfly
A Film by Philippe Muyl
Country : France
French with English sub titles
Run time : 85 minutes
26th Oct 2008; 5.45 pm
Ashwin Hospital Auditorium

''The Butterfly'' is a delicate, visually translucent film, heartwarming story of a friendship between a grumpy old man and an 8-year-old girl. a sweet little angel melts the frozen heart of a bitter curmudgeon. Despite a suspicious gaze and down-turned mouth, the old man, Julien (Michel Serrault), a dedicated entomologist, is not the sort of crotchety caricature Hollywood might have made of him. Nor is Elsa (Claire Bouanich), the neglected child who lives upstairs in the same residential hotel, a miniature saint about to sprout wings.

The heart of the movie follows their quest for the elusive butterfly known as Isabella (named for the Spanish queen), which has a lifespan of only three days and three nights, and which in Julien's mind is associated with a personal tragedy. Nicolas Herdt's gorgeous, languid tracking shots of the two explorers trekking through hillside meadows and woods with misty snow-capped mountains looming in the background capture the wonder of nature as experienced through the eyes of a child. The sensuous atmosphere is so intense it's intoxicating.


The story reaches a dangerous turning point when Elsa is discovered to be missing.
The movie astutely underplays the tension of the later scenes, viewing events through Elsa's eyes rather than from the perspective of the panicked grownups. Its scrupulous, even-toned gentleness makes ''The Butterfly'' suitable for children, while its clear-eyed intelligence and refusal to condescend should make it appealing to adults.

Oct 20, 2008

Indian Cinema's contribution to world cinema certainly needs a second review

From Sri.K.Hariharan :



Honestly we, the cineastes of India have been so badly brainwashed that we abuse our films without ever asking why they make it so in the first place.


(We publish Hariharan's comment on our previous post here )


Dear friends at Konangal and visiting film societies

I would like to thank you all for giving me a patient hearing and agreeing with me that Indian Cinema's contribution to world cinema certainly needs a second review. I have noticed that film lovers across the world take their national cinema seriously first before discussing world cinema. We seem to be definite exception to this rule since we have all been brought up to believe by our elders and our elite to believe that our cinema is vulgar and cheap. So we clamor for accreditation from the 'geniuses' at Cannes and Venice to tell what is good!

Now isn't this so s
ad? Don't we really have our 'own' yardstick for what is good cinema outside this code? Do we depend on 'international' authorities to tell us what is good Indian music and dance? Either we don't know how to accept our films as worthy or is the white man's judgment superior? Honestly we need to get out of our apolitical attitude and decide to study our own cinema simply because it is made by one of our fraternity. In today's political one would be naive to believe that something really 'good' exists. So when someone asked me at the meeting to name a few 'good' Indian films over the past 20 years I was honestly flummoxed. I have never thought of searching for good and bad in cinema because they are meaningless terms.

Fore me there are only appropriate cinemas and whatever we as lovers of cinema choose to recognize, is 'appropriate'! Imagine a situation like this. You go to meet a friend and when you meet him in his house you are overcome with joy and inquire cheerfully about his well-being. Your friend turns away and does not seem too impressed with your greeting and you feel something is wrong. Later, you find out that his father had just passed away a few days ago and you did not know about it. So you go and apologize although what you did was not something bad. It was only inappropriate!
Honestly we, the cineastes of India have been so badly brainwashed that we abuse our films without ever asking why they make it so in the first place. But we are willing to accept anything as great so long as it is stamped by the 'Brahmins' at Cannes and Venice.

