In a recently concluded documentary film screening in New Delhi, a section of the audience, mostly college students, wanted to know what the message of the film was. I have more than once been told by film students, with complete sincerity, that documentaries are made, and watched, for their content, while fiction for the form. In class when I ask new students to describe what they understand the documentary to be, the collective exercise tends to etch out something that falls in-between the educational and current affairs, one that presents 'reality' but is certainly boring. A regular response from people who watch creative documentary is 'we didn't know documentaries could be like this'.
So, what is 'this'?
At the June 2013 edition of the International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala, the four films that won the documentary awards are complex, multi-layered, deeply personal and fundamentally political. While there can be differences in opinion about their style, approach and focus, what is undoubtedly accepted is that none are boring. They demand, and get, deep engagement from viewers.
This or That Particular Person by Subasri Krishnan (Best Short Documentary) is an essay on citizenship in which the filmmaker juxtaposes the attempts by the state to provide a unique identification number with the growing marginalisation of the same populace. Intercepted with musings on identity, using multiple cinematic devices, the film is deeply disturbing and leaves one with more questions than answers. Have you Seen the Arana? by Sunanda Bhatt (Special Mention) on the other hand is an observational documentary set in the Wayanad district of Kerala, and uses a local myth to delve into an indigenous tradition caught in the relentless cross-currents of modernity. Following its principal characters over a long span of time, the film presents the myriad complexities of this shift in a visually stunning and extremely well-crafted film. Spandan Banerjee's To-Let (Best Long Documentary) is a journey within a journey: moving people in a metropolis, moving in appositional directions, impacting each other, invisibly. The physical movements of the protagonists, mostly artists, need to shift homes every few years because of rising costs and the gentrification and commercialisation of the city. The filmmaker projects an intimate lens, allowing the film to unfold tales of loss, nostalgia and beauty. Sourav Sarangi's CHAR… The No Man's Island (Navroze Contractor Award for the Best Cinematographer) on the other hand is an observational film shot over a decade and presents lives of people caught up in the vagaries of a river as it enters the sea. The river shifts silt from side to side and in the process takes away and brings back land with impunity. People lose land and homes and relocate themselves when new islands appear, temporarily, across national borders. These are just four exciting examples that come to mind from the festival in Kerala.