Against The Tide Photo: Courtesy of Snooker Club Films Against The Tide, 10pm, BBC4, Tuesday, June 4
This documentary considers the environmental impact of fishing - and a lot more besides - from the perspective of two friends, who are members of India's traditional Koli fishing community. Rakesh acquires his catch by the age-old methods passed down to him through the generations in his small boat. Ganesh, meanwhile, returned from studying abroad and turned to the world of bigger boats and deeper waters for his trade. Nevertheless, both men face the problem of dwindling catches, with Rakesh's problems further exacerbated by the fact his newborn son has health problems. Sarvnik Kaur takes a fly-on-the-wall approach and the trust she has built with the men and their families shows in the intimate result. Moving and melancholic, the director finds hopefulness in the friendship of the men and the traditions of this small community.
This documentary considers the environmental impact of fishing - and a lot more besides - from the perspective of two friends, who are members of India's traditional Koli fishing community. Rakesh acquires his catch by the age-old methods passed down to him through the generations in his small boat. Ganesh, meanwhile, returned from studying abroad and turned to the world of bigger boats and deeper waters for his trade. Nevertheless, both men face the problem of dwindling catches, with Rakesh's problems further exacerbated by the fact his newborn son has health problems. Sarvnik Kaur takes a fly-on-the-wall approach and the trust she has built with the men and their families shows in the intimate result. Moving and melancholic, the director finds hopefulness in the friendship of the men and the traditions of this small community.
- 6/3/2024
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
From the Himalayas to the Rockies, “Nocturnes” flew from one mountain range to the next with its premiere at Sundance last month. The mesmerizing tone poem centers an unusual subject – moths – in the Eastern Himalayan forest, as seen through the eyes of researcher Mansi Mungee and Bicki, a temporary employee from the indigenous Bugun community. The duo returns time and time again to their silvery white moth screen, a reflective surface that attracts moths for study in the forest. The film delights in extreme close-ups of these winged friends, accompanied by their ambient sounds: the delicate flutter of wings, the gentle whisper of rain, the loving murmurs of Mansi as she studies them.
The sheer dexterity of the documentary was recognized at Sundance, winning the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Craft. For me, “Nocturnes” also seemed to resonate with two other Indian nature documentaries that had premiered at...
The sheer dexterity of the documentary was recognized at Sundance, winning the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Craft. For me, “Nocturnes” also seemed to resonate with two other Indian nature documentaries that had premiered at...
- 2/17/2024
- by Grace Han
- AsianMoviePulse
Bobi Wine: The People’s President won the top prize of best feature documentary at the 2023 International Documentary Awards on Tuesday night.
The film follows music star, activist and opposition leader Bobi Wine amid Uganda’s 2021 presidential election.
Accepting the award during the International Documentary Association’s virtual awards show, co-director Moses Bwayo said, “The awareness this film has brought to world audiences has arguably kept Bobi Wine alive and out of prison for now.”
Asmae El Moudir won best director for The Mother of All Lies, in which El Moudir creates a replica of the Casablanca neighborhood where she grew up, allowing her to reconnect with her past.
The Mother of All Lies was nominated for three awards, along with Milisuthando, while Apolonia, Apolonia had a leading four nominations.
Incident, which reconstructs a Chicago police shooting in 2018 from numerous viewpoints, won best short documentary award. Pov and Pov Shorts...
The film follows music star, activist and opposition leader Bobi Wine amid Uganda’s 2021 presidential election.
Accepting the award during the International Documentary Association’s virtual awards show, co-director Moses Bwayo said, “The awareness this film has brought to world audiences has arguably kept Bobi Wine alive and out of prison for now.”
Asmae El Moudir won best director for The Mother of All Lies, in which El Moudir creates a replica of the Casablanca neighborhood where she grew up, allowing her to reconnect with her past.
The Mother of All Lies was nominated for three awards, along with Milisuthando, while Apolonia, Apolonia had a leading four nominations.
Incident, which reconstructs a Chicago police shooting in 2018 from numerous viewpoints, won best short documentary award. Pov and Pov Shorts...
- 12/13/2023
- by Hilary Lewis
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The International Documentary Association (IDA) announced the winners in 18 categories at the 39th annual IDA Awards Show on December 12, 2023, which live premiered on IDA’s YouTube channel. A record number of IDA members cast votes for this year’s Best Feature Documentary and Best Short Documentary nominees. Independent judging committees selected winners in all other categories.
The Best Feature Documentary Award went to NatGeo’s “Bobi Wine: The People’s President,” which follows Uganda’s 2021 presidential election and music star, activist, and opposition leader Bobi Wine. “The awareness this film has brought to world audiences,” said co-director Moses Bwayo, “has arguably kept Bobi Wine alive and out of prison for now.”
This year’s Best Director was Moroccan Asmae ElMoudir, who won for innovative hybrid documentary and Moroccan Oscar submission “The Mother of All Lies,” in which ElMoudir uses clay puppets fashioned by her father to recreate incidents from her family’s past in Casablanca.
The Best Feature Documentary Award went to NatGeo’s “Bobi Wine: The People’s President,” which follows Uganda’s 2021 presidential election and music star, activist, and opposition leader Bobi Wine. “The awareness this film has brought to world audiences,” said co-director Moses Bwayo, “has arguably kept Bobi Wine alive and out of prison for now.”
This year’s Best Director was Moroccan Asmae ElMoudir, who won for innovative hybrid documentary and Moroccan Oscar submission “The Mother of All Lies,” in which ElMoudir uses clay puppets fashioned by her father to recreate incidents from her family’s past in Casablanca.
- 12/13/2023
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
By Glenn Charlie Dunks
The Academy has announced the long list for this year’s Best Documentary Feature category. 168 titles have qualified for members of the doc branch to whittle down to a 15-wide shortlist and then a nominated five. That figure is higher than last year, which had 144 eligible titles and which culminated in a win for Daniel Roher’s Navalny.
If you were to ask me right now what titles I expect to find on this year’s shortlist, I might say the following: Against the Tide (Sarvnik Kaur), American Symphony (Matthew Heineman), Anonymous Sister (Jamie Boyle), The Eternal Memory (Maite Alberdi), Four Daughters (Kaouther Ben Hania), Lakota Nation vs United States, Little Richard: I Am Everything (Lisa Cortés), The Mission, Occupied City (Steve McQueen), Silver Dollar Road (Raoul Peck), Smoke Sauna Sisterhood (Anna Hints), A Still Small Voice (Luke Lorentzen), Still: A Michael J Fox Movie (Davis Guggenheim...
The Academy has announced the long list for this year’s Best Documentary Feature category. 168 titles have qualified for members of the doc branch to whittle down to a 15-wide shortlist and then a nominated five. That figure is higher than last year, which had 144 eligible titles and which culminated in a win for Daniel Roher’s Navalny.
If you were to ask me right now what titles I expect to find on this year’s shortlist, I might say the following: Against the Tide (Sarvnik Kaur), American Symphony (Matthew Heineman), Anonymous Sister (Jamie Boyle), The Eternal Memory (Maite Alberdi), Four Daughters (Kaouther Ben Hania), Lakota Nation vs United States, Little Richard: I Am Everything (Lisa Cortés), The Mission, Occupied City (Steve McQueen), Silver Dollar Road (Raoul Peck), Smoke Sauna Sisterhood (Anna Hints), A Still Small Voice (Luke Lorentzen), Still: A Michael J Fox Movie (Davis Guggenheim...
- 12/10/2023
- by Glenn Dunks
- FilmExperience
Exclusive: New York-based Women Make Movies has acquired U.S. rights for Palestinian Oscar entry Bye Bye Tiberias by Lina Soualem.
The intimate work sees Soualem accompany her Palestinian-French actress mother Hiam Abbass back to the Arab village within Israeli borders, which she left in the 1980s to pursue her acting career in Europe.
There, they reflect on her past as well as the lives of Abbass’ mother and grandmother in a powerful work exploring themes of displacement, identity and survival across four generations of women.
Wmm executive director Debra Zimmerman said the film was a “perfect fit” for the label, which aims to put spotlight on the work of female filmmakers.
“It is a beautiful film about four generations of Palestinian women,” she said. “I am thrilled that we have the opportunity to have this film seen widely right now by the diverse audiences that need and deserve to see it.
The intimate work sees Soualem accompany her Palestinian-French actress mother Hiam Abbass back to the Arab village within Israeli borders, which she left in the 1980s to pursue her acting career in Europe.
There, they reflect on her past as well as the lives of Abbass’ mother and grandmother in a powerful work exploring themes of displacement, identity and survival across four generations of women.
Wmm executive director Debra Zimmerman said the film was a “perfect fit” for the label, which aims to put spotlight on the work of female filmmakers.
“It is a beautiful film about four generations of Palestinian women,” she said. “I am thrilled that we have the opportunity to have this film seen widely right now by the diverse audiences that need and deserve to see it.
- 12/8/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
On Monday night, November 27, at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City, the Gotham Awards presented the winners at their 33rd annual event. “All of Us Strangers” went in with a leading four bids, followed by “Past Lives,” “The Zone of Interest” and the TV limited series “Beef” with three apiece. But who prevailed? Scroll down for the full list, updated throughout the night.
The nominations were decided by panels of film and television critics, journalists, festival programmers and film curators. The winners were then selected by juries of writers, directors, actors, producers, editors and others directly involved in filmmaking. That makes these awards unique and often results in surprising winners like “The Rider” for Best Feature in 2018 over the higher-profile “The Favourite,” or Danielle Deadwyler (“Till”) for Best Lead Performance in 2022 over eventual Oscar winners Michelle Yeoh (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) and Brendan Fraser (“The Whale”). So a...
