In protest to Citizenship Amendment, open screening of genocide films in Calicut
A film festival is being organized in Calicut against the citizenship amendment act and National Register of Citizens, by a collective of film, cultural and academic activists of Calicut, on January 18 and 19. The film festival is named ‘Watch Out, Akhila Bharatiya Anti-Nazi film festival’, venue is Kerala Chalachitra Academy hall near Anakkulam.
Ani Mani, the film which bagged award for the best debut director at the international film festival in Trivandrum last year is the attraction of the festival. The film’s director Fahim Irshad will speak at the discussion to be continued after the screening.
“This is a call to anyone to screen genocide films. We are screening a combination of films on Gujarat and Nazi period in Germany, along with that we organize effective discussions. In this form, all around India, in universities and villages film screenings can be conducted, that is what we call for. After the announcement of this festival, we were asked by many about more film screenings, I told them we are not going to screen these films anywhere else, they themselves can conduct it. Genocide is the theme. India witnessed genocide, see what happened in Gujarat. What happened in Germany during Hitler’s reign is the same. We are putting forth this idea.” One of the organizers of the film festival, film director and writer Harshad said.
Spanish film ‘The Photographer of the Mauthausen’ is the opening film. In Darkness, The Boy in Striped Paijamas, My Furor- Real Truest Truth about Adolf Hitler, Firaq, Alone in Berlin will be screened in the two days festival. On the first day evening anti- caste rapper from JNU Sumeet Samos and Sufi musician Sameer Binsi will be performing.
Directors and writers Zakaria Muhammed, Muhsin Parari, Harshad, Suhas, Sharafu, art director Anees Nadodi and many other professionals in cinema will participate in the festival. Public lectures are to be followed the film screenings. On 18th, Writer Dr.A K Vasu will speak on ‘RSS 2.0; The making of new model of ethnic democracy’. Shaffat Maqbool Wani (researcher from JNU) will speak on ‘Rise of Saffron Reich: The Genocide Turn’. On 19th, Dr.Dickens Leonard M (University of Hyderabad) will speak on ‘Is there a Nazi Gaze? Possibilities of an Oppositional Look.’ Dr. K Ashraf (Post doctoral fellow at University of Johannesburg), Parvathy (Indian film actor), KA Saleem (Delhi based journalist) Zakariya (writer and director), Harshad (writer and director) will be speaking post screening discussion on Ani Mani.
