A motley group of cinephiles have introduced free weekend screenings of independent films and documentaries in the city
Avijit Mukul Kishore, Madhavi Tangella, Pankaj Rishi Kumar and Surabhi Sharma are well-known names in the field of documentary filmmaking. And though they are not keen on sharing their pictures for this story, they don’t mind talking about their latest venture, dedicated to film lovers in the city.
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This group is now curating the screening of classics as well as documentaries made by independent filmmakers for the Films Division of India.u00a0This weekly event took off last month with a homage to late filmmaker Mani Kaul. And since then, the group has been screening films every week. So far, two films have been showcased and the number is likely to go up.
According to Surabhi, most people associate Films Division with boring news reels that were screened before the main film in cinema halls. She adds, “The current generation probably doesn’t even know about Films Division’s existence today! But we are keen to create an opportunity to view classics and the exciting work being done independently today.”
So who exactly has been the audience so far? The team is quite surprised by the outcome. “All are new faces who aren’t part of the regular film-festival-going crowd. This is exciting as well as encouraging,” informs Pankaj. The screenings are being held every Saturday 4pm at RR theatre, Peddar Road. Entry is free.