The nominations were decided by panels of film and television critics, journalists, festival programmers and film curators. The winners were then selected by juries of writers, directors, actors, producers, editors and others directly involved in filmmaking. That makes these awards unique and often results in surprising winners like “The Rider” for Best Feature in 2018 over the higher-profile “The Favourite,” or Danielle Deadwyler (“Till”) for Best Lead Performance in 2022 over eventual Oscar winners Michelle Yeoh (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) and Brendan Fraser (“The Whale”). So a...
- 11/28/2023
- by Daniel Montgomery
- Gold Derby
Apolonia, Apolonia leads the 2023 International Documentary Awards nominations with four nods.
Other top nominees include The Mother of All Lies and Milisuthando, which earned three nominations apiece.
All three films are up for the top prize of best feature documentary, along with two-time nominees Against the Tide, ANHELL69, Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project and Q.
All of this year’s best director nominees represent films nominated for best feature.
Other two-time nominees, not up for best feature or director, include Anselm (best cinematography and original music score), To Kill a Tiger (best original music score and best writing) and Smoke Sauna Sisterhood (best editing and cinematography).
Winners will be announced at the IDA’s virtual awards show, set for Dec. 12, which will take place at 8 p.m. Pt and stream on documentary.org and the IDA’s YouTube, Facebook and Instagram channels.
“In the wake of devastating events...
Other top nominees include The Mother of All Lies and Milisuthando, which earned three nominations apiece.
All three films are up for the top prize of best feature documentary, along with two-time nominees Against the Tide, ANHELL69, Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project and Q.
All of this year’s best director nominees represent films nominated for best feature.
Other two-time nominees, not up for best feature or director, include Anselm (best cinematography and original music score), To Kill a Tiger (best original music score and best writing) and Smoke Sauna Sisterhood (best editing and cinematography).
Winners will be announced at the IDA’s virtual awards show, set for Dec. 12, which will take place at 8 p.m. Pt and stream on documentary.org and the IDA’s YouTube, Facebook and Instagram channels.
“In the wake of devastating events...
- 11/21/2023
- by Hilary Lewis
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The International Documentary Association has announced nominations in 18 categories for its 39th awards, which will be awarded in a streaming ceremony on Dec. 12.
The nominees for best feature documentary are “Against the Tide,” “ANHELL69,” “Apolonia, Apolonia,” “Bobi Wine: The People’s President,” “Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project,” “In the Rearview,” “Milisuthando,” Q,” “The Mother of All Lies” and “While We Watched.”
The awards will unspool at 8 p.m. Pt on documentary.org and on IDA’s YouTube, Facebook and Instagram channels.
“In the wake of devastating events unfolding in the world and the grief our staff, board, community, and humanity at large are experiencing, we have decided to forego an in-person party. We know that stories have the power to encourage compassion, understanding, and peace. We are committed to preserving space for stories to be shared. Our wish is to recognize and celebrate the nominees and winners together, as a global documentary community,...
The nominees for best feature documentary are “Against the Tide,” “ANHELL69,” “Apolonia, Apolonia,” “Bobi Wine: The People’s President,” “Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project,” “In the Rearview,” “Milisuthando,” Q,” “The Mother of All Lies” and “While We Watched.”
The awards will unspool at 8 p.m. Pt on documentary.org and on IDA’s YouTube, Facebook and Instagram channels.
“In the wake of devastating events unfolding in the world and the grief our staff, board, community, and humanity at large are experiencing, we have decided to forego an in-person party. We know that stories have the power to encourage compassion, understanding, and peace. We are committed to preserving space for stories to be shared. Our wish is to recognize and celebrate the nominees and winners together, as a global documentary community,...
- 11/21/2023
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
The 2023 IDA Documentary Awards has officially unveiled its list of nominees.
The 39th annual awards ceremony for the International Documentary Association will take place virtually on December 12, streaming on documentary.org, as well as the IDA YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram channels. The awards recognize the top films and projects in the documentary genre.
Nominees include “Bobi Wine: The People’s President,” about how a Ugandan pop star disrupted the national political landscape; “Pianoforte,” following the prestigious international piano competition; and HBO documentary “Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project.” The shortlist for the nominees was announced earlier this year
The decision to hold the 2023 IDA Documentary Awards virtually was in part due to the current geopolitical landscape, according to IDA Interim Executive Director Ken Ikeda.
“In the wake of devastating events unfolding in the world and the grief our staff, board, community, and humanity at large are experiencing, we have decided to forego an in-person party,...
The 39th annual awards ceremony for the International Documentary Association will take place virtually on December 12, streaming on documentary.org, as well as the IDA YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram channels. The awards recognize the top films and projects in the documentary genre.
Nominees include “Bobi Wine: The People’s President,” about how a Ugandan pop star disrupted the national political landscape; “Pianoforte,” following the prestigious international piano competition; and HBO documentary “Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project.” The shortlist for the nominees was announced earlier this year
The decision to hold the 2023 IDA Documentary Awards virtually was in part due to the current geopolitical landscape, according to IDA Interim Executive Director Ken Ikeda.
“In the wake of devastating events unfolding in the world and the grief our staff, board, community, and humanity at large are experiencing, we have decided to forego an in-person party,...
- 11/21/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Lea Glob’s documentary Apolonia, Apolonia earned a leading four nominations today as the IDA Documentary Awards revealed its nominees for the 39th edition of the prestigious event.
Following closely with three nominations apiece were The Mother of All Lies, directed by Asmae El Moudir, and Milisuthando, directed by Milisuthando Bongela.
Apolonia, Apolonia, a personal exploration into the life and work of French artist Apolonia Sokol filmed over the course of 13 years, will compete for Best Documentary Feature, Best Director, Best Writing, and Best Editing. Glob’s film won the top prize at IDFA, where it debuted last November, going on to win awards at Cph:dox in Copenhagen, the Hong Kong International Film Festival, and the Sofia International Film Festival, among others. Despite its many laurels, the film has yet to land a U.S. distributor.
‘The Mother of All Lies’
The Mother of All Lies earned nominations as Best Documentary Feature,...
Following closely with three nominations apiece were The Mother of All Lies, directed by Asmae El Moudir, and Milisuthando, directed by Milisuthando Bongela.
Apolonia, Apolonia, a personal exploration into the life and work of French artist Apolonia Sokol filmed over the course of 13 years, will compete for Best Documentary Feature, Best Director, Best Writing, and Best Editing. Glob’s film won the top prize at IDFA, where it debuted last November, going on to win awards at Cph:dox in Copenhagen, the Hong Kong International Film Festival, and the Sofia International Film Festival, among others. Despite its many laurels, the film has yet to land a U.S. distributor.
‘The Mother of All Lies’
The Mother of All Lies earned nominations as Best Documentary Feature,...
- 11/21/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Mira Nair has boarded Indian filmmaker Sarvnik Kaur’s Sundance-winning documentary “Against the Tide” as an executive producer.
The film follows Mumbai-based fishermen Rakesh and Ganesh who are inheritors of the great Koli fishing knowledge system — a way to harvest the sea by following the moon and the tides. Rakesh has kept faith in the traditional fishing methods while Ganesh has strayed away from them, embracing technology. The film tells a tale of friendship and rising conflict between the two men against the backdrop of the Arabian Sea, which is increasingly turning hostile because of climate change.
Nair presided over the jury at the recently concluded Jio Mami Mumbai Film Festival, which awarded “Against the Tide” the Golden Gateway Award, the festival’s top prize. Previously, the film won a special jury award for vérité filmmaking at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and won awards at Sydney and Seattle and best...
The film follows Mumbai-based fishermen Rakesh and Ganesh who are inheritors of the great Koli fishing knowledge system — a way to harvest the sea by following the moon and the tides. Rakesh has kept faith in the traditional fishing methods while Ganesh has strayed away from them, embracing technology. The film tells a tale of friendship and rising conflict between the two men against the backdrop of the Arabian Sea, which is increasingly turning hostile because of climate change.
Nair presided over the jury at the recently concluded Jio Mami Mumbai Film Festival, which awarded “Against the Tide” the Golden Gateway Award, the festival’s top prize. Previously, the film won a special jury award for vérité filmmaking at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and won awards at Sydney and Seattle and best...
- 11/14/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
When asked how she felt about this year’s opening film at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) having been supported by the IDFA Bertha Fund (Ibf), the fund’s executive director and IDFA deputy director Isabel Arrate Fernandez beamed with pride, stating it is “amazing, most of all because it’s a beautiful film.”
The film in question is Olga Chernyk’s “A Picture to Remember,” which has its world premiere at IDFA, running between Nov. 8-19. “The film team was involved with IDFA in several ways, not only through financing via the fund but also because Olga and Kasia [Boniecka], the film’s editor, attended the IDFA Project Space earlier this year. From the fund’s perspective, you never know where the films will end up, and when they start their career this way it’s incredible.”
Speaking to Variety, Fernandez recalls how “A Picture to Remember” was...
The film in question is Olga Chernyk’s “A Picture to Remember,” which has its world premiere at IDFA, running between Nov. 8-19. “The film team was involved with IDFA in several ways, not only through financing via the fund but also because Olga and Kasia [Boniecka], the film’s editor, attended the IDFA Project Space earlier this year. From the fund’s perspective, you never know where the films will end up, and when they start their career this way it’s incredible.”
Speaking to Variety, Fernandez recalls how “A Picture to Remember” was...
- 11/9/2023
- by Rafa Sales Ross
- Variety Film + TV
Bhutan-set political satire ’The Monk And The Gun’ takes festival’s audience award
Sarvnik Kaur’s documentary Against The Tide has won the top prize, the Golden Gateway Award, at the Jio Mami Mumbai Film Festival.
The documentary, which world premiered at Sundance, follows two fishers and friends from Mumbai’s Koli community pursuing their livelihoods by different means.
