Held since 2009, the Auroville Film Festival is a biennial event devoted to cinema, and stands as one of the highlights of Auroville’s cultural life. It aims to further the aspiration of human unity on which Auroville was founded, by connecting with people and cultures both within and beyond it.

Expressing the non-competitive spirit of Auroville and its aspiration for harmonious growth, winning filmmakers were awarded saplings ready to plant rather than trophies. Following the conclusion ceremony in which the jury’s selections were announced, the event ended on a joyful note with a lively concert by two Auroville groups – Sound Mirage and Ronny’s Band – who moved the audience to dance to classic rock and reggae anthems by artists such as the Rolling Stones, Bob Marley and Deep Purple.

For the International category of “films that develop the theme of human unity”, the judges accorded twin Wisdom Awards to ‘Aware: Glimpses of Consciousness’ by Frauke Sandig and Eric Black and to Shaunak Sen’s All That Breathes. The documentaries, coming from Germany and India respectively, were noted as exploring the interconnectedness between all life forms, and the close ways in which humans are related to their environment.

Jury Awards were conferred on Elizabeth D Costa’s ‘Bangla Surf Girls’ and Anam Abbas’s ‘This Stained Dawn’, films featuring strong women struggling for emancipation and self-definition on the beaches of Bangladesh and in Pakistan’s maidans. The two films were inspiring for their depiction of the energy of a subcontinent’s youth striving for a better future.

The Cinema Paradiso Award for Human Unity went to Kaushal Oza’s ‘The Miniaturist of Junagadh’, a moody short starring unforgettable Naseeruddin Shah in an adaptation of Stefan Zweig’s acclaimed novella ‘The Invisible Collection’ to a household during the time of the 1947 partition. The brooding, poetic story was noted by the jury as leaving a sense of “Nambikai” – hope or trust in Tamil – in terms of the possibility for a meaningful human connection across cultural and religious lines.

The Auroville Film Festival is noted for shining a light on life in the international township itself as well as its bioregion, which encompasses a coastal area of northern Tamil Nadu and the city of Pondicherry. In the category of “films made by Aurovilians, bioregion residents and guests of Auroville”, the Cinema Paradiso Award was given to Sugumar Shanmugam for ‘Thirai Virutham’, an in-depth exploration of the folk performing art Therukkoothu practiced in the area since time immemorial.

Serena Aurora’s short, ‘When Goupi Met the Mother Mira Alfassa (Founder of Auroville) and Found Home’, earned the Jury Award for its heartwarming portrayal of an early Aurovilian. Comfortably seated in a lotus posture, French-born Goupi resembles a smooth-headed monk who, even into old age, remains as radiant as ever. A series of old photographs serve him to reflect on the remarkable encounters which surrounded his fateful journey from France to Pondicherry in 1966.

Meanwhile, the Wisdom Award went to Michèle Decoust’s documentary, ‘The Path of the 12 Petals: Shanta, an Initiatic Journey’, for its study of an Auroville artist’s journey of self-discovery in the light of Alfassa’s teachings and budding community. The Mongbra Award was accorded to Valentina Beatriz’s dance short, Fallin’, depicting the dynamic use of the body to illustrate the experience of falling in love.

The jury also favourably noted Saumya Srivastava’s ‘Kolam’, an experimental art film revealing Auroville’s hidden beauty via slow-motion photography, and Mélusine Schellenberger’s premiere, Meat the Vegan, a student film inquiring into an alternative dietary lifestyle.

The highlight of this year’s edition has been the Question and Answer sessions conducted in the afternoons with most participating filmmakers following the screening of their submissions. The directors appreciated the possibility to interact over conference call with fellow creators across the world, delving into their inspiration and creative process.

An independent event, the Auroville Film Festival prides itself on remaining non-commercial, and Auroville looks forward to continuing this tradition in its next edition to be scheduled for early 2026.

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by Daniel

International category of “films that develop the theme of human unity”

Wisdom Awards:

Aware: Glimpses of Consciousness by Frauke Sandig and Eric Black

All That Breathes by Shaunak Sen

Both the movies stand out for their brilliant expressions of the meaning of the connections between all forms of life which penetrate deeper into the layers of human unity. Though both the movies are documentaries, a very specific style of filmmaking adopted by the filmmakers helps bring the authenticity of the stories, people, context and so on. While the cinematography and background score of Aware: Glimpses of Consciousness takes us into the vastness of life, the film All that Breathes connects us with the nuances of life.

Jury Awards:

Bangla Surf Girls by Elizabeth D Costa

This Stained Dawn by Anam Abbas

These two documentaries, each lasting an hour and a half, complement each other in their expression of human unity. These two films speak to us of emancipation, emancipation of oneself but also emancipation of others. We have the right to see our aspirations implemented. When we saw these two films, one phrase came to mind: “Femmes d’avenir”. The women of the future. In both films, we see women standing up to win their freedom, their right to dream, to be inspired, to be creative.

Cinema Paradiso Award

The Miniaturist of Junagadh by Kaushal Oza

This fiction movie, through its brilliant acting, sharp and poetic script full of layers and metaphors, unraveled one’s perception and imagination. It took us on a journey back in time in a seamless and gentle way bringing us into the context of households during the 1947 partition. It left us with a message of faith and hope. Hope, that despite our differences, whether cultural, religious, and whichever other label or belief it may be, that we can connect through something deeper: through poetry, through art, through creation, through emotion, through our humanity. The word that sprang to mind was Nambikai (Hope/Trust in Tamil)

Category of “films made by Aurovilians, bioregion residents and guests of Auroville”:

Cinema Paradiso Award:

Thirai Virutham by Sugumar Shanmugam

For narrating his personal journey with the art that has a long history and his deep rooted passion for this art “Therukoothu”.

Wisdom Award:

The Path of the 12 Petals: Shanta, an Initiatic Journey by Michèle Decoust

For taking the audience on Shanta’s self exploratory journey that is never ending and filled with growth, learning, challenges and creativity.

Jury Award:

When Goupi Met the Mother Mira Alfassa (Founder of Auroville) and Found Home by Serena Aurora

For its simplicity and for capturing the quote of Lao Tzu, “Journey of a thousand miles begins with one step”.

