More information: tfsa2002@hotmail.com,

Screening Schedule

SESSION ONE -THE LIVES OF CHILDREN

Friday 8. March. 6.30 p.m. Remsen 101

Colours Black - Structured around the narratives of four children, Colours Black seeks to break the silence around the sexual abuse of children -- in this case among Bombay's well-to-do. Mamta Murthy, 2001, 30 min, Bombay

We Homes Chap - The centennial celebration of Dr. Graham's Homes in Kalimpong offers some old girls and boys a chance to revisit the site of their childhood and adolescence. Even as the film courses through layers of sentiment, there is a gradual unfolding of real childhoods, a testimony to powerful early experiences. Kesang Tseten, 2001, 65 min, North Bengal.

SESSION TWO - BORN AT HOME

Friday 8. March. 9 p.m. Remsen 101

Born at Home - Born at Home observes indigenous birth practices in parts of India. Poised between social reality and the eternal mystery of childbearing, the film presents an intricate delineation of the figure of the dai (midwife) who is almost always a low-caste, poor woman. Sameera Jain, 2000, 60 min, North India

SESSION THREE - LIVES OF WORK, AND THE WORK OF LIVING

Saturday 9. March. 6.30.p.m. Shaffer 3

Jari Mari: Of Cloth and Other Stories - The narrow lanes of the Jari Mari slum in Bombay house hundreds of sweatshops where people have no right to organise. The film records the changes in the nature and organisation of Bombay's workforce over the past two decades. Winner of Third Best Film Award at FSA '01. Surabhi Sharma, 2001, 74 min, Bombay

My Migrant Soul - "If I live, I'll write the history of my travels in Malaysia...I'll write a poem about it," said Shahjahan Babu, before leaving Bangladesh as a migrant worker. Shahjahan's posthumous account, in the form of audiotapes, are a record of one man's hopes, disillusions and fears. Winner of the Ram Bahadur Trophy for Best Film at FSA '01. Yasmine Kabir, 2000, 35 min, Bangladesh.

SESSION FOUR-IMAGINING “MANHOOD”

Saturday 9. March. 9.p.m Shaffer 3

King of Dreams - How many fantasies does a man have in his lifetime about sexual union? How often do his dreams substitute the act itself? And where exactly does love fit into the scheme? The film tries to answer these questions and show manhood in a new light. Winner of Jury's Special Mention at FSA '01. Amar Kanwar, 2001, 30 min, India.

Our Boys - In these confusing times, boys from a pop group and a young artist from the newly emerging upper middle class of Dhaka open up about duties and obligations, women and desire, confusion and contradictions. Manzare Hassin, 2000, 42 min, Bangladesh

SESSION FIVE– TWO CITIES

Sunday 10. March. 6.30.p.m., Shaffer 3

King for a Day - When Bill Clinton agreed to visit Bangladesh in March 2000, the Bangladesh government began the biggest clean-up operation of Dhaka since 1971. This is a diary of a cynical journalist assigned to discover what the man-on-the-street thinks of the hoopla. Alex Gabbay, 2001, 33 min, Bangladesh.

The Loom - The Loom is the story of a poet, a painter and a city. The poet is Narayan Surve, the painter Sudhir Patwardhan and the city Bombay-- both of them part of a left cultural movement in the city. Anjali Monteiro and K.P. Jayasankar, 2001, 49 min, Bombay

SESSION SIX- PERSPECTIVES FROM NEPAL

Sunday 10. March. 9 p.m. Shaffer 3

The Killing Terraces - With footage shot in the Nepali Maoist stronghold districts of Rukum, Rolpa and Jajarkot, the film attempts to understand the causes underlying the rise of the Maobaadi, the role of the state, and the devastating impact on the lives of the hill people. Dhruba Basnet, 2001, 40 min, Nepal.

A Rough Cut on the Life and Times of Lachuman Magar - He has fought in the Bangladesh war, jumped as a paratrooper, and married five times. At age of 58, Lachuman still eyes the opposite sex, charming them, cajoling them. But his life seems to have come full circle for this cleaner at a tourist lodge in Nepal's western Tarai. Winner of Second Best Film Award at FSA '01. Dinesh Deokota, 2001, 39 min, Nepal.

SESSION SEVEN - DEVELOPMENT AND DISPLACEMENT

Monday 11. March. 6.30 p.m. Remsen 101

Between the Devil and the Deep River - Manmade floods have devastated North Bihar. The embankments on the Kosi river represent a development model which devastates the lives of millions, and yet it is a failed model that no one is willing to abandon. Arvind Sinha, 1999, 65 min, Bihar

The Bee, the Bear and the Kuruba - Forcible eviction of the Kurubas of the forests of Nagarahole and Kakanakote in the Western Ghats started in the early 70s. Today these forest dwellers have nowhere to go, and they find it hard to adapt to the new recommended way of life. They have become trespassers on their own lands. Vinod Raja, 2000, 63 min, Karnataka

SESSION EIGHT - SPIRITUAL PERFORMANCE

Monday 11. March. 9.p.m. Remsen 101

Ramlila - Ramlila the spectacle is one thing for the audience and quite another for the performers, the filmmakers discover as they turn their camera on streetside Delhi. The documentary captures the fascinating behind-the-scenes discussions of those who would play Ram and Ravan. Ananth Sridhar, Sanjay Pande, Subash Kapoor, 2000, 28 min, Delhi

A Sun Sets In - Documented through interviews, audio tapes and visuals, religious intolerance in Pakistan comes alive in this film. This is a life sketch of Bishop John Joseph, who laid down his life in 1999 to dramatically tell the world of the plight of religious minorities in his country. Shahid Nadeem, 1999, 45 min, Pakistan.