Honestly my friends we have become the Neo-Brahmins of the film culture world. The more that we know through film society screenings which our so-called 'illiterate' friends have no access to, makes us feel so proud & superior. My question is 'Should we encourage such blatant elitism?' Or should we learn to at least understand the psychology of our common 'rasika' and in the process deconstruct the complex world of Indian Cinema.
If we do not take this initiative now we might just realize that it is too late. There are lots of post-modern scholars in the USA and Europe writing about our cinema and thanks to them our own Rajnikant will soon win the best actor award at Cannes. And then of course we will have a retrospective of 'Rajni' films and start comparing him to De Niro and Depardieu. So let's get this elitism out of the way as fast as possible and start encountering the 'real' cinema.

lots of love
Hari

konangal's response - Pon.Chandran writes :

Dear Mr. Hariharan,

We welcome your observations and critique on the "elitist" approach towards our own cinema and record our response as under:

"We at KONANGAL, fully concur with Mr. Hariharan on the indifference of the "elitists" or as he calls "Neo Brahminical" approach towards Indian/Tamil Cinema. What we mean by "good" cinema is not value judged or a comparison with foreign cinema, but is an attempt to examine the "appropriateness" of cinema, with all its nuances, in a given social context. It is essentially because of its "appropriateness", many a films, which includes our own, have gained the "status" of "world cinema". (Native in character but international in appeal). It is only owing to our profound passion to have more of such "appropriate cinema", from our own milieu, that we tread into the path of "world cinema". Understanding Cinema cannot be separated from understanding the people and their consciousness. In this context Konangal shall rededicate itself, for examining our own cinema and the people concerned towards understanding and transformation of cinema and societal relationships, for a better world".

Best Regards
Pon. Chandran

Oct 18, 2008

Hariharan's visit


On 11th , Sri.Hariharan visited the Workshop for Film Society Organizers conducted by Federation of Film Societies of India at Coimbatore . Hariharan is a noted film maker , film scholar and film teacher who is heading the Prasad academy. Few of us were with Chennai Film Society in the 90s when Hariharan was it’s president and the society was at it’s peak.

Amaranathan presenting momento to Hariharan

Hariharan’s visit on 11th evening and his lecture was the best thing that happened to otherwise uneventful , and tiresome workshop that was going on without any specific direction . His talk was relevant and thought provoking as usual. He stressed home the need to include Indian movies into the film society screenings, discussions and studies. He appealed to film societies to join and contribute to the creation of reference study material on Indian cinema. Ms.Uma Vangal from Prasad Academy also gave brief talk and took part in the discussions.


On 11th & 12 Oct - many enthusiastic film society members and students from many places eagerly attended the workshop with lot of expectations. Let us hear what you have to say . Please do write to us about your feed back & views to konangal@gmail.com


Oct 14, 2008

17th - 19th Oct 2008 -Wild life and Environment Film Festival

Wild life and Environment
Film Festival

17th - 19th Oct 2008
Kalaiarangam Auditorium
R S Puram , Coimbatore

Admission Free
Call : 9443167773 , 9443039630

A traveling film festival
Presented by Center for Media Studies , Delhi &
Salim Ali Centre , Coimbatore

In 24 days across eight cities including Coimbatore (three day festival in each city), 40 award-winning and Best of CMS VATAVARAN documentaries will be screened, apart from the series of interactive programmes. The focus will be on issues of regional and local concerns.


The subjects are:

* Climate Change
* Environmental Conservation
* Wildlife Conservation
* Livelihoods
* Water
* Nature and People
* Forests


17 October 2008 (Friday)
10.30 am Regisration

Opening Ceremony & Inaugural Film

11.00 am - 12.30 pm Angels in Tigerland: 35 mins/ English/ Suresh Elamon

12.30 pm
Point Calimere - Little Kingdom by the Coast: 25 mins/ English/ Shekar Dattatri

02.00 pm
Source of Life for Sale: 58 mins/ English/ K.P. Sasi

03.00 pm
In God’s Own Country: 28 mins/ English/ Rajani Mani and Nina Subramani

03.35 pm
Wild Dog Diaries: 47 mins/ English/ Senani Hegde (Best of the Festival)

Panaroma on Climate Change
05.00 pm - 06.35 pm
An Inconvenient Truth: 95 mins/ English/ Davis Guggenheim (Courtesy: PVR Nest)

18 October 2008 (Saturday)
Special Screenings for Children
10.00 am
Chasing Butterflies: 24 mins/ Hindi/ Gurmeet Sapal, Hussain Akbar and Pervaiz Alam