Mongbra Award:

Fallin’ by Valentina Beatriz

For an aesthetically alluring dance short depicting the dynamic use of body, energy, space and time.

Jury Mentions:

Kolam by Saumya Srivastava

Meat the Vegan by Mélusine Schellenberger

We open with the film “Kolam”, which is resounding, except it has little to no sound. It is a visual escapade. From the opening shot, it is sharply searing and visually-appealing, in slow-motion, in fast-forward and in close-ups. Gives one a totally alternative perspective on the people, artifacts and places of Auroville. It also captures an essence that usual, more commonplace cinematography cannot encapsulate.

The look of curiosity in a child’s eyes, the warmth in a baby caressing a puppy, workers dyeing cloth blue, are given a hyperaware sentience, even, in this astounding film. And so, it is with all the beloved places we know in Auroville from Matrimandir to Savitri Bhavan and so forth.

In the filmmakers’ discussion, we had some rousing conversations. The first movie to come up was “The Cloud and the Man”. The producer and director unraveled the film for us, it’s about a middle-aged lonely man who falls in love with a cloud. He wants to have his own life in a very regulated life,. Sounds familiar? Well, yes, the best of us have had our backs-to-the-wall, in a society that constantly wants to define us, to label us, to make us what it wants to make of us, call it persona/personality—I don’t care. That much of our lives is spent in the futility of trying to find our own Selves, while society wants to farm us in narrow little plantations; economical, socio-cultural, even demographic. That we have to find love to escape the labeling, defining, whether the love be of a cloud, or nature itself. To fully give in and up oneself to something outside of ourselves. To be as the man, a total misfit. For some of us, the relationships of the narrow and confined, juss ain’t good ‘nuff.

What then constitutes an identity? I think, for any question of identity there must be not only personhood, but subjectivity and agency…all of which can be aroused through loving. We are all looking for our own cloud. I mean to love is to resuscitate, to invigorate, to expand, to burgeon. Dude, I want my cloud!

By Gautam Emani

The city of Buenos Aires has been summoned to court to respond to accusations of abusing someone’s rights. On Argentina’s other side, another city – Mendoza – also seems to overlook the fact that every person has the rights to freedom, a life free from torture, mistreatment or isolated captivity. This is because not every person is human – such is the case made on behalf of Sandra the orangutan and Cecilia the chimpanzee.

It would not be the first time that legal definitions of rights have been amended, argue the revolutionary lawyers. In the not so distant past, debates raged over womens’ rights to vote and own property, and whether visible minorities such as Native Americans were human or had souls. Those debates are now past controversy. Says one campaigner: “We are evolutionists and we will not stop until the last cage is empty.”

Held for decades in inadequate conditions in zoos, mammals such as the great apes, bears and many more show apathy and depression. Many are ill and overweight, and held in isolation, where the only social behaviour they exhibit is asking for food. Apes who are accustomed to trees as an essential part of their natural environment are kept in cages with artificial poles for fear that a real tree would be used to escape.

For Proyecto Gran Simio (Great Ape Project), expanding the legal definition of personhood is a means of providing dignified lives to great apes such as Sandra and Cecilia who, unable to return to their natural habitat, would be happier in spacious wildlife sanctuaries designed by animal welfare experts rather than businessmen. But animals should not be bred in zoos to begin with, and the activists aim to preserve the natural habitats of great apes from destruction – which would naturally have consequences for the legal rights of aboriginal peoples on their land, so often pillaged and encroached upon.

Will human unity remain restricted to Homo Sapiens, or can dignity and freedom be extended to nonhuman animals? This is the question posed by Persona (no) Humana.

The character Iniyan, in the film “Iniyan”is the narrator’s link, and so our link, to an ancient civilization, now submerged in the Indian Ocean. What makes this civilization crucial and important is that it encapsulates Auroville’s credo—a place of human unity, of complete unity in diversity.

The film is an allegory. The director leads us into the story by setting up Iniyan’s character and the culture he represents. He represents History before History. He is of the ‘Amman’: a fertility cult with an agricultural tradition. To follow them would be to understand the symbols, archetypes and rituals of the ancient civilization.

Iniyan is the guide, the link, to a civilization of which we do not even know the alphabet. “Precious earth-moments when even evolution holds its breath.” The remnant descendants of the civilization stand separate from cultural, religious and caste systems…they remain aloof from it.

So, it is alluded that we are taken on this journey…with “a spirit of adventure, which grows and builds…an alchemical vessel to liberate the molten gold in the cells of man and in the atoms of matter…a house of transformation.”

This brilliant adventure ends by coming back to the beginning, a trope for the cyclical nature of History, which is about the continent that is now submerged. And yet, it has found a new home in Auroville, a new home for human unity.

The filmmaker panel discussion in the evening was a splendid occurrence, because three seemingly disparate documentaries found a commonality. The first documentary, “12 Petals” was of the spiritual exploration to design the Matrimandir. The second “Solidarity Crime” was about migrants in Europe. The third one was “Judges Under Pressure” where the Polish government has been undermining judicial independence.

The spiritual and the political found an agreement, for shouldn’t the two go about improving the lives of those involved? That going inward, spiritually, is filling a need to create dynamic compassion, which is what providing humanitarian aid to migrants, and canvassing and organizing for judicial autonomy are about anyway?

Also, I found a dynamism in each of the speakers as personalities. Juan from “Solidarity Crime” had a chatty effervescent energy, Kacper of “Judges…” had an erudite charm, holding back just that tad bit, and Michele of “12 Petals” had a warmth, and a keen sense of tying up things together which I felt helped the audience (especially at the end) create a shared space. I mean, she was talking of synchronicities, so…

Today was the screening of what I felt was my favourite documentary so far: Aware: Glimpses of Consciousness. The premises were “What is life?”, “What is consciousness?”, “What does it mean to be aware of being aware?” The conversation, the multiple frames-of-reference, the perspectives were of a Mayan healer from Chiapas, Mexico; a plant expert from Sydney, Australia; a neuroscientist; A psychedelic assisted therapy researcher from John Hopkins (I actually almost participated with their psilocybin study in Baltimore), and a Buddhist monk.

I felt there was a general tendency to ask questions more than finding solutions, given the nature of consciousness as not only on the fringes and the frontier of science, but the fact that questions arise as problematics to further research in any scientific endeavour. Questions are more compelling than blunt answers, they elicit awe and wonder, as impetus and momentum to continue searching, seeking, and exploration.

