14. Filmmaking and Revolutionary Possibility in India
Episode 14 - 14/12/20
This weeks podcast is a collaboration between Deptford Cinema and the South Asia Forum, Queen Mary University of London. Acclaimed documentary filmmaker Sanjay Kak discusses his 2013 film Red Ant Dream with DC volunteer Pragya Dhital (School of English and Drama, QMUL) and Chris Moffat (School of History, QMUL)
Are revolutions possible in contemporary India? Or have these dreams been ground down into nightmares? Chris and Pragya respond to Sanjay Kak’s striking portrait of insurrection and counter-insurgency in Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Punjab, now screening via Deptford Cinema on Demand. They are joined by the filmmaker, who shares his perspectives on independent filmmaking in India, on walking and dancing with revolutionaries, and on the importance of watching Red Ant Dream today.
See also Shuddhabrata Sengupta’s article in Deptford Online Journal, ‘Footage for a Film Without End: Sanjay Kak’s Long March’.
For background on recent farmers’ protests in India see: Ahan Penkar and Shahid Tantray, ‘No Divisiveness Here: Farmers Welcome All Solidarity at the Kundli Protests’, The Caravan (5 December 2020).
Guest Participants
Sanjay Kak is a filmmaker and writer, whose films include Red Ant Dream (2013), Jashn-e-Azaadi (2007), Words on Water (2002), In the Forest Hangs a Bridge (1999) and One Weapon (1997).
Chris Moffat is a Lecturer in the School of History, QMUL. He is the author of India’s Revolutionary Inheritance: Politics and the Promise of Bhagat Singh (2019).
Pragya Dhital is a DC Volunteer and Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the School of English and Drama, QMUL. She is the editor of Archiving Insurgency (2020), amongst other writings.
Sanjay Kak’s publishing company: instagram.com/yaarbal_books
QMUL South Asia Forum: southasia.qmul.ac.uk + twitter.com/qmulsaf