Lockdown drama Bahadur - The Brave by Diwa Shah, which played in San Sebastian’s New Directors strand this year, won the Silver Gateway Award.
Kanu Behl’s drama Agra, which world premiered in Cannes Directors’ Fortnight this year, won the special jury award.
Sarvnik Kaur’s documentary Against The Tide has won the top prize, the Golden Gateway Award, at the Jio Mami Mumbai Film Festival.
The documentary, which world premiered at Sundance, follows two fishers and friends from Mumbai’s Koli community pursuing their livelihoods by different means.
Lockdown drama Bahadur - The Brave by Diwa Shah, which played in San Sebastian’s New Directors strand this year, won the Silver Gateway Award.
Kanu Behl’s drama Agra, which world premiered in Cannes Directors’ Fortnight this year, won the special jury award.
- 11/6/2023
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
Sarvnik Kaur’s documentary Against The Tide won the Golden Gateway Award at this year’s Jio Mami Mumbai Film Festival, while the Silver Gateway Award went to Bahadur – The Brave, directed by Diwa Shah. The Special Jury Award went to Kanu Behl’s Agra.
Against The Tide follows two fishermen struggling to provide for their families as the sea turns hostile due to climate change. Bahadur – The Brave revolves around Nepalese migrant laborers during the lockdown imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic in India.
Agra, which had its world premiere at this year’s Cannes film festival, is the story of young Indian man attempting to navigate cramped living conditions, sexual repression and a dysfunctional family to create his own space in the world.
The South Asia Competition jury was headed by Mira Nair and also included Australian filmmaker David Michod, Filipino filmmaker and actor Isabel Sandoval...
Against The Tide follows two fishermen struggling to provide for their families as the sea turns hostile due to climate change. Bahadur – The Brave revolves around Nepalese migrant laborers during the lockdown imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic in India.
Agra, which had its world premiere at this year’s Cannes film festival, is the story of young Indian man attempting to navigate cramped living conditions, sexual repression and a dysfunctional family to create his own space in the world.
The South Asia Competition jury was headed by Mira Nair and also included Australian filmmaker David Michod, Filipino filmmaker and actor Isabel Sandoval...
- 11/4/2023
- by Liz Shackleton
- Deadline Film + TV
Sarvnik Kaur’s documentary “Against the Tide” has won the Golden Gateway Award at the Jio Mami Mumbai Film Festival. The film previously won awards at Sundance, Sydney and Seattle and best documentary at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards on the same evening as Mumbai.
Diwa Shah’s San Sebastian winner “Bahadur: The Brave” received Mumbai’s Silver Gateway Award. The festival’s Gender Sensitivity Award, for a film that challenges gender stereotypes and norms, which is decided by India’s Film Critics Guild, was won by Leesa Gazi’s “Barir Naam Shahana” (“A House Named Shahana”). The Special Jury Award went to Kanu Behl’s “Agra,” which premiered at Cannes earlier this year.
The Rashid Irani Young Critics’ Choice Award, a program created by the festival to nurture young writers on cinema, was won by Shahrukhkhan Chavada’s “Kayo Kayo Colour?” Dominic Sangma’s Locarno title “Rimdogittanga” (“Rapture”) won the Netpac Award.
Diwa Shah’s San Sebastian winner “Bahadur: The Brave” received Mumbai’s Silver Gateway Award. The festival’s Gender Sensitivity Award, for a film that challenges gender stereotypes and norms, which is decided by India’s Film Critics Guild, was won by Leesa Gazi’s “Barir Naam Shahana” (“A House Named Shahana”). The Special Jury Award went to Kanu Behl’s “Agra,” which premiered at Cannes earlier this year.
The Rashid Irani Young Critics’ Choice Award, a program created by the festival to nurture young writers on cinema, was won by Shahrukhkhan Chavada’s “Kayo Kayo Colour?” Dominic Sangma’s Locarno title “Rimdogittanga” (“Rapture”) won the Netpac Award.
- 11/4/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Two Japanese films take top honours, while Korean films ’Past Lives’ and ’Riceboy Sleeps’ are also awarded.
Wim Wenders’ Perfect Days took the best film prize at the 16th Asia Pacific Screen Awards (Apsa) today (November 3), while Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Evil Does Not Exist won the jury grand prize.
The two Japanese films were honoured in a ceremony held for 250 people from 20 countries at the Home of the Arts on Queensland’s Gold Coast.
Perfect Days, which debuted in competition at Cannes this year, is Japan’s submission to the 2024 Academy Awards. The film, about finding beauty in the everyday world around us,...
Wim Wenders’ Perfect Days took the best film prize at the 16th Asia Pacific Screen Awards (Apsa) today (November 3), while Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Evil Does Not Exist won the jury grand prize.
The two Japanese films were honoured in a ceremony held for 250 people from 20 countries at the Home of the Arts on Queensland’s Gold Coast.
Perfect Days, which debuted in competition at Cannes this year, is Japan’s submission to the 2024 Academy Awards. The film, about finding beauty in the everyday world around us,...
- 11/3/2023
- by Sandy George
- ScreenDaily
Japan has dominated this year’s Asia Pacific Screen Awards (Apsa), with German filmmaker Wim Wenders’ latest Tokyo-set pic and Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Drive My Car follow-up taking the top prizes.
Wenders’ Cannes competition title Perfect Days won Apsa’s Best Film award, while Hamaguchi’s enigmatic Venice title Evil Does Not Exist nabbed the Jury Grand Prize this evening at the Australian ceremony.
“It is with great pleasure and pride that my Japanese producers Takuma Takasaki and Koji Yanai and myself received the news that our film Perfect Days was awarded Best Picture at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards,” Wenders said, accepting the award via video message.
He added: “Wow, what an honor. Especially for a German director. The film was, in many ways, a dream come true for all of us, especially the fact that nobody less than the great Koji Yakusho played the leading role, the humble public servant,...
Wenders’ Cannes competition title Perfect Days won Apsa’s Best Film award, while Hamaguchi’s enigmatic Venice title Evil Does Not Exist nabbed the Jury Grand Prize this evening at the Australian ceremony.
“It is with great pleasure and pride that my Japanese producers Takuma Takasaki and Koji Yanai and myself received the news that our film Perfect Days was awarded Best Picture at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards,” Wenders said, accepting the award via video message.
He added: “Wow, what an honor. Especially for a German director. The film was, in many ways, a dream come true for all of us, especially the fact that nobody less than the great Koji Yakusho played the leading role, the humble public servant,...
- 11/3/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Modern humans look at death as a finality because we suffer from a lack of imagination. In the story of modern humans, he is at the centre of everything whilst Kolis with their ancestral knowledge views it as a perpetual flux much like the movement of the tides, feels filmmaker Sarvnik Kaur.
Kaur’s internationally acclaimed documentary film ‘Against the Tide’, after winning a special Jury prize in Verite Filmmaking at Sundance Film Festival 2023,is making its South Asian premiere at Jio Mami Mumbai Film Festival 2023 in the South Asia Competition Section.
“The Arabian Sea is dying and for the Kolis, it is as if the death of a parent. But they are also not at odds with nature, but one with it – we are because the sea is – this profound understanding of the cycle of life and death or an act of surrender to the idea that death is another name for regeneration,...
Kaur’s internationally acclaimed documentary film ‘Against the Tide’, after winning a special Jury prize in Verite Filmmaking at Sundance Film Festival 2023,is making its South Asian premiere at Jio Mami Mumbai Film Festival 2023 in the South Asia Competition Section.
“The Arabian Sea is dying and for the Kolis, it is as if the death of a parent. But they are also not at odds with nature, but one with it – we are because the sea is – this profound understanding of the cycle of life and death or an act of surrender to the idea that death is another name for regeneration,...
- 10/26/2023
- by Agency News Desk
- GlamSham
Modern humans look at death as a finality because we suffer from a lack of imagination. In the story of modern humans, he is at the centre of everything whilst Kolis with their ancestral knowledge views it as a perpetual flux much like the movement of the tides, feels filmmaker Sarvnik Kaur.
Kaur’s internationally acclaimed documentary film ‘Against the Tide’, after winning a special Jury prize in Verite Filmmaking at Sundance Film Festival 2023,is making its South Asian premiere at Jio Mami Mumbai Film Festival 2023 in the South Asia Competition Section.
“The Arabian Sea is dying and for the Kolis, it is as if the death of a parent. But they are also not at odds with nature, but one with it – we are because the sea is – this profound understanding of the cycle of life and death or an act of surrender to the idea that death is another name for regeneration,...
Kaur’s internationally acclaimed documentary film ‘Against the Tide’, after winning a special Jury prize in Verite Filmmaking at Sundance Film Festival 2023,is making its South Asian premiere at Jio Mami Mumbai Film Festival 2023 in the South Asia Competition Section.
“The Arabian Sea is dying and for the Kolis, it is as if the death of a parent. But they are also not at odds with nature, but one with it – we are because the sea is – this profound understanding of the cycle of life and death or an act of surrender to the idea that death is another name for regeneration,...
- 10/26/2023
- by Agency News Desk
“All of Us Strangers”, del director Andrew Haigh, encabeza las nominaciones a los premios Gotham.
Ayer se anunciaron los nominados a los Gotham Awards, marcando así el comienzo de la temporada de premios. Los Premios Gotham son un conjunto de premios cinematográficos que honran lo mejor del cine independiente estadounidense. La 33ª edición anual de los Gotham Awards tendrá lugar el 27 de noviembre de 2023. Aquí os dejamos con la lista de los nominados de esta edición:
Mejor PELÍCULA
Past Lives, Celine Song
Passages, Ira Sachs
Reality, Tina Satter
Showing up, Kelly Reichardt
A Thousand and One, A.V. Rockwell
Mejor PELÍCULA Internacional
All of us strangers, Andrew Haigh, Reino Unido
Anatomía de una caída, Justine Triet
Poor Things, Yorgos Lanthimos
Tótem, Lila Avilés
La zona de interés, Jonathan Glazer
Mejor INTERPRETACIÓN Principal
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Origin
Lily Gladstone, The Unknown Country
Greta Lee, Past Lives
Franz Rogowski, Passages
Babetida Sadjo, Our Father,...