The awe and wonder leaps off the bat immediately: how did single cellular organisms evolve into the complexity of all the life we see around us? The Mayan healer says it’s not just human’s that think, but there is an essence in everything you can feel but cannot grasp. Deep. The neuroscientist: to delve into synapses and wonder where consciousness is. In all the grey goo of the brain, where is love? Or anger? Or jealousy?

Consciousness is subjective experience. But what does it mean to be?

In Buddhist science enlightenment is the direct finding of consciousness as pure awareness. The monk says science approaches consciousness from the outward in. But consciousness manifested as internal clarity is the true awareness of it.

To show us that plants also have consciousness, the plant scientist uses a Pavlovian method. Instead of food and a bell for a dog we have a light and a fan for a plant, and remarkably the outcome is much the same.

This same woman talks of feeling—and dreaming—of shamanic guides, the Mayan healer tells us all plants are sacred and some are even teachers.

Now, to go to psychedelic research with psilocybin “magic” mushrooms. “Meditation is a way to consciousness, mushrooms the crash course.” With psilocybin, feelings of transcendence, interconnectedness, even a profound feeling of “home-coming” a “remembering” occurs, even a readiness to face death in cancer patients with a sense of something continuing beyond death. Psychedelics, just like in meditation, shuts down the Default Mode Network—the circuitry of ego and Self—creating a state of mystical consciousness. As the ego and Self dissolve, one becomes fully aware of being aware…like hearing music for the first time or life’s heartbeat.

The documentary then gets deep and heavy—everything is of the same essence—there is a certain panpsychism.

Max Plank the great physicist declared consciousness as fundamental. Which I read as consciousness is irreducible, all things arise in consciousness. Let me elucidate: information from outside, say light waves, hit our sense instruments, here retina, is conveyed through the visual nerve to the occipital lobe where the waves are decoded. Does it truly reveal the world, with quarks and probabilities? Or waves beyond the visual spectrum? That sight and the seen are a common hallucination endemic to human beings, because we all have the same basic neuroanatomy.

And so, we must begin to see consciousness as irreducibly fundamental. Without a consciousness being aware what exists?

It doesn’t matter if you see yourself as a drop in an ocean, or an ocean in a drop.

The talk with Earthling Kaushalya director of “Crater” and Elizabeth Costa director of “Bangla Surf Girls”, was an energetic discussion.

I have talked earlier of the grotesqueness and gruesomeness of “Crater” before. The discussion turned out to deem the protagonist “pathological”. I hope Krishna wouldn’t mind my paraphrasing (and butchering) her comment that the acting was so bad and cliched it worked! Ha! The grandma—who is transgender—was an attempt to signify gender fluidity I found out (You learn something new every day! Ha!) I also gathered something fundamental about the repetition of the images, memories and scenes—to me they were not just imaginary but hallucinatory. Like I said, comforting, discomforting, the film contained a bit of jumping around in a very short span.

The discussion on “Bangla Surf Girls” went the way I thought it would. The girls did carry the banner of freedom through surfing. What was refreshing was that the filmmakers deliberately chose not to make it about solely “coming from poverty in a developing country”.

By Gautam Emani

Every year, thousands of migrants attempt the perilous journey from Africa to Europe. After crossing the Sahara they climb the border fences of Morocco to reach Spain’s coastal enclaves, or pay smugglers to ferry them in ramshackle boats from Tunisia and Lybia across the Mediterranean to Sicily and beyond. Fines, imprisonment and the occasional beatings are the best response the powers that be can muster to their glaring human plight. Concerned by the large numbers of refugees who routinely drown at sea off Europe’s coasts, civilians across southern Europe take the initiative to help the refugees, Challenging their own punitive governments, these warriors draw penalties to themselves.

“Solidarity Crime” documents an array of individuals willing to look beyond national and racial divides and take risks for others; from a Spanish catholic priest speaking out against the brutal treatment of refugees in Morocco, to activists meeting boats at sea, to the residents of a near-deserted south Italian village which has welcomed the newcomers into their abundant empty housing. As politicians focus on the legality of the travellers’ status, one migrant soberly explains their situation. For the few who do complete the journey into Europe after working temporary jobs in North Africa to pay the smugglers, there is no legal inclusion on the other side but only years of hard labour on European farms, without the prospect of social acceptance.

Meanwhile, on Europe’s other end, a different drama is unfolding. “Judges Under Pressure” follows the lives of members of Poland’s jurists. Three decades after their country’s liberation from Communism, these members of the judiciary serve as citizens’ strongest line of defence against police repression, yet are completely alone in their verdicts and vulnerable to slander and intimidation.

When a new government determined to consolidate power enacts a Muzzle Law, establishing a disciplinary chamber to bring its judges’ verdicts in line with their own policies, the jurists resist. It can be all too easy for those in positions of power to cave in to harassment of their family members or to the threat of losing their immunity and being locked out of the courtrooms. Yet these judges stand their ground, making the case that such policies contradict Poland’s constitution as well as EU law. They strive to continue to be present for those protesters risking arrest as they march against new restrictive legislation, refusing to see their country once again collapse into dictatorship.

Whether it is solidarity on the streets and at sea for those less priveleged, or work in the courtrooms to defend constitutional rights, Europeans are on the move to defend their ideals of freedom and compassion as evidenced in these two international documentaries. It is a struggle with no end in sight, but the outcomes will surely determine the continent’s prospects for human unity and progress.

In the villages of northern Tamil Nadu, kids secretly sneak out of home – but it is not for smoking or mischief. They go to watch and perform in Therukkoothu, a traditional performance art of south India involving theatre, song and dance, and centring on the land’s ancient gods and mythology.

In the documentary film Thirai Virutham, Sugumar shares his lifelong interest in this art form, first sparked by his performer grandfather. From childhood, he is fascinated with Therukkoothu’s instruments and stock characters such as the Buffoon, Kattiakkaran and the Mahabharata’s emperor Duryodhana. Always having wanted to learn the art, he finally gets his chance at the age of 20 upon encountering a street theatre troupe. They teach him how to play the instruments, sing background vocals and finally to act. But family insist on a sensible trade, limiting his practice time to evenings as he finishes a Bachelor of Commerce.

