In its March edition, the Rising Gardens Film Festival will focus on the theme of “Community and Sustenance – Women, Food and Livelihood”. Previous editions have examined the relationship of women with nature and women and agriculture.
Ten films will be available for free viewing on the website www.doculive.in between March 12 and 15. The festival has been organised by Sangat and the Kriti Film Club to mark the One Billion Rising’s South Asia Campaign. The selection has been curated by eminent editor and filmmaker Reena Mohan.
Here are the films that will be streamed in the third edition.
Soufra Thomas Morgan’s 73-minute documentary profiles Mariam Shaar, a successful caterer from a refugee camp near Beirut.
21 Hours in Sunitha CV’s documentary, a fish vendor from Thiruvanathapuram provides a gateway into an examination of women in the unorganised sector.
The Merry Nuns of Nam Mun Village Kyi Phyu Shin’s documentary highlights community projects run by a group of widows in Myanmar’s Kachin State.
Bare Trees in the Mist In Rajan Kathet’s short fiction film from Nepal, a woman walks miles to receive a gift from a visitor.
Come Over for a Drink, Kancchi Also from Nepal is Sikuma Rai’s documentary on a community of farmers and brewers, where loneliness has led to alcoholism.
Tobacco Memories Manca Filak’s documentary traces the importance of tobacco production in a village in Bulgaria – a skill that is under threat.
I Cannot Give You Our Forest Kavita Bahl and Nandan Saxena highlight the relationship between the Kondh adivasis of Orissa and the forest.
Annapurna: Goddess of Food T Jayashree and Paromita Vohra profile the Annapurna Mahila Mandal, a collective in Mumbai that was set up by women who once cooked for mill workers.
Mhari Topli Ma Basta In Akash Basumatari’s documentary about culinary traditions in the Narmada Valley, tender bamboo shoots are a rich source of nutrition – but are fast disappearing.
Mhari Topli Ma Phang In a second film from the series of food in the Narmada Valley, Akash Basumatari looks at the importance of the Midnapore creeper.