Ayer se anunciaron los nominados a los Gotham Awards, marcando así el comienzo de la temporada de premios. Los Premios Gotham son un conjunto de premios cinematográficos que honran lo mejor del cine independiente estadounidense. La 33ª edición anual de los Gotham Awards tendrá lugar el 27 de noviembre de 2023. Aquí os dejamos con la lista de los nominados de esta edición:
Mejor PELÍCULA
Past Lives, Celine Song
Passages, Ira Sachs
Reality, Tina Satter
Showing up, Kelly Reichardt
A Thousand and One, A.V. Rockwell
Mejor PELÍCULA Internacional
All of us strangers, Andrew Haigh, Reino Unido
Anatomía de una caída, Justine Triet
Poor Things, Yorgos Lanthimos
Tótem, Lila Avilés
La zona de interés, Jonathan Glazer
Mejor INTERPRETACIÓN Principal
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Origin
Lily Gladstone, The Unknown Country
Greta Lee, Past Lives
Franz Rogowski, Passages
Babetida Sadjo, Our Father,...
- 10/25/2023
- by Marta Medina
- mundoCine
The 2023 Gotham Awards have marked a significant shift in the landscape of film recognition, embracing a diverse range of films and performances that challenge the traditional boundaries of indie cinema. With the removal of a longstanding budget cap, the awards have opened their doors to big-budget studio and streamer fare, while still maintaining a strong indie flavor.
Related: 75th Primetime Emmy Awards Nominations List 2023
Andrew Haigh‘s “All Of Us Strangers” has emerged as a frontrunner, leading the nominations with nods in several major categories including Best International Feature, Best Screenplay, and Outstanding Lead and Supporting Performances. This metaphysical drama delves into the complex journey of a gay man coming to terms with his past, showcasing the power of introspective storytelling.
The indie spirit of the Gotham Awards is further highlighted by Celine Song’s “Past Lives” and Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest,” both of which have received...
Related: 75th Primetime Emmy Awards Nominations List 2023
Andrew Haigh‘s “All Of Us Strangers” has emerged as a frontrunner, leading the nominations with nods in several major categories including Best International Feature, Best Screenplay, and Outstanding Lead and Supporting Performances. This metaphysical drama delves into the complex journey of a gay man coming to terms with his past, showcasing the power of introspective storytelling.
The indie spirit of the Gotham Awards is further highlighted by Celine Song’s “Past Lives” and Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest,” both of which have received...
- 10/24/2023
- by Buddy TV
- buddytv.com
The International Documentary Association announced its shortlists of features and shorts in the running for the 39th IDA Documentary Awards, a list as notable for what was left out as for what films made the cut.
A total of 17 feature docs earned a place on the shortlist, including Sundance Grand Jury Prize Winner Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project, directed by Michèle Stephenson and Joe Brewster, National Geographic’s Bobi Wine: The People’s President, Cannes winner The Mother of All Lies, and the Ukraine-themed film In the Rearview.
Among notable films left off the list: The Errol Morris documentary The Pigeon Tunnel, Kokomo City, Sundance winner The Eternal Memory, Roger Ross Williams’ Stamped From the Beginning from Netflix, and another Netflix title, American Symphony — the Matthew Heineman documentary about musician Jon Batiste. Scroll for the full list of nominated films.
Up to 10 nominees in the feature and short documentary...
A total of 17 feature docs earned a place on the shortlist, including Sundance Grand Jury Prize Winner Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project, directed by Michèle Stephenson and Joe Brewster, National Geographic’s Bobi Wine: The People’s President, Cannes winner The Mother of All Lies, and the Ukraine-themed film In the Rearview.
Among notable films left off the list: The Errol Morris documentary The Pigeon Tunnel, Kokomo City, Sundance winner The Eternal Memory, Roger Ross Williams’ Stamped From the Beginning from Netflix, and another Netflix title, American Symphony — the Matthew Heineman documentary about musician Jon Batiste. Scroll for the full list of nominated films.
Up to 10 nominees in the feature and short documentary...
- 10/24/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
The International Documentary Association announced the 17 feature-length and 25 short documentaries included on the shortlists for the 39th IDA Documentary Awards, which will be held during the week of Dec. 11in Los Angeles.
The nominees will be announced on Nov. 21, and IDA members will vote for Best Feature Documentary and Best Short Documentary until Dec. 5.
“The 39th IDA Documentary Awards continues the tradition of celebrating the best of international nonfiction media of the year,” said Ken Ikeda, IDA’s Interim Executive Director. “This year’s Best Feature Documentary and Best Short Documentary shortlists reflect important work from twenty-one countries. We are excited to celebrate the work of our community and present winners this December in Los Angeles.”
The 2023 shortlists and nominees are selected by independent committees of 280 documentary makers, curators, critics and industry experts from 40 countries. IDA received 669 total submissions in all categories from 48 countries.
Best Feature Documentary Shortlist
Against the Tide...
The nominees will be announced on Nov. 21, and IDA members will vote for Best Feature Documentary and Best Short Documentary until Dec. 5.
“The 39th IDA Documentary Awards continues the tradition of celebrating the best of international nonfiction media of the year,” said Ken Ikeda, IDA’s Interim Executive Director. “This year’s Best Feature Documentary and Best Short Documentary shortlists reflect important work from twenty-one countries. We are excited to celebrate the work of our community and present winners this December in Los Angeles.”
The 2023 shortlists and nominees are selected by independent committees of 280 documentary makers, curators, critics and industry experts from 40 countries. IDA received 669 total submissions in all categories from 48 countries.
Best Feature Documentary Shortlist
Against the Tide...
- 10/24/2023
- by Jordan Moreau
- Variety Film + TV
The Gotham Film & Media Institute announced today the nominations for the 33rd Annual Gotham Awards! This list includes 20 feature films, 11 series, and 30 performances in 10 award categories. Each nomination represents what the group deems a high point in 2023 across aspects of the entertainment spectrum. The nominations were announced live from Cipriani Wall Street by Jeffrey Sharp, award-winning film producer and the Executive Director of The Gotham, and Kia Brooks, Deputy Director of The Gotham.
“We are proud to announce this year’s Gotham Award nominees and look forward to celebrating these amazing storytellers in a few weeks. The Gotham Awards in many ways reflects the industry and community we serve. Seen by this year’s nominees, storytelling knows no boundaries as our industry continues to find new audiences across the globe,” Sharp said about the upcoming celebration.
While there are several outstanding performances nominated across the board, a few highlights...
“We are proud to announce this year’s Gotham Award nominees and look forward to celebrating these amazing storytellers in a few weeks. The Gotham Awards in many ways reflects the industry and community we serve. Seen by this year’s nominees, storytelling knows no boundaries as our industry continues to find new audiences across the globe,” Sharp said about the upcoming celebration.
While there are several outstanding performances nominated across the board, a few highlights...
- 10/24/2023
- by Steve Seigh
- JoBlo.com
The International Documentary Association (IDA) on Tuesday announced its best feature and short shortlists for the 2023 IDA Documentary Awards.
The ceremony will be held during the week of Dec. 11 in Los Angeles — venue information is set to follow. Starting Nov. 7, IDA members will be able to view each of the shortlisted films on IDA Virtual Cinema, and up to 10 nominees from each category will be selected. The nominees will be announced on Nov. 21.
“The 39th IDA Documentary Awards continues the tradition of celebrating the best of international nonfiction media of the year,” said Ken Ikeda, IDA’s interim executive director. “This year’s best feature documentary and best short documentary shortlists reflect important work from twenty-one countries. We are excited to celebrate the work of our community and present winners this December in Los Angeles.”
280 documentary filmmakers, curators, critics and industry experts from 40 countries selected the shortlists. IDA received 669 total submissions from 48 countries.
The ceremony will be held during the week of Dec. 11 in Los Angeles — venue information is set to follow. Starting Nov. 7, IDA members will be able to view each of the shortlisted films on IDA Virtual Cinema, and up to 10 nominees from each category will be selected. The nominees will be announced on Nov. 21.
“The 39th IDA Documentary Awards continues the tradition of celebrating the best of international nonfiction media of the year,” said Ken Ikeda, IDA’s interim executive director. “This year’s best feature documentary and best short documentary shortlists reflect important work from twenty-one countries. We are excited to celebrate the work of our community and present winners this December in Los Angeles.”
280 documentary filmmakers, curators, critics and industry experts from 40 countries selected the shortlists. IDA received 669 total submissions from 48 countries.
- 10/24/2023
- by Beatrice Verhoeven
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The 39th International Documentary Awards have announced their shortlists for the best nonfiction entries of the year, with a ceremony to take place during the week of Dec. 11 in Los Angeles in a venue to be named. The films were selected by independent committees comprised of 280 documentary makers, curators, critics, and industry experts from 40 countries. IDA received 669 total submissions in all categories from 48 countries.
New York Times Op-Docs dominated the Documentary Short category with seven mentions, including entries from the Netherlands (“Neighbour Abdi”), Mexico (“Victoria”) and Hungary (“Away”) among the shortlisted selections. The Documentary Feature category appeared to favor less-buzzy international titles this season.
What is surprising about the IDA shortlist is how many of the year’s presumed top contenders are not included. Of the 21 nonfiction films that have been nominated by the Critics Choice Documentary Awards or placed on the Doc NYC shortlist of likely awards titles, only...
