Focus: The Shape of Things to Come?
Programme IFFR 2023
In 2022, India celebrated the 75th anniversary of independence. But is really all well in the ‘world’s largest democracy’? Both documentaries and fictional narratives reflect on the socio-political development of the past 30 years – and ask: Is the institutional success of right-wing Hindu-nationalist groups and the persecution of dissenting voices a sign for the shape of things to come – and not only in India?
Overview of films
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In hi ko
Utkarsh Raut | 4' | Finland | International premiere
India’s lockdown-induced horrors come under the microscope in a heady, evocative media collage. -
In the Name of God
Anand Patwardhan | 76' | India | None
A chilling record of a historic Hindu nationalist rally seeking the destruction of a mosque. -
Kali of Emergency
Ashish Avikunthak | 79' | Germany | Dutch Premiere
The goddess Kali takes human form in an inscrutable, transfixing avant-garde work. -
A Knock on the Door
Ranjan Palit | 118' | India | World premiere
Persecuted academics fight a disbelieving world in an idiosyncratic, deliciously stylised psychological thriller. -
Lords of Lockdown
Mihir Fadnavis | 120' | India | European premiere
Volunteer groups supply relief to stranded migrant workers in an uplifting portrait of civic responsibility. -
Love in the Time of Malaria
Sanjiv Shah | 128' | India | None
A constipated king declares war on insurgent mosquitoes in an absurdist political musical comedy. -
The Men in the Tree
Lalit Vachani | 98' | India | None
An unsettling glimpse into a far-right paramilitary outfit through the eyes of young trainees. -
Sameer
Dakxinkumar Bajrange | 131' | India | None
An innocent man is forced to infiltrate a terrorist group in a riveting political thriller. -
Which Colour?
Shahrukhkhan Chavada | 96' | India | World premiere
Tender, trailblazing vignettes from the quotidian life of a working-class family on a historic day.