Urban Lens 2018
Bengaluru: 20 – 23 September 2018 | New Delhi: 16 – 18 November 2018 | Mumbai: 7 – 8 December 2018
After successful editions in Bengaluru and New Delhi earlier this year, the Indian Institute for Human Settlements is collaborating with Godrej India Culture Lab to take a travelling package of some of the best films from the current edition of the festival to Mumbai between 7 – 8 December 2018.
These films explore different facets of what the city produces – whether political, social, economic or cultural. These films frame cities beyond their skylines by teasing out individual/collective stories and experiences of people from around the world. Adding to this dialogue will be conversations with directors, a panel discussion, a poetry session, four exhibitions and a public talk.
This travelling package hopes to create a space for reflection and spark critical discussions about cinema and the nature of the urban experience. To register please click here.
PANEL DISCUSSION:
The panel discussion ‘Mapping the City’ featuring Anica Mann-Kapur from Global Xplorer (Global Xplorer uses satellite mapping to make archaeological data accessible to all and to create a network of citizen explorers), Jasmine Lovely George, Founder of Hidden Pockets (a multimedia feminist project mapping out where women and trans people can access the sexual health resources and services they need) and Padma Shri winning freelance photographer, Sudharak Olwe, who has travelled the country photographing stories of change and resilience in rural and urban communities. This conversation will be moderated by the Head of the Godrej India Culture Lab, Parmesh Shahani.
PUBLIC TALK:
The City and the Creative Economy: Keynote by Aromar Revi
Mr Revi delivers a keynote on why the urban is important, especially in the context of Agenda 2030.The talk will highlight the relationship between the creative economy and the city and how culture, art and cinema allow us to think about the complex nature of our cities and the people who inhabit it.
EXHIBITIONS:
Mumbai – Above and Below: This two-part exhibit showcases the work of photographers Sudharak Olwe and Johnny Miller. Sudharak Olwe’s In Search of Dignity and Justice explores the indignities suffered by Mumbai’s conservancy workers and Johnny Miller’s Unequal Scenes as a contrast offers aerial shots of Mumbai that highlight the stark economic disparity of the city.
Bambaiyya V R: in this virtual reality journey of Mumbai’s cultural heritage, you will get to see the folk stories of the city’s traditional communities come to life.
Love in the City is an intimate gallery of photographic feelings captured by the students of the Photography Trust of India.
Memories of Mumbai by GPL Design Studio is an interactive map for you to participate in and recollect your fondest memories in Mumbai.
The fifth edition of the Urban Lens Film Festival runs from 20 – 23 September 2018 in Bengaluru and 16 – 18 November 2018 in New Delhi in association with the Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan in both cities.
The growth of cinema world over has been deeply influenced by different forms of urbanization. The Urban Lens Film Festival hopes to excavate aspects of this symbiotic relationship especially in countries of the Global South. Asia, Latin America and Africa have cinematic traditions that reflect their histories and complexities. The story of urbanization in these countries have distinct trajectories as compared to countries of the North, and the festival attempts to bring together these myriad films that argue and are in conversation with each other. The festival will screen films from various genres such as fiction, non-fiction, animation and experimental films, made over a wide span of the last sixty years.
Like previous editions, the festival hopes to further diverse discourses around film practices and forms and its intrinsic relationship to the city. Post-screening discussions with the director open up an interaction space for the audience, bringing in a multiplicity of perspectives that make the experience of community viewing richer. This remains one of the most important aspects of the festival. There will also be a Masterclass on the role, position and trajectories of cities in films and an in-depth conversation with a film practitioner, who will take us through the process of unbundling their craft.
We hope that these dialogues and exchanges will highlight the politics and concerns around cities and generate a new meaning of the role cinema plays in shaping our understanding of urban issues.