New York Times Op-Docs dominated the Documentary Short category with seven mentions, including entries from the Netherlands (“Neighbour Abdi”), Mexico (“Victoria”) and Hungary (“Away”) among the shortlisted selections. The Documentary Feature category appeared to favor less-buzzy international titles this season.
What is surprising about the IDA shortlist is how many of the year’s presumed top contenders are not included. Of the 21 nonfiction films that have been nominated by the Critics Choice Documentary Awards or placed on the Doc NYC shortlist of likely awards titles, only...
- 10/24/2023
- by Jason Clark
- The Wrap
The International Documentary Association has unveiled their shortlist for their 39th annual award ceremony, celebrating the best in documentary filmmaking.
17 feature-length documentaries — including “Bobi Wine: The People’s President,” “Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project,” and “Anonymous Sister” — were selected for the shortlist, as were 25 short films. The films hail from over 20 countries, including Canada, India, Cambodia, Denmark, Uganda, France, and South Africa.
From the shortlist, up to 10 nominees in both the Best Feature Documentary and Best Short Documentary categories will be selected by IDA members. In addition, awards will be given to additional films in the following categories: Best Curated Series, Best Episodic Series, Best Multi-Part Documentary, Best TV Feature Documentary or Mini-Series, Best Short Form Series, Best Stand-Alone Audio Documentary, Best Multi-Part Audio Documentary or Series, David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award, Best Music Documentary, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Writing, Best Music Score, ABC News VideoSource Award,...
17 feature-length documentaries — including “Bobi Wine: The People’s President,” “Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project,” and “Anonymous Sister” — were selected for the shortlist, as were 25 short films. The films hail from over 20 countries, including Canada, India, Cambodia, Denmark, Uganda, France, and South Africa.
From the shortlist, up to 10 nominees in both the Best Feature Documentary and Best Short Documentary categories will be selected by IDA members. In addition, awards will be given to additional films in the following categories: Best Curated Series, Best Episodic Series, Best Multi-Part Documentary, Best TV Feature Documentary or Mini-Series, Best Short Form Series, Best Stand-Alone Audio Documentary, Best Multi-Part Audio Documentary or Series, David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award, Best Music Documentary, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Writing, Best Music Score, ABC News VideoSource Award,...
- 10/24/2023
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
A short wretch and slight taste of bile comes upon realizing we are firmly in “awards season,” that time of disgrace and degradation recently portended by the first round of Look Upon My Suffering Narratives––Bradley Cooper took two hours to apply a fake nose, but is that braver than Michael Fassbender never blinking?––and established, now, by the announcement of Gotham Award nominees. Credit where it’s due, though, that this voting body gives a mite more attention to films of substance and note: leading the pack are Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest and Andrew Haigh’s All of Us Strangers, while a director nod went to Raven Jackson for All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt, Cristian Mungiu earned a screenplay nomination, and Franz Rogowski might win a best actor prize.
One can find the nominations below, while many are now streaming:
Best Feature
Passages –– Ira Sachs,...
One can find the nominations below, while many are now streaming:
Best Feature
Passages –– Ira Sachs,...
- 10/24/2023
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
All Of Us Strangers by Andrew Haigh led the Gotham Awards Nominations today, with some love for Celine Song’s Past Lives and Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest, and with a Best Performance nod to Ryan Gosling for Barbie after the indie-centric awards removed a longstanding budget cap on eligibility, an opening for big-budget studio and streamer fare to submit for consideration.
All Of Us Strangers was nominated for Best International Feature, Best Screenplay and Outstanding Lead and Supporting Performances for Andrew Scott and Claire Foy. Past Lives was nominated for Best Feature, Breakthrough Director, and Outstanding Lead Performance by Greta Lee.
The disappearance of the decade-old budget cap, which had been set most recently at $35 million, is the biggest change this year. The Gotham Film & Media Institute, announcing the shift last summer, said it was meant “to broaden our reach in terms of recognition and accessibility to the wider community.
All Of Us Strangers was nominated for Best International Feature, Best Screenplay and Outstanding Lead and Supporting Performances for Andrew Scott and Claire Foy. Past Lives was nominated for Best Feature, Breakthrough Director, and Outstanding Lead Performance by Greta Lee.
The disappearance of the decade-old budget cap, which had been set most recently at $35 million, is the biggest change this year. The Gotham Film & Media Institute, announcing the shift last summer, said it was meant “to broaden our reach in terms of recognition and accessibility to the wider community.
- 10/24/2023
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
On October 24 the Gotham Awards announced their official nominations for their 33rd annual event. Led by “All of Us Strangers” with four bids and followed by “Past Lives” and “The Zone of Interest” with three, the nominees were presented by Jeffrey Sharp, Executive Director of the Gotham Film and Media Institute, and Kia Brooks, Deputy Director at the Gotham Film and Media Institute, via Variety’s YouTube channel. The awards ceremony for the winners will take place on Monday, November 27, at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City. Scroll down for the full list.
Sharp said in a statement, “We are proud to announce this year’s Gotham Award nominees and look forward to celebrating these amazing storytellers in a few weeks. The Gotham Awards in many ways reflects the industry and community we serve. Seen by this year’s nominees, storytelling knows no boundaries as our industry continues to...
Sharp said in a statement, “We are proud to announce this year’s Gotham Award nominees and look forward to celebrating these amazing storytellers in a few weeks. The Gotham Awards in many ways reflects the industry and community we serve. Seen by this year’s nominees, storytelling knows no boundaries as our industry continues to...
- 10/24/2023
- by Daniel Montgomery
- Gold Derby
Past Lives, A Thousand and One and All of Us Strangers are among the top film nominees for the 2023 Gotham Awards.
Past Lives and A Thousand and One are both up for best feature, breakthrough director (Celine Song for Past Lives and A.V. Rockwell for A Thousand and One) and best lead performance (Greta Lee for Past Lives and Teyana Taylor for A Thousand and One).
Other best feature nominees are Ira Sachs’ Passages, which is also up for best lead performance (Franz Rogowski); Tina Satter’s Reality; and Kelly Reichardt’s Showing Up.
All of Us Strangers, meanwhile, scored a leading four nominations, the most of any film. The Searchlight title is up for best international feature, best screenplay (writer-director Andrew Haigh), best lead performance (Andrew Scott) and best supporting performance (Claire Foy).
In the TV categories, Beef leads with three nominations, with Anne Rice’s Interview with The Vampire,...
Past Lives and A Thousand and One are both up for best feature, breakthrough director (Celine Song for Past Lives and A.V. Rockwell for A Thousand and One) and best lead performance (Greta Lee for Past Lives and Teyana Taylor for A Thousand and One).
Other best feature nominees are Ira Sachs’ Passages, which is also up for best lead performance (Franz Rogowski); Tina Satter’s Reality; and Kelly Reichardt’s Showing Up.
All of Us Strangers, meanwhile, scored a leading four nominations, the most of any film. The Searchlight title is up for best international feature, best screenplay (writer-director Andrew Haigh), best lead performance (Andrew Scott) and best supporting performance (Claire Foy).
In the TV categories, Beef leads with three nominations, with Anne Rice’s Interview with The Vampire,...
- 10/24/2023
- by Hilary Lewis
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The festival has dropped its international competition in favour of a South Asia focus.
The Jio Mami Mumbai Film Festival has unveiled a South Asia-focused revamp for its first in-person event since 2019, set to run October 27 to November 5.
The festival has dropped its international and India Gold competitions and will launch its first South Asia competitive section as part of a new approach to become a hub for cinema and talent from the region and diaspora.
The 14 films in the South Asia Competition are from first and second-time filmmakers from India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal as well as diaspora filmmakers from the UK and Germany,...
The Jio Mami Mumbai Film Festival has unveiled a South Asia-focused revamp for its first in-person event since 2019, set to run October 27 to November 5.
The festival has dropped its international and India Gold competitions and will launch its first South Asia competitive section as part of a new approach to become a hub for cinema and talent from the region and diaspora.
The 14 films in the South Asia Competition are from first and second-time filmmakers from India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal as well as diaspora filmmakers from the UK and Germany,...
- 10/9/2023
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
After a three-year hiatus, the Jio Mami Mumbai Film Festival is returning with a larger lineup and an expanded focus on South Asian cinema.
The festival will feature 250 films including 40 world premieres, 45 Asia premieres and 70 South Asia Premieres. The opening and closing films have not been finalized yet.
The festival’s new vision is to become a hub for South Asian and South Asian diaspora cinema and talent and, in keeping with this, the main competition is for 14 films from the region. These include the world premieres of Leesa Gazi’s “A House Named Shahana” (Bangladesh-u.K.), Dibakar Das Roy’s “Dilli Dark” (India), Sumanth Bhat’s “Mithya” (India) and Fazil Razak’s “The Sentence” (India). The new focus will also include 46 non-competition films from South Asia.
The Icons South Asia strand features Anand Patwardhan’s Toronto title “The World is Family”; “Indi(r)a’s Emergency” by Vikramaditya Motwane...
The festival will feature 250 films including 40 world premieres, 45 Asia premieres and 70 South Asia Premieres. The opening and closing films have not been finalized yet.
The festival’s new vision is to become a hub for South Asian and South Asian diaspora cinema and talent and, in keeping with this, the main competition is for 14 films from the region. These include the world premieres of Leesa Gazi’s “A House Named Shahana” (Bangladesh-u.K.), Dibakar Das Roy’s “Dilli Dark” (India), Sumanth Bhat’s “Mithya” (India) and Fazil Razak’s “The Sentence” (India). The new focus will also include 46 non-competition films from South Asia.
The Icons South Asia strand features Anand Patwardhan’s Toronto title “The World is Family”; “Indi(r)a’s Emergency” by Vikramaditya Motwane...
