Film Appreciation

I spent some great time attending a film appreciation workshop organized by the PSBT at IIC on 9th, 12th and 13th September, conducted by Prof Suresh Chabria of FTII. Learnt some new things about films and watched some wonderful films as well. I could spend all my days simply watching good films. Some of the film we were shown seen in parts included: The Man with a Movie Camera (amazing sound and editing), Triumph of the Will (camera and music were manipulated to suit the ideology), Night Mail (the huge panorama and unfolding of the story of the Night Mail), Sunless (a diary of events and people, very evocative), Last Train Home (migrants trying to get home for the New Year - the labour of migrants and the desperation...), Burma VJ (shot on handycam undercover showing monks joining anti establishment protests), Snapshots from the Family Album (a boy trailing his mother on camera, worked beautifully because the mother was a very intelligent person), Workers (one of the factory gate films, quite remarkable), Once Upon a Time in the West (wonderful sound, edit and picturization), The Leopard (remarkable storytelling through cinematography using abundant metaphors), Bombay (cinematography and story telling technique quite spectacular), 2001-A Space Odyssey (must see to believe!), Apocalypse Now (wonderful rendition of the heart of the forest in the mind of man), Meshes in the Afternoon (a dream sequence left to the viewer's imagination for interpretation), 12 miles to Trona (lovely cinematography reflecting the agony of a drugged experience), Mother India (the community feel through music and picturization is unique), Taste of Cherry ( a different narrative style, involves the audience right from the beginning)....well, so that is the list. No wonder it was a learning and eye opening experience. Wishing myself many more such experiences!!!

Delhi Diary 10

September 7, quite a bad day for New Delhi. Another bomb blast in the capital and a repeat this time in the premises of the High Court. 13 dead and more than 70 injured. Two terrorist groups claim responsibility. They are so eager to be claimants to this dastardly deed! So what do we do? Sit over it for some time and move on? Why can our laws not be tough enough? I hear we have enough laws in place. So who implements them?
So this blast happens at 10.15am and a mid size earthquake (4.2 on the richter scale) rattles Delhi and the NCR at 11.45pm! For the first time I felt the earth move for a few seconds. These incidents really bring me to feel the ever present shadow of death, always close.