MEMORIES, MOVEMENT AND A MACHINE
(Documentary selected for screening in the inagural session of the Indian Panorama)
Malayalam/40minutes/16 mm/Colour
Synopsis
Memories of 1970s bring with them memories of New Wave, Art Films, and Film Society Movement in Kerala. At that time one had the feeling of being at a turning point, as if something were about to happen. For, the film society movement introduced world cinema to the public on a hitherto unimaginable scale. It opened up a new world and helped create a new sensibility.This 16 mm also traces the film society movement’s relationship with the 16 mm film projector. Now abandoned as an obsolete technology, this machine was the soul of the movement. It still burrs on, but only in the mind of a generation of cineastes.
Director’s Statement
My involvement with the film society movement in Kerala over two decades inspired me to document my experience as a cineaste, film student, publication editor, organiser and filmmaker. I have witnessed the swift shift of time, technology and people surrounding the movement. I remember dilapidated halls with thatched roofs where light and darkness created their own parallel stories. I have seen what television has done to the collective memory and viewing history. The technological shift from celluloid to digital is a
tactile memory for me where the smooth DVDs replace tattered prints. In a sense the documentary is an attempt to make people think about the story of the visuals and sounds that surround us.
16 mm - Memories, Movement and a Machine is a journey at two levels. One, it is a film about those who were part of its history - film society members, critics, filmmakers... Two, it captures the enigma of a machine entering the lives of a generation and changing them forever, with the coming into being of a new collective at the altar of cinema.
K R MANOJ
Thiruvananthapuram based K R Manoj, who graduated in Mass Communications, has been a film society
activist and former editor of Drishyanthalam, the Malayalam journal of film and video studies. He coordinated Signs, a festival in video for Documentaries, Short Features, Animations, Music Videos and Ad Films. His Short film Agni featured in various festivals including IFFI and MIFF 2004.Festivals : Montage Film & Video Fest, 2008; Vibgyor 2008; International Video Festival of Kerala 2008; Osian’s Cinefan, 10th Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema 2008; Swaralaya International Film Fest
2008; Soorya Fest 2008.
Awards: Best Documentary, Montage Movie Awards 2008; Best Documentary, Vibgyor Film Awards 2008.
Cast & Credits
Producer : Scarface Film Society
Director : K R Manoj
Camera : Shehanad Jalal & Manu Balak
Editor : Mahesh Narayanan & Babu Ratnam
Music : A
Contact
Surface Film Society ,
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