Nagari Golden Bioscope

अख्खा दिन, अख्खी रात (All Day and all of the Night)

Film by Priya Naresh. Palak Patel & Aniket Kolarkar
Mentor Sanjiv Shah

Jury Citation:

“अख्खा दिन, अख्खी रात (All Day and all of the Night) is extraordinary in its representation of the monstrous injustice of rehousing people next to a toxic landfill. There has been a masterful use of film as a medium to slip in subtle juxtapositions of politics, of relocated marginalised communities and gender inequality against the backdrop of a growing mountain of garbage. The hopeful, self-told story of the young protagonist is rendered all the more poignant because of the state of injustice that she matter-of-factly accepts.

The film is deeply moving with its evocative visuals of the growing dump of waste while life continues to exist on its edge, reinforcing the gravity of the problem while pulling the viewer in. The film captures compelling scenes of a community’s struggle for procuring clean drinking water as rainwater, running through the landfill, drowns their low-lying houses. The music score is well-woven with the raw imagery to reveal a quietly searing yet poetic cinematic language.”

Nagari Silver Bioscope

শিলসাঁকোৰ উদং বুকু (Remember Silsako)

Film by Maharshi Kashyap, Susmita Talukdar, Zeba Zoariah Ahsan, Biswajit Das, Dhruba Hazarika & Koushik Tamilmaran
Mentor: Sanjiv Shah

Jury Citation:

“শিলসাঁকোৰ উদং বুকু (Remember Silsako) is a commendable tale of the Silsaku Beel, a wetland in Guwahati, threatened by the growing needs of the city. The disturbing decline in the state of the wetland, its impact on the communities dependent on it and the attitudes of urban dwellers in its vicinity comes together through striking visuals and beautifully paired soundtrack.

Driven by a fictional narrative, the film shows the various stakeholders that are intertwined with the wetland, from the flora and fauna, illegal residents along its edges, the Government and the people who seek to exploit it. Through its ironic narrative style, the film depicts the contradictions and complexities of the relationship between ecologies and the development of new settlements as the city expands.”

SPECIAL JURY PRIZE

Pipe Dream

Film by Suraj Katra, Jai Mati, Prachi Adesara & Sitaram Shelar
Mentor: Avijit Mukul Kishore

Jury Citation:

“Pipe Dream is commended for its compelling story of the impossible task of obtaining a legal water connection in the settlement of Siddharth Nagar in Mumbai. It presents an ‘other’ Mumbai, and the communities that get pushed to the precarious margins of the city by municipal authority, apathy and sheer neglect.

Jai Mati’s role as a community mobilizer with immense patience helps narrate the journey of bureaucratic delays and the reams of documents required to get access to water in this urban settlement. Following Jai Mati through the day, we see him collecting paperwork to be submitted, following up with government officials and then setting up inspection meetings with the officials and the people of Siddharth Nagar. The film reaches a hopeful conclusion, when we learn that Siddharth Nagar will finally be given a legal water connection after 30 years. Pipe Dream is a story of hope and patience, tied together with powerful imagery and a compelling protagonist.”

JURY COMMENDATION AWARD

The Chaviwallahs of Mumbai

Film by Akanksha Gupta & Gopal MS
Mentor: Avijit Mukul Kishore

Jury Citation:

“The Chaviwallahs of Mumbai is acknowledged for presenting the disparity in water distribution in a city. The Chaviwallah is used as a metaphor for the various factors that decide whether an individual or community will be given or denied their right to a water connection. Steering through topics like distress migration and political pressures determining access to water connections, the film uses a striking theme to address injustice, showing the disparities in access to water that the city perpetuates through its structures of governance and water management.”

JURY COMMENDATION AWARD

The Many Journeys of Water

Film by Niki Nirvikalpa, Sugantha Priscilla & Prasanth Kumar K
Mentor: Bina Paul

Jury Citation:

“The Many Journeys of Water is acknowledged for amplifying the voices of women entrepreneurs involved in the sanitation and water treatment industry in Trichy. The film presents itself as a reportage into the lives of two desludging operators and how they negotiate navigate their roles in the city, negotiating social, political and economic relations of power.”

PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD

Olam

Film by Priyadharshan Anand, Nagendran Arumugam, Arunmani Vasu, Dishon C Prince
Mentor: Arjun Gourisaria

The film explores the tale of the Kosasthalai river –narrated by Kumaresan, a native fisherman, voicing for the land, the people, its flora and fauna. Kosasthalaiyar is Chennai’s largest river, sprawling over 7000 acres. The intervention of Government & private industrial ambitions on its ecological corridor has created an environmental crime scene depleting the existing natural fabric. Adani’s proposed port expansion will completely be destroying the remains of every river based and coastal ecosystem that’s left.