10.30 am
Cute Bunny: 2 mins/ Non-verbal/ Dhimant Vyas

10.35 am
The Lion Story: 28 mins/ English/ Nutan Manmohan

11.10 am
Earthworm Castings: 17 mins/ Korean/ YOO Jin-Hee (Best of Green Film Festival, Korea)

11.30 am
King Cobra: 53 mins/ English/ Romulus Earl Whitaker

12.30 pm
Shadows: 3 mins/ Non-verbal/ Vishal Furia

12.35 pm
Point Calimere - Little Kingdom by the Coast: 25 mins/ English/ Shekar Dattatri

Film Screenings for General Public
02.00 pm
Cherub of the Mist: 53 mins/ English/ Naresh Bedi

03.00 pm
Stolen Water: 22 mins/ English/ Prasanth and Daya

03.25 pm
Tiger - The Death Chronicles: 63 mins/ English/ Krishnendu Bose

Panaroma on Climate Change
05.00 pm - 07.00 pm
The Day After Tomorrow: 124 mins/ English/ Roland Emmerich (Courtesy: PVR Nest)

19 October 2008 (Sunday)
Film Screenings
11.00 am
The Policing Langur: 30 mins/ English/ Ajay and Vijay Bedi

11.35 am
A Second Hand Life: 26 mins/ English/ Nutan Manmohan

12.05 pm
Happy Planet: 3 mins/ Non-verbal/ Dhimant Vyas

12.10 pm
A Brush with Death: 18 mins/ English/ Syed Fayaz

12.25 pm
Kanha - Protecting A Paradise: 18 mins/ English/ Shekar Dattatri

02.00 pm
Ways and Words: 26 mins/ Malyalam/ R G Gopanarayanan

02.30 pm
Queen of Trees: 50 mins/ English/ Victoria Stone (Best of the Festival)

04.00 pm - 05.00 pm
Closing Ceremony and Prize Distribution Ceremony

Panaroma on Climate Change
05.30 pm - 07.30 pm
Happy Feet: 109 mins/ English/ George Miller and Warren Coleman (Courtesy: PVR Nest).

Oct 6, 2008

TWO DAY WORKSHOP
ON FILM APPRECIATION
AND MANAGEMENT

ON 11TH AND 12TH OCTOBER 2008.

Admission Free

The workshop is expected to be intensely interactive and participation is restricted to limited numbers on "first come first served" basis.

There is no participation fee. Food during the sessions will be served free. Accommodation for the participants outside Coimbatore is provided free. Last date for Registration: 09.10.2008. Contact: 9443039630, 9443179028; konangal@gmail.com.

KONANGAL Film Society along with Asian Film Foundation, Federation of Film Societies of India, New Look Film Society, Tirupur is organizing a Two Days Workshop Coimbatore on 11th and 12th October 2008 from 9am to 8p.m at Cosmopolitan Club, Race Course, Coimbatore.

The objective of the workshop is to promote and strengthen interests among Film enthusiasts to join the Film Society Movement and take the message of good cinema and film appreciation among the general public and among students in particular.

Besides giving a glimpse of Film appreciation, the workshop will focus on the need and the modus operandi to run Film Clubs/Societies among Students, institutions and Community Centres. Members representing various Film Societies in and around Tamil Nadu are expected to participate in the workshop and share their experiences with the budding film enthusiasts. Hence, we call upon students and educational institutions in particular to make best use of the workshop.

Some of the aspects which will be dealt in the workshop:

A brief history of the Film Society Movement; The rationale for forming a film society; Film appreciation; Creating awareness about good cinema, Administrative and Financial management of Film society; Film Society and Legal framework.

The workshop will be inaugurated by Mr. H.N. Narahari Rao, Vice President, FFSI (Southern Region) and the Workshop Moderator and presided by Mr. G.D. Gopala Krishnan, President, Chamber of Commerce, Pollachi. on 11th October 2008 at 10a.m. The Validictory Address will be rendered by Ms G.Thilakavathy IPS on 12th October at 5pm at the workshop venue. A vital session in the workshop will also be addressed by Mr. Hariharan, Director of Prasad Film Academy, Chennai. Participation Certificates will be distributed by Mr. V.T.Subramanian, Secretary of FFSI (SR).