Understanding Documentaries History, journey, and artistic possibilities - 3 Days (1-3, March): 11 - 4 pm
A 3-day workshop curated & conducted by Amudhan RP. Amudhan has made around 20 films on various social, political, and economic themes. He founded the Madurai International Documentary and Short Film Festival and the Chennai Film Festival. He has conducted them for over 23 years and 10 years, respectively.
Day 01 10 am : Registration and Inauguration 10:30 am : Origin of Cinema & Documentaries Films by Lumiere brothers, George Melies & Robert Flaherty Screening and interaction 11.30 am Tea break 11.45 am Soviet Cinema : Kino-Pravda and Dziga Vertov Screening and Interaction 1 pm : Lunch break 2 pm Propaganda Documentaries : British and German Films Screening and Interaction 3 pm Tea break 3.15 pm French Documentaries Cinema Vérité & Visual Essay : Jean Rouch, Agnes Varda and Chris Marker Screening and Interaction 4.15 pm Closing remarks for the day
Day 02 10 am Direct Cinema and Fly on the Wall Films from North America: Robert Drew (Primary), Maysles Brothers (Salesman), Frederick Wiseman (Titicut Follies) 11 am Tea break 11.15 pm Political Documentaries from South America : Fernando Solanas & Patricio Guzman 12.30 pm Lunch break 1.30 pm : Meanwhile in Europe, Australia, Africa & Asia Documentaries by Bert Haanstra, Krzysztof Kieslowski, Werner Herzog, Dennis O’Rourke, John Pilger & Ai Weiwei 3 pm : Tea break 3.15 pm : Wild life and Television Documentaries Hugo van Lawick, David Attenborough, BBC, Al Jazeera, DW and more 4.15 pm : Closing remarks for the day
Day 03 10 am : Films Division of India: propaganda, nation building and creative freedom 11 am Tea break 11.15 Independent Documentaries in India 01 : Political and Activist Documentaries 12.30 pm : Lunch break 1.30 pm : Independent Documentaries in India 02 : Creative, Personal, Reflective and Experimental Documentaries 3 pm : Tea break 3.15 pm : PSBT, Renewed Films Division and OTT platforms 4.15 pm : Closing remarks and reflections
Amudhan R.P. Born and raised in a rural and small-town background, Amudhan developed his liking for cinema by watching popular Tamil films with his mother, Pushpam, a farmer, while sitting on the sand-bed in thatched and temporary cinema halls called Touring Talkies. Cinema has always been a collective activity/place for Amudhan, in which people from different backgrounds come together and imagine multiple worlds in a given short time. After completing his Post Graduation in Development Communication from Madurai Kamraj University and a two-year stint at the Centre for Development of Instructional Technology (CENDIT), New Delhi, Amudhan set up MARUPAKKAM (The Other Side, in Tamil), a media action group in Madurai with his like-minded friends to produce, screen and disseminate documentary films, in 1996.
Since then, Amudhan has made around 20 films on various social, political, and economic themes. He also founded the Madurai International Documentary and Short Film Festival and the Chennai International Documentary and Short Film Festival and has conducted them for over 23 years and 10 years, respectively. He also curates various thematic film festivals across India. On various occasions, he has been part of many film festivals in India as a Selection Committee and a Final Jury member. He has conducted Documentary Workshops at prestigious educational institutions such as the National Institute of Design (Ahmedabad), Jamia Millia Islamia (New Delhi), Central University of Hyderabad, LV Prasad Film Academy (Chennai), St Joseph’s College (Bengaluru), Loyola College (Chennai), Chetana Film Institute (Thrissur) and Sacred Heart College (Kochi). Amudhan has been pursuing Mobile Phone Filmmaking since the COVID-19-induced lockdown, experimenting with the medium while expressing human anxieties and reaching out to nature.
This event is part of Lamakaan’s 14th Annual Celebrations!
ALL ARE WELCOME!