Even so, it is fate that Sugumar’s heart is not in his new profession. Fortunately, nearby Pondicherry University offers a program in drama, and he takes the chance to pursue this passion, opening up a whole new world of costume design, new musical instruments and literature, highly trained teachers from different parts of Tamil Nadu and much more. His journey leads him to Auroville, where he contacts and gets involved in the Auroville theatre group – which soon feels like a new family.

But his extensive study of acting methods from around the world always leads our protagonist back to his childhood passion, helping him to contextualize and understand his own cultural background and acting gifts.

The Auroville Film Festival is unique in presenting stories from Auroville’s bioregion, the extensive coastal and rural area surrounding the township. Sugumar’s film will stay with me as an introduction to a world wholly unfamiliar yet very close, fostering cultural exchange and understanding.

I attended the panel discussion with Yael Bartana of “Two Minutes to Midnight” and Aman Mann of “All That Breathes”. Although, I didn’t watch “Two Midnights…” I found the premise of a world run by women to be compelling and alluring. As an associate Cristophe said, the movie was an experimental, theatrical performance—fictional but very real. The idea is that world has come to a stalemate because of nuclear weapons, and missiles represent toxic masculinity.

“All That Breathes” is about two brothers in New Delhi who save injured black kites and heal and tend to them in their makeshift basement hospital. When it came to Aman’s chance a lot of background information was revealed. I did watch “All That Breathes” and I was struck by the visually-vibrant camera work. Aman tells us as they searched for wildlife in New Delhi, they spent days on single shots. The opening scene of the rats near a street took four days to shoot. With such care and delicate precision, it’s no wonder that the imagery was beyond scintillating.

Apparently, none of the crew on “All That…” were wildlife experts. Shaunak Sen the director studied Human Geography at Cambridge in 2018…which made him curious to find out about the human and non-human interactions, especially with such a concentration of raptors in such a small area in Delhi. Aman goes on to say that the makeshift basement hospital the brothers set up for the kites was “incredibly cinematic” with its water-logged floor and metal-cutting machines. So, the film found itself become a story of brothers and black kites, with its human and non-human interactions in a mega-metropolis of a city. Although, in Delhi the wildlife remains almost invisible.

The film, Aman says, was done in a languid style with focus shifts, which Cristophe called “poetic”.

However, in the backdrop was the protests and violence in New Delhi around the CAA and NRC Bills which was intentionally not brought to the foreground, so as not to sensationalize the violence.

The last question asked of Yael is a good segue into “This Stained Dawn”. When asked about women on both sides of the Gaza-Israel conflict could open communication, Yael gave us a vociferous: Yes!

Now, “In This Stained Dawn” the voices of the feminist women in the Aurat (Women’s) March in Pakistan is vociferous, but the results are bittersweet. There is the triumphant raising of women’s voices and yet an oddly severe backlash from Pakistan’s extreme Far-Right. The women are only claiming bodily autonomy and safety from rape and molestation through the slogan of “My Body, My Choice”. The women also want the freedoms of merely leaving the home, be it to get an education, or to work. The backlash is startling. One man goes off on a feminist on Nation TV with a “Shut up, bitch”. The women marchers are met with cowardly counter-protesters who through stones at them and run away. Nevertheless, a revolution is a carnival for the oppressed, and these oppressed, marginalized women want a fair share of their own seemingly necessary rights, through singing, dancing, carrying placards and a little bit of street theatre.

By Gautam Emani

Sometimes we need to step outside our world for a clearer view, and this is exactly what two filmmakers do in “Auroville Exchange”. Hailing from two opposite ends of India, Auroville’s Serena Aurora and Lobsang from Zanskar Valley in Ladakh each explore one another’s world on their quest for sustainable living.

With diametrically opposite climates and very different languages and cultures, it can seem as if Ladakh and Auroville were in two separate countries. Faced with melting glaciers and a rapidly rising population, Zanskar Valley, traditionally sparsely populated and self-sufficient, is threatened by water scarcity. An energetic campaigner for sustainability, Lobsang’s search for solutions for his people leads him across the country to Auroville, where he meets remarkable leaders in ecological experimentation. Meanwhile, Serena from tropical coastal oasis Auroville journeys to an altitude of 5000 m in Ladakh, where she explores traditional Buddhist culture and the authenticity of a self-reliant life in the highlands, far away from the city buzz.

Comparing their experiences, both travellers discover a deep commitment to their respective societies, which are as resilient as their residents. Their conclusion: Zanskar valley and Auroville are both spiritual communities worthy of a future. In this thought-provoking short film, Serena shows how human unity can be found even in our differences by holding true to our shared aspirations for a harmonious existence.

by Daniel

The Auroville Film Festival 2024 promises to be an electrifying immersive experience, if we are to go by the jolly good show of the opening ceremony. It sizzled and popped. What josh! The most scintillating part was the Kalaripayattu performance. With swords, and shields and steel whips and spears, I thought someone would get hurt! There was a dancing to it, a whirling, a spiralling. But the artistes were deft and adept and showed a remarkable dexterity, and I will let you know: nobody was hurt, and nobody died! The degree of control with which the artistes commanded their deadly weapons was frighteningly amazing.

There was also a minimalist musical ensemble (I am afraid I do not know the technical term for the kind of music), which began hauntingly like a whisper, a dainty whistling, before it sprang into a rhythmic, thumping display that exulted our ears.

Finally, there was a fire-dancing performance by a woman, who made sure nothing, and I mean nothing, was burnt to a cinder.

The film that grasped me by the scruff was “All That Breathes” is a quaint (as in “unusually beautiful” not “old-fashioned”) quixotic tale. It’s spacetime-gravity is warped by beautiful philosophical and metaphysical speculations. Two brothers in the convoluted mega-metropolis of New Delhi, take care of the birds of prey, the black kites, which are essential to the ecosystem of Delhi, yet are being suffocated out of existence. In their aviary of a basement, a makeshift hospital is set up. The narrative contains the story of one brother’s dreams and aspirations since childhood of becoming an astronomer or geologist, till he makes it to the US for higher education. There are striking lines in this charming film like, for instance, on the profound reality of Darwinian evolution—how that over generations kites have altered themselves to fit in with the whole mess of a city that is Delhi. The images in this charming movie are visually-vibrant; it’s top-notch cinematography. The story is direct and told with candour and clarity of the kind that drags you into its narrative. Deep, explorative with sly, light humour, this is a jewel of a film.