- 10/9/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Japan heads the nominations, followed by China.
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Evil Does Not Exist heads the nominations for the Asia Pacific Screen Awards, with nods in four categories including best film, best director, best screenplay and best cinematography.
The Japanese feature premiered at Venice where it picked up both the jury and Fipresci prize, and centres on a father and daughter in a rural village, whose peaceful lives are disrupted by proposals to build a camping site in their area.
Hamaguchi’s latest film, following Oscar-winner Drive My Car, was just ahead of China’s Snow Leopard by the late Tibetan director Pema Tseden,...
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Evil Does Not Exist heads the nominations for the Asia Pacific Screen Awards, with nods in four categories including best film, best director, best screenplay and best cinematography.
The Japanese feature premiered at Venice where it picked up both the jury and Fipresci prize, and centres on a father and daughter in a rural village, whose peaceful lives are disrupted by proposals to build a camping site in their area.
Hamaguchi’s latest film, following Oscar-winner Drive My Car, was just ahead of China’s Snow Leopard by the late Tibetan director Pema Tseden,...
- 10/3/2023
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Iceland Documentary Film Festival ran July 19-23.
IceDocs – the Iceland Documentary Film Festival – hosted its first industry programme as part of the festival’s fifth edition this year, which ran July 19-23.
Industry speakers included Wouter Jansen from Square Eyes; Brigid O’Shea from Documentary Association of Europe; Helle Hansen, now a consultant and former commissioner at Norwegian Film Institute and Danish Film Institute, Clare Willats, producer and former head of Nordic film at Netflix; Tiago Costa from Cinemateca Portuguesa and Christof Wehmeier from the Icelandic Film Centre.
Against The Tide (India/France), directed by Sarvnik Kaur about two indigenous...
IceDocs – the Iceland Documentary Film Festival – hosted its first industry programme as part of the festival’s fifth edition this year, which ran July 19-23.
Industry speakers included Wouter Jansen from Square Eyes; Brigid O’Shea from Documentary Association of Europe; Helle Hansen, now a consultant and former commissioner at Norwegian Film Institute and Danish Film Institute, Clare Willats, producer and former head of Nordic film at Netflix; Tiago Costa from Cinemateca Portuguesa and Christof Wehmeier from the Icelandic Film Centre.
Against The Tide (India/France), directed by Sarvnik Kaur about two indigenous...
- 7/26/2023
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
Seafaring friends from Mumbai cope with a changing climate and an unforgiving economy in different ways in Sarvnik Kaur’s poetic, beautifully shot documentary
Sarvnik Kaur’s patient, plangent documentary follows two fishers and friends from Mumbai’s Koli community pursuing their livelihoods by different means. Ganesh is a likable grafter who commands a large crew and the latest technology for expeditions far out at sea. He lives in a modern apartment with his wife, Manali, and zooms around town in a van that has his Instagram handle – The Last Fisherman of Bombay – emblazoned on the side.
In contrast, the humble Rakesh, who lives with his wife, Devyani, their baby son and his mother-in-law, adheres to traditional Koli methods, trusting in his ancestors and restricting himself to shallow waters and a modest boat. In nocturnal chats that punctuate the film, the cultural and economic chasm between the two men is exposed.
Sarvnik Kaur’s patient, plangent documentary follows two fishers and friends from Mumbai’s Koli community pursuing their livelihoods by different means. Ganesh is a likable grafter who commands a large crew and the latest technology for expeditions far out at sea. He lives in a modern apartment with his wife, Manali, and zooms around town in a van that has his Instagram handle – The Last Fisherman of Bombay – emblazoned on the side.
In contrast, the humble Rakesh, who lives with his wife, Devyani, their baby son and his mother-in-law, adheres to traditional Koli methods, trusting in his ancestors and restricting himself to shallow waters and a modest boat. In nocturnal chats that punctuate the film, the cultural and economic chasm between the two men is exposed.
- 6/26/2023
- by Ryan Gilbey
- The Guardian - Film News
The documentary premiered in Un Certain Regard at Cannes.
The Mother Of All Lies from Moroccan filmmaker Asmae El Moudir has scooped the top prize at the 70th Sydney Film Festival (Sff).
The documentary drama won the Sydney Film Prize, which includes a cash award of A$60,000 and was praised by jury head Anurag Kashyap for “the courage of choosing a theme perhaps wilfully obliterated from public memory”.
The film explores a 1981 massacre in Casablanca through interviews and interactions with the director’s family and former neighbours, using tiny models of them and a miniature set of their former street made by her father.
The Mother Of All Lies from Moroccan filmmaker Asmae El Moudir has scooped the top prize at the 70th Sydney Film Festival (Sff).
The documentary drama won the Sydney Film Prize, which includes a cash award of A$60,000 and was praised by jury head Anurag Kashyap for “the courage of choosing a theme perhaps wilfully obliterated from public memory”.
The film explores a 1981 massacre in Casablanca through interviews and interactions with the director’s family and former neighbours, using tiny models of them and a miniature set of their former street made by her father.
- 6/19/2023
- by Sandy George
- ScreenDaily
The Mother of all Lies, a docu-drama film that probes the secrets of Morocco’s 1981 Bread Riots, was Sunday named the best picture at the Sydney Film Festival.
The jury, headed by Anurag Kashyap, called the Asmae El Moudir-directed film “audacious, cutting-edge and courageous.” It presented the A$60,000 cash prize film ahead at the State Theatre ahead of the Australian premiere screening of “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.”
The film, which uses doll-like figurines, recently premiered in Un Certain Regard at Cannes, where it earned the section’s best director prize. “Juxtaposing evidence from barely existent public materials with private family memory, this film reconstructs the history of the state, the family and the individual, in three distinct levels,” said the jury of Kashyap, actor Mia Wasikowska (Australia), film curator and journalist Dorothee Wenner (Germany), writer and director Larissa Behrendt (Australia) and filmmaker Visakesa Chandrasekaram (Australia – Sri...
The jury, headed by Anurag Kashyap, called the Asmae El Moudir-directed film “audacious, cutting-edge and courageous.” It presented the A$60,000 cash prize film ahead at the State Theatre ahead of the Australian premiere screening of “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.”
The film, which uses doll-like figurines, recently premiered in Un Certain Regard at Cannes, where it earned the section’s best director prize. “Juxtaposing evidence from barely existent public materials with private family memory, this film reconstructs the history of the state, the family and the individual, in three distinct levels,” said the jury of Kashyap, actor Mia Wasikowska (Australia), film curator and journalist Dorothee Wenner (Germany), writer and director Larissa Behrendt (Australia) and filmmaker Visakesa Chandrasekaram (Australia – Sri...
- 6/19/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Hot Docs has wrapped its 30th anniversary edition, handing out its top cash prize and announcing the audience top picks after an 11-day festival, which presented 214 films from 72 countries at 308 live screenings at venues across Toronto.
Philippe Falardeau’s “Lac-Mégantic—This Is Not an Accident” topped the overall audience poll to win the 2023 Hot Docs Audience Award. The four-part series from the Oscar-nominated director explores the causes of one of Canada’s worst rail disasters and what’s needed to prevent such accidents in the future.
“Someone Lives Here,” by Zack Russell, won the Rogers Audience Awards for Best Canadian Documentary, which comes with Cdn. $50,000 cash, and also claimed the second-highest spot in the overall audience poll. The film also won the inaugural Bill Nemtin Award for Best Social Impact Documentary, a jury-chosen prize, at the main awards ceremony held Saturday.
“Someone Lives Here”
“Someone” tells the story of Toronto carpenter Khaleel Seivwright,...
Philippe Falardeau’s “Lac-Mégantic—This Is Not an Accident” topped the overall audience poll to win the 2023 Hot Docs Audience Award. The four-part series from the Oscar-nominated director explores the causes of one of Canada’s worst rail disasters and what’s needed to prevent such accidents in the future.
“Someone Lives Here,” by Zack Russell, won the Rogers Audience Awards for Best Canadian Documentary, which comes with Cdn. $50,000 cash, and also claimed the second-highest spot in the overall audience poll. The film also won the inaugural Bill Nemtin Award for Best Social Impact Documentary, a jury-chosen prize, at the main awards ceremony held Saturday.
“Someone Lives Here”
“Someone” tells the story of Toronto carpenter Khaleel Seivwright,...
- 5/8/2023
- by Jennie Punter
- Variety Film + TV
Swiss documentary film festival Visions du Réel has revealed the first titles of its 54th edition, which runs April 21 to 30. The event will open with the world premiere of “Nightwatchers” by Juliette de Marcillac, which was filmed at night in an idyllic Alpine resort a stone’s throw from the French-Italian border. As night falls family ski days give way to a game of chase between the police and the volunteers who help migrants.
Mostly doctors, they roam the mountain slopes at night, watching for the arrival of migrants who have just completed long, life-risking journeys. Police surveillance is permanent and denunciation is commonplace, pushing the exiles ever higher up the mountain.
“Nightwatchers”
“It is a cinematic experience in a breathtaking twilight setting, bringing to light a vital and powerful closely-knit network,” the festival said.
Twelve feature films will compete for the Audience Award in the Grand Angle section, including three world premieres.
Mostly doctors, they roam the mountain slopes at night, watching for the arrival of migrants who have just completed long, life-risking journeys. Police surveillance is permanent and denunciation is commonplace, pushing the exiles ever higher up the mountain.
“Nightwatchers”
“It is a cinematic experience in a breathtaking twilight setting, bringing to light a vital and powerful closely-knit network,” the festival said.
Twelve feature films will compete for the Audience Award in the Grand Angle section, including three world premieres.
