Reflecting Images – Panorama
The Rat Race
Miriam Chandy Menacherry WORLD PREMIERE
India, 2011 HD, color, 52 min Director: Miriam Chandy Menacherry Photography: Sameer Mahajan Editing: Monisha Baldawa Sound: Sunil Da Cunha, Gissy Michael Music: Joseph De Souza Production: Aruna Balkrishna Singh & Miriam Chandy Menacherry & Paul Vincent Menacherry for Filament Pictures World Sales: Filament Pictures Distribution for the Benelux: Jan Vrijman Fund Screening Copy: Filament Pictures Involved TV Channel: DR Website: www.theratrace.co.in
Miriam Chandy Menacherry: Circles in the Sand (2003) Back to the Floor (2004) Stuntmen of Bollywood (2005) Mee Koli (2005) Robot Jockey (2008) A Light Burns (2009)
Jan Vrijman Fund
For every person living in Mumbai, a city of 14 million, there are approximately six rats. In 1967, the local authorities set up a special department to tackle this problem. Every night, armed with a stick and trash bags, the men of the NRK (Night Rat Killers) take to the streets to free the city of these undesirable hairy little inhabitants. The rats do not only increase the risk of infectious diseases, but they also cause a great deal of damage by, for example, destroying or eating market produce. It’s not easy to become a Night Rat Killer. Because this job is so desirable – it pays well – applicants have to pass through a rigorous selection process. Men come from all over, all with their own reasons for wanting to join the team. The boss of the NRK’s B-Ward, whose first ambition was a film career, sees his work as a military operation and compares himself to James Bond. Other rat killers are trying to pay for their studies or feed their families in the countryside. The film not only gives an impression of this unusual vocation, but also exposes the harsh reality of everyday life for many inhabitants of Mumbai.
Reflecting Images – Panorama
Red Fairy n the Holy Ghost Balaka Ghosh
WORLD PREMIERE
India, 2011 video, color, 53 min Director: Balaka Ghosh Photography: Kumud Ranjan Screenplay: Balaka Ghosh Editing: Rana Banerjee Sound: Chinmoy Nath Production: Balaka Ghosh for Next Story Executive Production: Kumud Ranjan for Next Story Distribution for the Benelux: Jan Vrijman Fund Screening Copy: Next Story
Balaka Ghosh:
Anukampan (1993) Silence Speaks (1994) Roman Connection (1995) Nirabata Theke Shanti (1997) The Vehicle with the Soul of a Man (1999) Notun Bhorer Dike (2002) Looking Back (2004) Mother, Media and Landmines (2009) In Search of Alha (2010) Appan Samachar (2011)
Jan Vrijman Fund
In the opening scene of Red Fairy n the Holy Ghost, the man is matter-of-fact. “I believe she is a witch, so I cut off her head.” He has a machete in one hand, and in the other a tuft of hair from the severed head that’s hanging from his back. This shocking image reveals how dangerous an accusation of witchcraft is for women in rural India. The first woman who publicly fought back against this humiliation and the accompanying human rights violations is Chhutni Mahtain, the subject of this documentary. In the district where she lives, more than 300 women were said to be witches and murdered between 1991 and 1995. This superstitious practice often affects women who are widows or whose husbands are away. Potential victims might be accused of having taken land or property, or perhaps they refused a sexual advance. Local leaders and police deny the allegations and allow perpetrators to go unpunished. The filmmakers are there to capture a woman as she confronts a village chief and a witch doctor about their immoral behavior. All the men in the village stand up and shout, “Let’s kill her! Now!” The intimidation and tension is made palpable by the close-up handheld camera work, without any musical accompaniment.
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