Overall, the first day of the Festival was pregnantly expectant (as they say—I guess). It started with the right dazzling kind of ambience, through the Opening Ceremony, which drew the crowd in, to anticipate some sheer artistry, be it the Ceremony itself, the music, the food, and of course the films.

It is January 22nd, and the blowing of a conch marks the start of the 8th Auroville Film Festival at the Town Hall campus. The audience are treated to a concert by the Saragam drummers, a martial arts show by Kshetra Kalari demonstrating the use of swords, daggers, a spear and other weapons, and a fire baton performance by Aurovilian Monica. Soon, dinner is served to the music of The Trio Jazztified, a band of Auroville musicians.

All That Breathes

There is an old belief that feeding kites – a common predatory bird – purifies one’s karma. This informs the life journey of brothers Nadeem and Saud, as documented in the opening film by Shaunak Sen. The siblings have devoted the past 20 years to a wildlife rescue centre caring for injured birds. Kites have adapted to Delhi’s chaos, feasting at its gargantuan landfills and hunting from rooftops. But in this city where monkeys scale the jungle of electric cables and chimneys spew pollution into the air, more and more birds are falling from the sky.

The brothers, meanwhile, can not ignore the political turmoil and flooding which are the background for their noble pursuit. It is 2020, and hatred erupts into violent religious riots and arson in their city. Yet the duo continue washing birds behind their ears, in the way that a mother washes her children. Transcending the species barrier is not something they have to fake or try to achieve. The two spontaneously feel oneness with all that breathes.

Two Minutes to Midnight

Yael Bartana asks a simple question: What if women ruled the world? A fictional country elects an all-women government on a platform of disarmament and pacifism. But are they naïve? When the routine puerile bullying of familiar-sounding President Arnold Twittler, the leader of a large foreign nation, takes on the increasingly ominous tone of a serious nuclear threat, their high ideals are tested.

Female experts and leaders gather in Dr. Strangelove’s “War Room”, now transformed into a Peace Room to experiment with dispelling the horrors of Mutually Assured Destruction. President Fouéré is supported by a circle of women committed to a different path, but the difficult choice is hers alone to make.

Adithalam (Basic Education)

It’s all too easy for children from farming families to get discouraged from education, especially when faced with shaming and the lack of support from teachers and family. Yatra Srinivassan’s film dramatizes one such situation, focusing on Saraswathi, a 6th-grader still struggling with reading and writing.

Yet a caring teacher at the right time can make all the difference between despair and the willingness to persevere in the pursuit of a better life than one’s parents had. Science teacher Sumathi has what it takes to give Saraswathi confidence, becoming her greatest inspiration in this sweet affirmation of inclusion and social responsibility.

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by Daniel

Watch videos with the two juries announcing the awards in the respective categories as well as short award acceptance video messages by the winning filmmakers below:

International category of “films that develop the theme of human unity”:

Wisdom Award

A Letter From India by Naveed Mulki & Shaktiraj Singh Jadeja

A small diverse village of 30000 in southwest India demonstrates its ability to live a harmonious existence. The film is shot in b&w with soft gentle awareness that brings a rich vibration to the viewers.

Cinema Paradiso Awards

In Your Eyes by Barak Heymann

A reflection of real, authentic, spontaneous ‘human unity’ is inevitably the internet, the world wide web, so to say… where all identities mingle, they can relate to each other, have access to each other… without judgement there can be understanding and acceptance. The ‘Web Stars’ or the internet influencers are in that sense true icons of human unity… as beautifully portrayed in the film ‘In Your Eyes’… In Israel, those from social margins, outside the mainstream, find a ground, a voice and a huge following, they find love and connection.

White Eye by Tomer Shushan

A young Israeli man comes across his stolen bicycle. Seeking justice he contacts the authorities. What develops changes his perception dramatically, compassion comes to the foreground too late.

Jury Award

Baluji by Marie-Cécile Embleton

If there is an inspiration, a lesson in indefatigable spirit, it is in the film ‘Baluji’… ‘Baluji’ also takes us into a sweet journey of love and dedication, the kind of love that we cross our fingers for! A story of truly empowering companionship and collaboration, we all yearn for. And of course music, its practice and pursuit and that can heal, connect and liberate!

Category of “films made by Aurovilians, bioregion residents and guests of Auroville”:

Cinema Paradiso Award

Learning from the Intangible by Alessandra Silver

The Cinema Paradisio award under the category of Auroville films at the 2022 Auroville Film Festival is given to ‘Learning from the Intangible’ by Alessandra Silver. It is a film that truly captures the essence of an Aurovillian educational experience for children, creating space and opportunities to learn and expand their knowledge and experiential horizons. The “Free Progress” pedagogy and curriculum are embedded in a value system that enables “integral education” grounded in reality, culture, and virtues essential for the sustenance of the human and ecological spirit. The voices of parents and children in Auroville make the “intangible” actually “tangible”, and the film becomes a medium of inspiring educators and parents to engage with a process that will build a generation of citizens who would actualise “the psychic being”. The film is shot and edited to make for lived storytelling. As India moves forward to implement the New Education Policy 2020, this documentary can sensitise and inspire educational policymaking and practice to transform education. The words “nothing can be taught” stay with you beyond the 85-minute film.

Wisdom Award

Conversations on Death by Serena Aurora

The Wisdom award under the category of Auroville films at the 2022 Auroville Film Festival is given to ‘Conversations on Death’ with Aurovilians by Serena Aurora and Danielle de Diesbach. A thought-provoking exposition, the film reflects on the meaning of death, and ‘death in Auroville’. A wide gamut of ideas is brought forth including the conquest of death “where each cell of our body will have to become conscious.” Pithy words by Sri Aurobindo and The Mother punctuate Danielle de Diesbach’s exploration as she sets out to interview Aurovillians, young and old. The perspectives of the interviewees along with the meditative words and music offer an understanding that frees you from the fear and apprehension of death. “The material or physical causes of death are not its sole or its true cause: its true inmost reason is the spiritual necessity for the evolution of a new being.” The film is aurally and visually orchestrated with substance and meaning, drawing ‘Death’, typically considered a ‘dark’ subject, into the light.