- 3/14/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
The Swiss documentary festival is set to run April 21-30
The Visions du Reel film festival has unveiled the first titles for its 2023 edition, set to run April 21-30.
The documentary festival, based in Nyon, Switzerland, will open with the world premiere of French director Juliette de Marcillac’s feature debut Nightwatchers. Filmed at high-end ski resort Montgenèvre on the French-Italian border, it tells the story of volunteers trying to help migrants, and the authorities trying to catch them.
The film is part of the Grand Angle competition, with 12 titles competing for the audience award worth Chf 10,000.
The section includes...
The Visions du Reel film festival has unveiled the first titles for its 2023 edition, set to run April 21-30.
The documentary festival, based in Nyon, Switzerland, will open with the world premiere of French director Juliette de Marcillac’s feature debut Nightwatchers. Filmed at high-end ski resort Montgenèvre on the French-Italian border, it tells the story of volunteers trying to help migrants, and the authorities trying to catch them.
The film is part of the Grand Angle competition, with 12 titles competing for the audience award worth Chf 10,000.
The section includes...
- 3/14/2023
- by Orlando Parfitt
- ScreenDaily
Two best friends struggle to make a living as fishermen in Bombay’s Indigenous Koli community in Against the Tide, director Sarvnik Kaur’s documentary that explores the impact of pollution, invasive species and other environmental factors contributing to a region’s dwindling fish population. Dp Ashok Meena discusses her experience working on the project, including the influence that Iranian cinema has had on her work. See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your being hired for this […]
The post “The Sea Has Always Been Sensual and Angry”: Dp Ashok Meena on Against the Tide first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “The Sea Has Always Been Sensual and Angry”: Dp Ashok Meena on Against the Tide first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 1/30/2023
- by Filmmaker Staff
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Two best friends struggle to make a living as fishermen in Bombay’s Indigenous Koli community in Against the Tide, director Sarvnik Kaur’s documentary that explores the impact of pollution, invasive species and other environmental factors contributing to a region’s dwindling fish population. Dp Ashok Meena discusses her experience working on the project, including the influence that Iranian cinema has had on her work. See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your being hired for this […]
The post “The Sea Has Always Been Sensual and Angry”: Dp Ashok Meena on Against the Tide first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “The Sea Has Always Been Sensual and Angry”: Dp Ashok Meena on Against the Tide first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 1/30/2023
- by Filmmaker Staff
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Against The Tide Photo: Courtesy of Snooker Club Films
In the second part of our interview with Sarvnik Kaur - whose documentary Against The Tide won a Special Jury Prize for vérité filmmaking at Sundance this week - we talk to her about the challenges of maintaining a distance when making documentaries, how she feels about the future for Indian fishermen and look ahead to her future projects. Her film moves between two perspectives to paint a picture of life for traditional Koli fishermen in Mumbai - Ganesh, who has jettisoned historic methods in favour of deep sea fishing and Rakesh, who still plies his trade from a small boat in shallow waters. The situation for Rakesh is further complicated when his newborn child is diagnosed with health problems that the family struggle to afford to treat.
Keeping documentary distance must have been quite difficult sometimes, especially when Rakesh’s...
In the second part of our interview with Sarvnik Kaur - whose documentary Against The Tide won a Special Jury Prize for vérité filmmaking at Sundance this week - we talk to her about the challenges of maintaining a distance when making documentaries, how she feels about the future for Indian fishermen and look ahead to her future projects. Her film moves between two perspectives to paint a picture of life for traditional Koli fishermen in Mumbai - Ganesh, who has jettisoned historic methods in favour of deep sea fishing and Rakesh, who still plies his trade from a small boat in shallow waters. The situation for Rakesh is further complicated when his newborn child is diagnosed with health problems that the family struggle to afford to treat.
Keeping documentary distance must have been quite difficult sometimes, especially when Rakesh’s...
- 1/29/2023
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
The 2023 Sundance Film Festival, the festival’s first in-person competition since 2020, has revealed its award winners.
The big winners included Maryam Keshavarz‘s The Persian Version, which earned both the Audience Award and Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award in the U.S. Dramatic Competition, and A.V. Rockwell‘s A Thousand and One, which took home the Grand Jury Prize in the same category.
The Persian Version explores an Iranian-American family’s past as its patriarch gets a heart transplant while A Thousand and One centers around a mother who kidnaps her son from the foster care system in order to find a path toward redemption.
Other winners include Festival Favorite Radical directed by Christopher Zalla and Grand Jury Prize winner for U.S. Documentary, Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project.
The festival has highlighted 101 different features and 64 shorts. These films were selected from a total of 15,856 submissions. Most of...
The big winners included Maryam Keshavarz‘s The Persian Version, which earned both the Audience Award and Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award in the U.S. Dramatic Competition, and A.V. Rockwell‘s A Thousand and One, which took home the Grand Jury Prize in the same category.
The Persian Version explores an Iranian-American family’s past as its patriarch gets a heart transplant while A Thousand and One centers around a mother who kidnaps her son from the foster care system in order to find a path toward redemption.
Other winners include Festival Favorite Radical directed by Christopher Zalla and Grand Jury Prize winner for U.S. Documentary, Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project.
The festival has highlighted 101 different features and 64 shorts. These films were selected from a total of 15,856 submissions. Most of...
- 1/28/2023
- by Alex Nguyen
- Uinterview
A Thousand and OneU.S. – DRAMATICGrand Jury PrizeA Thousand and One (A.V. Rockwell)Directing PrizeSing J. Lee (The Accidental Getaway Driver)Audience Award The Persian Version (Maryam Keshavarz)Special Jury Award: ActingLio Mehiel (Mutt)Special Jury Award: Creative VisionMagazine Dreams (Elijah Bynum)Special Jury Award: Ensemble CastTheater Camp (Molly Gordon, Nick Lieberman)Waldo Salt Screenwriting AwardMaryam Keshavarz (The Persian Version)
Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project U.S. – DOCUMENTARYGrand Jury Prize Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project (Joe Brewster, Michèle Stephenson)Directing Prize Luke Lorentzen (A Still Small Voice) Audience Award Beyond Utopia (Madeleine Gavin)Jonathan Oppenheim Editing AwardDaniela I. Quiroz (Going Varsity in Mariachi)Special Jury Award for Freedom of ExpressionBad Press (Rebecca Landsberry-Baker, Joe Peeler)Special Jury Award: Clarity of VisionThe Stroll (Kristen Lovell, Zackary Drucker)
ScrapperWORLD Cinema – DRAMATICGrand Jury Prize Scrapper (Charlotte Regan)Directing Prize Marija Kavtaradze (Slow)Audience AwardShayda (Noora Niasari)Special Jury...
Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project U.S. – DOCUMENTARYGrand Jury Prize Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project (Joe Brewster, Michèle Stephenson)Directing Prize Luke Lorentzen (A Still Small Voice) Audience Award Beyond Utopia (Madeleine Gavin)Jonathan Oppenheim Editing AwardDaniela I. Quiroz (Going Varsity in Mariachi)Special Jury Award for Freedom of ExpressionBad Press (Rebecca Landsberry-Baker, Joe Peeler)Special Jury Award: Clarity of VisionThe Stroll (Kristen Lovell, Zackary Drucker)
ScrapperWORLD Cinema – DRAMATICGrand Jury Prize Scrapper (Charlotte Regan)Directing Prize Marija Kavtaradze (Slow)Audience AwardShayda (Noora Niasari)Special Jury...
- 1/27/2023
- MUBI
As the first in-person Sundance Film Festival since 2020 draws to a close, it’s time to see which films are taking home the festival’s most coveted awards. While there are many ways to measure success at Sundance — and many filmmakers are certainly more interested in a big sale than a trophy — the awards are nevertheless an important way of measuring which films resonated with the Park City crowd.
Friday’s award ceremony is the culmination of what has already been a very eventful festival. Despite the multitude of changes that the independent film world and the streaming industry are currently undergoing, this year’s festival still featured its share of buzzy premieres and splashy acquisitions. One of the most talked about movies in Park City has been Chloe Domont’s erotic thriller “Fair Play,” which sold to Netflix for a reported price of 20 million. The festival also featured some...
Friday’s award ceremony is the culmination of what has already been a very eventful festival. Despite the multitude of changes that the independent film world and the streaming industry are currently undergoing, this year’s festival still featured its share of buzzy premieres and splashy acquisitions. One of the most talked about movies in Park City has been Chloe Domont’s erotic thriller “Fair Play,” which sold to Netflix for a reported price of 20 million. The festival also featured some...
- 1/27/2023
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
At first glance, the two friends in Against the Tide couldn’t be more different. Both Koli fishermen, their similarities seem to stop at the generality of their shared profession. Rakesh and Ganesh look at the sea with contrasting perspectives, the former leaning towards tradition and conservation, the latter focused on the next way to make money.
Rakesh lives without a toilet in his home, inside a small village with his wife and newborn baby boy. His longtime friend lives closer to the city, keeps his boat in a large dock, and fishes using newer, illegal technology after returning from studying abroad in Scotland. Somehow these men have remained close friends, attending the most important moments of each other’s lives. In Sarvnik Kaur’s documentary, the fishermen don’t fracture, only bending a bit from the constraints of money, family, and opposing ideals.
Kaur follows both providers as they go about their daily lives.
Rakesh lives without a toilet in his home, inside a small village with his wife and newborn baby boy. His longtime friend lives closer to the city, keeps his boat in a large dock, and fishes using newer, illegal technology after returning from studying abroad in Scotland. Somehow these men have remained close friends, attending the most important moments of each other’s lives. In Sarvnik Kaur’s documentary, the fishermen don’t fracture, only bending a bit from the constraints of money, family, and opposing ideals.
Kaur follows both providers as they go about their daily lives.
