Samvada Film club encourages conversations among movie buffs

It’s a good time for cinema in the city. After a slew of initiatives, from screenings to clubs comes the Samvada Film Club, an off shoot of Samvada, a non-profit that works with the youth through various initiatives aimed at sustainable development. Apart from working with other organisations to design and conduct workshops to sensitise youth to social and ecological issues, Samvadarunsa community college Baduku, to impart life and work skills.
The film club kicked off this month and will host four screenings each month, two at the organisation’s own premises on the first Friday of the month, and two at different locations that will be updated on the club’s Facebook page. It seeks to showcase films that “will facilitate dialogues about the world around us,” says Shilpa Mudbi Kothakota, Media Consultant, Samvada. Along with programme associate Ravi Ramaswamy, she aims to make this a platform for interesting exchanges among the youth. The proceeds will support the organisation’s work.
Each month will have a separate theme, with this month’s being Youth. “February has ‘Love’, March has ‘Women and Gender’, April will screen films on ‘Food’, May will focus on ‘Livelihoods’ and June will look at films around music,” informs Kothakota. This week will see the screening of Die Welle (English- The Wave) a 2008 German film directed by
Dennis Gansel based on Ron Jones’ social experiment The Third Wave. The 106-minute-film tells the tale of a learning experiment aimed at explaining the working of totalitarian governments that builds into a real movement and goes out of hand.
Sourced from the in-house library of the organisation’s media club, the screenings will feature at least three international films each month — preferably those that haven’t travelled to India or haven’t received as much public attention. The films can be shorts, documentaries, and features, and at least one screening will see the Director participating in a discussion on the film. The first screening this month saw director Pawan Kumar address the audience post the screening of his film Lucia.
Sales and activities each month at the venues will contribute funds to Samvada’s ventures, from bake sales to exhibitions of organic produce. At this week’s screening, Anita Ratnam, Director, Samvada, will give a talk about dictatorial regimes around the world.