Jury Award

En Udambu (My Body) by Earthling Koushalya

The Jury award under the category of Auroville films at the 2022 Auroville Film Festival is given to ‘En Udambu (My Body)’ by Earthling Koushalya. A socially sensitive film on the use of online social media as a medium of sexual violence against women, this is a powerful representation of women reclaiming their bodies as their own, against this violation. The protagonist uses the same online space to challenge the male toxic behaviour that violates her privacy, with a counter-strategy in which her body becomes a weapon of resistance and breaks the barriers of social stigma and shame that she is threatened by. The private and public lens on ‘My Body’ merge in the depiction of love and pride that a woman has for her body, against the fear she is expected to live with, to protect her body. Subtle lighting and music combine to bring the actors’ narrative alive, with scope for more.

Mongbra Award

Pre-Monsoon by Jonak Chakrabarti

The Mongbra award under the category of Auroville films at the 2022 Auroville Film Festival is given to ‘Pre-Monsoon’ by Jonak Chakrabarti. A fun film with a youthful perspective… sometimes abstract, sometimes real…in Auroville. Awarded for its creative and experimental take on memories and growing up, relationships with the self and others, friendships and dreams… magnifying life with curiosity and love. A scientist, a detective and an experiment in an unsuspecting town, truly this is what an Aurovillian journey can be. Free of any ‘isms’, finding your own paths with freedom and a spirit of unlearning and being one with nature and its surprises. The scripting, camerawork and editing make the film engaging, but warrant a shorter and tighter film.

Special Motivation Award

Lockdown – 48 Athisayam by Yatra Srinivassan

Special Motivation award under the category of Auroville films at the 2022 Auroville Film Festival goes to ‘Lockdown – 48 Athisayam’ by Yatra Srinivassan. A satirical take on life within four walls, this film calls for public viewing on a significant day to day experience with male alcoholism and marital relations. This short film uses language and actions to open a window into the reality of life on the peripheries of Auroville.

Dear Cinestaan editors, thank you very much for this feature on your platform!

https://www.cinestaan.com/articles/2022/jan/21/32965/auroville-film-festival-showcasing-over-70-films-online

Keep checking back as more recordings will be added as they become available!

Daljeet Wadhwa, co-director of this year’s Auroville Film Festival officially opens the festival!

Watch the films for free on https://auroville.shift72.com

This year the accompanying live concerts by Aurovilian musicians took place as live streams on this page. Recordings of each stream are still available below.

The program:

Tuesday, January 18, 18.30 – 20.00 IST: NoizeGate

Wednesday, January 19, 18.30 – 20.00 IST: (Dusha cancelled) Last Minute

Thursday, January 20, 18.30 – 20.00 IST: Bulletproof Funk

Friday, January 21, 18.30 – 20.00 IST: (H&M Duo / DJS Trio cancelled) The Dream

Saturday, January 22, 18.30 – 20.00 IST: Swaha Blues Band (/ ADR Trio cancelled)

Marco, the artistic director of the festival, introduces the award trophies, this year made by Aurovilian ceramic artist Rakhee Kane.

And, as in all the previous editions, we have the MongBra challenge trophy, a brass sculpture made by Johnny depicting a Mongoose and a Cobra, which is being return to us in every next edition.

January 18-23, 2022

The 2022 Auroville Film Festival will be an online edition. This allows us to continue enjoying great movies, while reaching the many people who cannot travel to Auroville during the pandemic.

This year we feature films in two categories. The international category of films that develop the theme of human unity contains 35 films from 18 different countries. The Aurovilians category has 36 films from 14 Aurovilians and residents of the bioregion, including one student. These give a taste of the creative life in the Auroville area.

As of January 2022, the world has been living with the new Covid reality for nearly two years. At times it seemed like we could still hold a physical event at Town Hall as in previous years, but the new Omicron wave, and resulting lockdown restrictions, have made a physical event impossible.

Thanks to the financial support of AVI-USA we have partnered with Shift72, a major online film festival platform, to bring the event online at auroville.shift72.com. As in previous years, all films are completely free. Most films in the human unity category, and all those made by Aurovilians and bioregion residents, can be accessed from around the world. The works of those creators who have not given worldwide streaming permission, are only available within India.

How to use the Shift72 platform:

1. Go to https://auroville.shift72.com

2. Click “Create Account” on top right and enter email and password (only need to do this once, subsequently click “Log In“))

3. Choose the film(s) you want to watch and click “Buy $0.00” for each film

4. All “bought” films appear in your Library (top right, under your account symbol)

5. All films will only be available to watch from January 18 onwards.

6. You can “buy” films until January 23.

7. Once you “bought” films and they appear in your library you have time until February 8 to watch them.

Music Events

The Auroville musicians have always supported the Auroville Film Festival, creating the vibrant ambience that our audiences loved in every edition. This year, respecting lockdown protocols, live music will be streamed online from Auroville every day of the festival from 18.30 to 20.00 IST.

Look for us on FB and Instagram for the latest information about the films, interviews with the filmmakers, the daily line-up of musicians and live concert streaming links.

For further information, contact:

aurovillefilmfestival [at] auroville.org.in

c/o MMC/Cinema Paradiso (A City Service of Auroville), Town Hall, Auroville, TN 605010, India

Thanks to Luca for this beautiful trailer to our Auroville Film Festival 2022. Music by Dhani. Mastering by Stefano.

The next Auroville Film Festival will be in 2019…

AVFF 2017 from AVOUTREACHMEDIA on Vimeo.

Auroville’s 50th anniversary celebrations began today, Saturday 16th December 2017, kicking off with the 5th Auroville Film Festival – 149 films from 40 countries shown over the next 7 days. Alongside the Film Festival is a Food Festival, showcasing a different international cuisine each night; the opening night features food from Auroville’s African community. There are also art installations, music, drama and dance performances, and an atmosphere not to be missed.

