In our Covid times, theater-going feels like a thing we took for granted. Covid has hit the industry hard with theatres reeling from it’s effect. The content on streaming is only improving, but the main point of the theater vs. streaming arguement wasn’t the quality of the films, but it was about the theatrical experience. Some consider the experience overrated, that nostalgia is the only reason we haven’t let go of theatres. The theatrical experience though is much more than that. Not only does seeing a film on the big screen differ from the experience of seeing it at home (no matter how good the set-up or how dark the room is) it’s also the feeling of watching it with a audience who might or might not be in line with your opinion on the film. I watched Rustom with an audience that was equally as hostile to the film as I was and once the catcalling and booing began the film drifted to the background and we only focused on the individual lines to pass a rude comment. Conversely, by the middle of Judgemental Hai Kya the crowd had turned on the film and it felt like I was the only person still enjoying it. Both of these experiences are valuable to me even if they don’t constitute ‘good’ movie-going behaviour.
Film Festivals are of course an entirely different matter. Here, people are expected to be quiet in line with the general environment that surrounds the festival. Film Festivals are invaluable to me (my first blog posts were about them) and due to theaters being shut down film festivals have been cancelled too. We Are One contends to bring the festival home to your screens. In these times, it is the best alternative.
One can visit the We Are One YouTube page to take a look at their whole catalogue but here are five films I’m most looking forward to:
Eeb Allay Ooo: A winner at the Mumbai Film Festival (who are one of the co-sponsors of this event).
Bridges of Sarajevo: A grouping of short films dedicated to the city of Sarajevo one hundred years after World War I. Features contributions from the likes of Jean-Luc Godard and Cristi Puiu.
Shiraz: A Romance of India: An silent epic concentrated on the Taj Mahal directed by a British filmmaker. Perhaps an early precursor to the likes of Mughal-E-Azam and Fritz Lang’s Indian Epics?
Amreeka: The title alone tells you this is going to be a story of Asian immigrants to America. In this case, it’s about Palestinians.
Adela Has Not Had Supper Yet: Any film that states it’s genres as comedy, crime and fantasy is going to have me interested.
In addition, there are a number of interesting-looking shorts and talks with filmmakers and actors held at various festivals. Some of the talks to see are the ones between Oliver Assayas and Claire Denis, Steven Soderbergh and Francis Ford Coppola, Ang Lee and Hirokazu Kore-eda and Viggo Mortensen and David Cronenberg.
These films are available on We Are One’s YouTube page and you can set reminders for the films you are interested in. You can donate to the festival, although this facility is not available in India. The festival runs from 29 May to 7 June.
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