Jamia Millia Islamia organizes ‘Festival of Films’ depicting history of India’s neighbours

New Delhi: Four documentaries depicting crucial events in the history of India’s neighbours were screened during a two-day ‘Festival of Films from South Asia’, organized by the Subject Association of MMAJ-Academy of International Studies (AIS), Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI), in collaboration with Film South Asia.

The documentaries screened were ‘MuktirGaan’ (Songs of Freedom, 1995) by
Tareque and Catherine Masud from Bangladesh, ‘Demons in Paradise’ (Sri Lanka,
2017) by Jude Ratnam, ‘Trembling Mountain’ from Nepal by KesangTseten
(2016) and ‘The Journey Within’ by Mian Adnan Ahmad (Pakistan, 2015).
The films depicted crucial events in the history of India’s neighbours – the
Liberation War of 1971 in Bangladesh, the Civil War in Sri Lanka and the role of
the LTTE and other Tamil organisations, the 2015 earthquake in Nepal and the rise
of Coke Studio Pakistan as an attempt to define an identity through a fusion of
Eastern and Western musical heritage.

The films were very different in style and in the way they dealt with their themes
but they all depicted the stoicism of people in the face of great violence, adversity and loss. The films were infused with the belief that past ideals and struggles must be remembered and lessons learnt to make the present and future better.

The screenings were chaired by the members of the Subject Association Rishabh
Yadav and NilzaWangmo and the films were introduced by MA students of the
Academy BhuvanNingania, Iram Akbar, Bilal AhmadTantray, Gaurav
Bilthariyaand Rakesh Roshan.

After the screenings there were presentations by discussants that include Prof
Shohini Ghosh, Prof Ajay Behera, Dr Sabiha Alam and Prof Rashmi Doraiswamy
who placed the films in their political and historical contexts. This was followed by Q & A sessions in which students and faculty members participated.