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CLOSING CEREMONY! By 5pm a large ANTICIPATORY CROWD waited to hear the Judges Choices. But before the grand finale Francois & friend performed an acrostic UNPLUGED set. The Director of Directors, Krishna with Sasi by her side took FRONT n CENTRE and got down to business. Welcoming the crowd and thanking all the people who made this event possible. Then in due course presented three of the judges. The 3 judges in turn ANNOUNCED the WINNING FILMs. Then more of Francois & friend singing traditional songs from around the world (fitting for HUMAN UNITY). Krishna and Sasi were back for more MCing and then they introduced the Secord round of judges. The Judges (with a little DRUM ROLL) then announced the final WINNERS. All the winners received a BEAUTIFUL plaque from Accomplished Aurovillian Artist, Priya Sundaravalli, which she graciously DONATED to the Film Festival. Lastly, our Director of Directors announced the coveted MONGBRAS award (which is the AUDIENCE AWARD).

Then the crowd was treated to Auroville’s talented YOUTH (via TLC: one of Auroville’s schools) who provided a varied musical performance and a cast of 20?. There were individual, duets, and group performances. Later the Svaram group and Mohanam group (Bamboo Team) gave sterling percussionist performances.

FOODIES: To MEAT or not to MEAT: During the past 7 days, we had vegetarian & vegan meals. BUT tonight, people could choose between Chicken Biriyani or Veg. At 6:30p part of the crowd from the AWARDs Ceremony moved IN-MASS like a single un-coiling ORGANISIM to queue (line up) for some South Indian Chicken Biriyani or veg. Oh there maybe one more blog to WRAP UP UNFINISHED business and I will include the menu of each evening.

OK NOW what U all have been waiting for, can I have a Drum Roll…
ENVELOP PLEASE! & THE WINNERS ARE:

The 3-member jury, comprising of Kavitha, Moghan and Charu came to a mutual agreement, under HUMAN UNITY category.
1 – CINEMA PARADISO AWARD: “POLAROID” (16 minutes)

Director: Thomas Larsen Otterdal

The reason the judges selected this film was that the film is a strong invitation for all of us to take responsibility for our preconditioning.

2- WISDOM AWARD: “HERITAGE FIGHT” (91 minutes)

Director: Eugénie Dumont

The reason the judges selected this film was that the film was a great story of preservation of ancestral wisdom and values

3- JURY AWARD: “UN PAIS DI CALABRIA” (90 minutes)

Directors: Shu Aiello/ Catharine Catella

The reason the judges selected this film was that this film is a wonderful example of human acceptance and openness. And I’ll add: It provides a ROAD MAP for the refugee crisis of Europe, and where n how to resettle refugees.

The Jury decided to give two special mentions as follow:

1- “RIDING LOVE” (3 minutes)

The reason for special mention of this film is that it is an attempt at an alternative economy where joy and happiness rather than power and money is the objective.

2- “ELEPHANT’S PLAYMATE” (6 minutes)

The reason for special mention of this film is that it is a great example of how a story can be told simply and directly.

Next were the 3 AUROVILLE categories and the judges were Radhika Khanna, Aravindan.G.P., Jeanluc Buro (these judges gave their reasons on stage).

ABOUT Auroville

Paradiso Award: Auroville’s Children – Special mention: Unique Towns – Auroville
Jury Award: Ecovillage Design Education Documentary Auroville – Special mention: The Mother
Wisdom Award: Tree House Community

BY Aurovillians/Bioregion

Paradiso Award: Together – Special mention: Blue Boy
Jury Award: Asylum Park – Special mention: Earth and Bamboo
Wisdom Award: Inner Dialogues (episode one for re-screening) – Special mention: Be Part of the Solution and Not the Problem
Creativity Award: Entre chien et loup Special Mention: Path that Leads Nowhere

STUDENTS:
Paradiso Award: DotA 2 Tribute
Jury Award: A Collection of Animations
Wisdom Award: Open Your Eyes

Trashion Show by Masha got the Audience Award – Mongbra

THAT’S ALL FOLKS! Till we meet again at AVFF 2019’ It was a great FESTIVAL and we thank everyone who had a hand in it. WE LOOK FORWARD TO MORE FILMS (hopefully FOOD – Aneeta) n entertainment for the next rendition.
Till Then,
The AVFF 17’ gang

Today had a slew of Films (many short ones) to view. Today marks the last day to choose which venue and movie you want to watch, because tomorrow there won’t be any films to watch from 4-6:30pm. There will only be one showing and that is at the MMC where all the winning films will be screened. This should take about 2.5 hrs. So be on time tomorrow, Saturday at 5 pm, so that you can catch the AWARD CEREMONY, a GALA ENTERTAINMENT Presentation & then a MARATHONE of GREAT WINNING FLICKS…

Carbon Neutral Fund: I was on my way to edit in AV Radio when I ran into Glenn (Forest Group) and he thanked AVFF for the Rs7000 money we raised for our Carbon Neutral Fund (CNF). The CNF was a new AVFF initiative which sought to raise funds via a Crowd Funding portal and for every $10 donation we (Forest Group) would plant a tree. Global Warming is the greatest threat to the Earth (well actually HUMANS are the greatest treat!). And planting trees plays a role in binding the CO2 into the tree. A tropical tree does this 365 days of the year, where a temperate tree may only for ¾ of the year. We hope to make the CNF even bigger next Festival and lighten our carbon footprint.

FOODIES: AVERTING a MIDDLE EASTERN DELIGHT DISASTER: A series of BAZZAR COINCEDENCES created a STATE OF SEIGE & PANIC & almost torpedoed our Middle East Dinner! Let me explain…Orly decided that she had too much on her plate (hummus, falafel, pita)J and wanted to cancel Middle Eastern Night and tried to meet with Aneeta on Monday to inform her of her intentions. However, Aneeta was cooking North Indian so forgot all about the meeting. Orly tried to arrange another meeting but that didn’t work either so Orly sent a Facebook post to Aneeta saying she had to CANCEL THE DINNER. Aneeta replied ‘OK no problem, food festival going fine’. Early yesterday Aneeta realizing that TOMORROW is the dinner – so calls Orle to discuss how she could help. Orly response with ‘What are you talking about, I canceled the dinner and you replied that it was FINE!’ Aneeta replies ‘What, I never said no such THING!’ Orly says ‘Here’s your post! Aneeta looks at it and says, ‘LOOK at the PHOTO that’s not me, nor is my name spelled Anita! Orly DOUBLE TAKES and doesn’t know WHAT TO THINK.

As it turns out Orly had two Aneeta/Anita who were working on Food Festivals and got their WIRES CROSS. So Orly AVERTED a MIDDLE EASTERN DISASTER & made it a DELIGHT with lots of hard work and coordination. So, if you see Orle thank her for going beyond the call of DUTY! Middle East dinner was a close 2nd.

MUSICA: We were first treated to a mix of some funky tunes by Rai Barelli electric veena band. They played a good but short set. Then the The Nu Jazz Trio (Suresh on drums, Dhani on bass and Yuri on keys) STEPPED UP n took the stage and jammed and the moved the audiance. The base player and keyboardist shared some nice LICKS. The movin and grovin crowd was treated to some WICKED MODERN JAZZ.

A little before 8pm the band wrapped it up and then people drifted to the different movie venues.

… and a few more photos by Marco S.

See all of Serena’s films at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCprfkWyP0z-RqxZU-UQWcuw

To celebrate the beginning of the school holidays, we invite you to Cinema Paradiso at 4 pm until 5:20 pm for really good films for children that the young and young at heart will enjoy.

In the Archive building, from 4 pm to 10:30 pm, we present a series of short fictions and documentaries, with a few standing out: the poetic A Passion of Gold and Fire, the touching Al Sheikh Noel, and the surprising Geneva Convention.

At 8 pm at Cinema Paradiso, another one of our favourites of the festival not to be missed, Nobody Knows my Songs by Zoran Maslic. It is a movie about identity, sense of belonging, friendship and love. “The more I worked on Nobody Knows my Songs, the more I understood that Berge Arabian, my main character, is a bridge-maker. It is because of people like him that we can cross to the other shores, not always having to swim through cold and dark waters.”

Also at 8 pm at the outdoor venue, Angry Buddha will bring you to Hungary where János Orsós, a teacher and a Buddhist founded a school to help teenagers from the poorest Romani ghettos to attend universities.

It is not over!! Tomorrow afternoon, at 5, the winners will be revealed, and at 8 pm, we will screen the winning films, so you have one last chance to see these beautiful movies from all 4 categories.

above photos by Marco S.

Thursday, day 6, and once more, you’ll have the opportunity to learn more about 2 films. After the screening of

At the outdoor screen, Magali Chirouze, the producer of Stony Paths, will answer your questions after the screening which starts at 9:30 pm. The movie follows Arnaud Khayadjanian in Turkey, in the land of his forefathers who survived the genocide, where he meets people who saved Armenians in 1915.

There are a few films from the Human Unity category that really caught our attention, and Natural Disorder, playing at 8 pm at Cinema Paradiso is definitely one of them. This captivating film shows us how Jacob Nossell, a young Dane of Korean descent suffering from cerebral palsy is creating a play on the subjects of normality, ability, and the right to live. As the director says it beautifully: “He is too handicapped to be accepted and too normal to accept his destiny”.

At 10 pm, at Cinema Paradiso, don’t miss Asmad, set in a Himalayan village, a short fiction about a young boy weighed down by guilt due to an incident that he feels responsible for.

Only 3 days to go, and more beautiful films…

above photos by Marco S.

Starting at 8 pm at the outdoor site, we have 3 great movies back to back. Do not miss the dynamic and clever Fast Forward in which a former trader turned teacher questions his pupils and experts on the subject of the acceleration of time, therefore making us reflect on our own relation to time.
Right after, be touched by Alzheimer’s – A Love Story which is, as the title implies, a beautiful love story.
Then, meet Udai, the adorable and colorful rickshaw driver from Riding Love who will restore your faith in humanity.

If you feel you already saw some good movies, the best is yet to come!

above photos by Marco S.

above photos by Ake

MOVIES: to show, or not to show, or WHEN to show, that is the question?  Over the years we (AVFF) have tried lots of different combinations of when to screen movies at the different venues on weekdays; eg mornings, noon to 5 etc. Often the venues were empty – so this year we decided to start screening from 4 to 6 and 8 to 10:30pm.  Tho the late sessions go even longer due to our extended program of SKYPE’s & Directors access – we are using Skype (4x) plus Directors/Producers (4x) who have come to the festival – to hear first hand, INSIGHTS and Q&A from them.  This is a major feature of this festival (we trialed it last year and STEPPed IT UP this year).

EAT’s! OK OK I know you’re wondering what orgasmic culinary delights we had last night – North Indian cuisine:  Aneeta and Lalit led the charge to provide us with a YUMMY North Indian dinner.   A SAD NOTE:  Most of the of the evenings meals are sold out, there are still a few available.

Musica! The program said that the International Film Festival 4Tet Jazz group would play from 7-8pm.   However, they started at 6:15pm and played past 8pm, I don’t know the exact time cuz I went to watch a movie at 8 but they were still jamming…really great jazz.  We hope to hear more from them again soon.

You will have the opportunity via Skype to talk with Mattie Porte, one of the directors of  An Enquiry Into a New Story for Humanity: Change the Story, Change the World, which was shot in the Findhorn Ecovillage in Scotland, and at 8 pm, on the outdoor screen, you will see a series of short fictions from the Human Unity category.

Now, for our favorite films of the day:

In Taxi Tehran, also at 8 pm, at Cinema Paradiso, let Jafar Panahi drive you through the streets of Tehran where you’ll meet all kind of passengers. The particularity of this film is that it was made clandestinely, as Panahi is banned from making films for 20 years. But as he says himself, “Nothing can prevent me from making films since when being pushed to the ultimate corners I connect with my inner-self and, in such private spaces, despite all limitations, the necessity to create becomes even more of an urge.”

A little later, at 9:45 pm, again in Cinema Paradiso, a group of 18 year old French students of diverse ethnic background bring us to Montreal as they try to see what life as a minority is like there. Through the people they meet, they question their own sense of identity.

Our recommendation for today is Marzia, my Friend, a beautiful and interesting documentary on an Afghan journalist and her dream of freedom. Through the intimate portrait of Marzia, Kirsi Mattila, the director, talks about the status of Afghan women today. But the film is more than that, it is also about the friendship between two women from two very different cultures.

Enjoy!

above photos by Marco S.

above photos by Olivier

above photos by Ake

above photos by Loki

photos by Marco S.