- 1/27/2023
- by Michael Frank
- The Film Stage
Sundance 2023: ‘Against the Tide’ an Interview with director Sarvnik Kaur
Two Bombay fishermen navigate the effects of modernization on their friendship and livelihoods.
‘Against the Tide’ directed by Sarvnik Kaur, World Premiering at 2023 Sundance Film Festival in World Cinema Documentary Competition, is a masterful vérité doc from India.
Koli fisherman Rakesh (r.) checking his catch. Courtesy of Snooker Club Films.
The film is a moving portrait of a friendship tested by the strains of the modern world. Its power is in the same deeply emotional thrust delivered in Honeyland (for those who saw it in 2019), and surprisingly, it was edited by the same team behind Honeyland.
Rakesh has kept faith in the traditional fishing methods while Ganesh has strayed away from them, embracing technology. The film tells a tale of deep friendship and rising conflict between the two men against the backdrop of an adoring sea, which is increasingly turning hostile because of climate change.
Rakesh and Ganesh are so close, they consider themselves brothers. Both are fishermen of Bombay’s Indigenous Koli community, but they’ve taken contrasting paths. Rakesh uses his inheritance — his father’s boat and the knowledge passed down by generations of Koli fisherman — to fish in the traditional ways, while Ganesh — who was educated abroad — has instead embraced modern, technology-driven, and environmentally destructive methods of deep-sea fishing, causing increasing friction between the friends. But with declining fish populations caused by pollution and invasive species, neither man is finding much success, adding to the burdens facing their young families, and testing the bonds of their brotherhood.
Ganesh relaxes with his best friend Rakesh. Courtesy of Snooker Club Films.
Beyond the story itself, I was faced with the conundrum of more frequently occuring question of why do we work ourselves up being moved by films of people we learn to love, when we know the way of our materialistic world will destroy their way of life. “These people”, the Kolis, are inheritors of the ancient and great Koli knowledge system — a way to harvest the sea by following the moon and the tides. Does it make us better people to watch docs like this or Honeyland? How can we reconcile the intimate view of these two men and their families and communities with knowing that their way of life is doomed (in this case by technology and climate change)? What is the point of watchng these docs showing us all the injustice of the world? I know I am not going to become more active in fighting climate change. I am too busy living. So then what? What action can we take to rectify the way we know all too well the world is going? There are too many issues needing to be addressed; social action is way beyond my own time and energy.
After I praised the film for its beauty, its honesty, its intimacy and the love it revealed sustaining the traditional but poor Koli community living in Bombay and barely getting by in their heritage as fishermen, basically, that was my first question to the director Sarvnik Kaur.
What’s the point of it all?
Director Sarvnik Kaur’s response surprised me.
Director Sarvnik Kaur
Sk: Making this film is a way for me to channel these things, to make sense of the world which is not following society’s mandates. I was given an opportunity to learn how to live life. I never thought about what the Kolis were going to do. The Kolis will take care of themselves. Life as it is lived on the outside, our modern obsession with possessions and growth of wealth does not encompass their lifestyle. They face hardships including finding food for their families while caring for newborn children as a community. With love, they create the joy of life and existence.
Kaur‘s deeply humanistic and intimate approach to these two men at a crossroads in both their friendship and profession immerses the viewer in their experiences, where neither man is hero or villain in the choices they make to survive in an imperiled world. She presents a microcosmic, sea level view of the fragility of our relationship with the changing environment while affirming what it is to be alive and human.
Sk: Perhaps no one would put their problems on the table unless I did, but I did it for myself, to be honest and to learn about life from one of its sources. I learned so much from Rakesh, Ganesh and the community.
How did you begin your journey?
For the past ten years, I have lived next to a Koli village. This has allowed me to get closer to them, to witness their daily concerns. In 2016, when the regional authorities decided to transform their market into a commercial complex without consulting them, the “Collective of Women Fish Sellers” immediately put up resistance. I became actively involved with them and made some short films that they used to conduct their campaign.
This is how my journey with the Kolis began, in trying to be as helpful as I could be. I have spent the last five years with the Koli community and have come to understand their lives — the conflicts and the joys — as a filmmaker, as an ethnologist, and now as a friend. With time and patience, we have established a relationship of trust.
I began conceiving the idea in 2015 at the end of my film about Kashmir. That film ‘A Ballad of Maladies’ which explores the tradition of political resistance in Kashmir through the work of those poets, musicians and artists who have turned their art into weapons of resistance during periods of heightened state repression and violence in the region. The film was banned from broadcast on the national network but it won India’s 64th National Film Award for Best First Non-Feature Film in 2017, Best Film at the 11th biennial Film South Asia and Best Documentary at the 10th Idsff Kerala.
Winning the award felt like a sort of co-option by the state, but the co-director certainly deserved an award.
I watched the Koli being pushed out and thought it was the same problem, though it was being labelled differently. My own honesty was at stake in telling their story as well, rather than being co-opted by the state who bestowed a prize on a film that was banned from ever being viewed. As an artist, I have only my own honesty. That the state took my story for its own purposes was unbearable. This new film gave me the chance to empty myself of their poisonous lying.
I wanted the film to be life affirming.
When did you begin shooting?
As I watched two friends, both indigenous Koli fishermen in Bombay, being driven to desperation by a dying sea and their friendship beginning to fracture as they take very different paths to provide for their struggling families.
Ganesh and Rakesh
Meeting Rakesh was like finding a treasure trove. He is not stupid. Generations before him have understood the moon and the movement of the stars and the fish. He took a marker and on my whiteboard drew a bird’s eye view from the moon and stars shining light upon his boat and how the moon’s refracted light attracted the fish and lit the way for the fisherman.
I realized the film was about one people (the Koli) becoming divided in itself. Watching these two men conversing in 2019, I knew that was how I would build the film. I saw there were two factions in the community and one faction was “othering” the “other”. Like two monkeys fighting while the cat comes and takes the cream, each side blames the other for the lack of fish which in truth is being depleted by offshore oil drilling and climate change.
Rakesh and Ganesh fight to survive in this implacable reality they have no control over. Their strategies for getting by diverge, sometimes clash, but what they have in common is that they are fueled by the same determination to exist in a changing and merciless world where respect for nature and tradition weighs very little in the face of the economic and internationalized interests of some.
Ganesh chooses a different route of bringing in LED lighting on a large scale to attract fish but which leads him into forbidden watersd as well as into compeitition with the Chinese and big business. Both struggle to survive. Rakesh’s solution is the most radical.
And in the end, the two are reconciled by the birth of a new child. Rakesh has solved the problem by selling his boat and downsizing to a smaller boat but catching only high-value fish like lobster which bring in higher prices sufficient to feed his family while keeping overhead low. He has dignity and no debt, lives more slowly and celebrates life.
What attracts you to your subjects? Your previous and first film, Soz — A Ballad of Maladies, explored the tradition of political resistance through music and poetry in Kashmir.
Sk: The subjects reflect my own family’s history. My grandparents were born in Pakistan when the country was part of British India. In 1947, India and Pakistan were divided and the two countries entered into a mortal conflict, which continues today. My grandfather’s family, Sikhs, fled Pakistan to a refugee camp in New Delhi, where my father was born. In 1984, my grandparents managed to leave the camp and build a modest house, but it was completely destroyed during an anti-Sikh riot. I was one year old. My family had to move again.
I grew up with the trauma of these successive uprootings and a constant fear. This personal story brings me back to the Koli community, whose territory and tradition are also threatened. Bombay is a suffocated city where space is scarce and expensive. The Kolis’ lands are now the last available space in the city center and their owners, whose income depends on increasingly meager fisheries, are often forced to sell them to rich entrepreneurs or politicians who will build luxury residences with a view. The Kolis who still live there will be driven out in ten years by land pressure and rising waters. Even the most resistant, like Rakesh, will inexorably abandon their house and, with it, their way of life, a part of their history and their traditions. Like my father and his family, they will one day be displaced and become refugees.
Koli concerns are the concerns of all of Bombay. They’re the guardians of the city’s coast, the sea and even the mangroves. The Koli community of Bombay will be sacrificed for lucrative real estate deals and generalized inaction regarding climate change. It will soon disappear, and I am Zilming its last stirrings.India is one of the places where the effects of climate change are the most dramatic. Every year, the monsoon and the meteorological hazards become more violent and unpredictable. Since 2000, some of Mumbai’s shores have retreated by more than 20 meters and tomorrow, the city’s climate displaced will number, at the very least, in the hundreds of thousands. If nothing is done to curb climate change, many experts agree that Bombay will be largely submerged by 2050, with the Kolis’ land being the first to be flooded.
Rakesh is in a way the ancestral conscience of Ganesh. But by sticking to the age-old traditions of his people at all costs, he risks putting his family in danger. I didn’t want to make a film about who is good or bad; I wanted simply to witness and record as sincerely as possible the stakes that these two intelligent, honest and hard-working young men face, and the consequences that their decisions entail. By following the life of one and then the other, I hoped to make the viewer question his own convictions and the choices he would have made himself if he had been in their place.”
How did you begin and find support for this film?
SK: In December 2019 I shot a pilot for the film because I had the clarity of vision that it was about one community and the two “brothers” facing the crisis of the sea with its polution, lack of fish and that everything that was happening in the sea was showing itself in the financial crises, social crises and familial crises.
That’s how I started to get the workshops and funds. Once you begin, you are led, as if by your own nose. Then you find champions all over the world. If you care, you find others care about the story and the struggle.
It was life affirming. I felt lost, persecuted, alone. It was eye-opening that someone in Amsterdam or the US or France cared about my story and my struggles, to be recognized. The everyday lies are not the real world. The read world is in being true to oneself and then others lead you into life. That is the real world.
She is a recipient of multiple grants from Sundance Film Fund, Catapult Film Fund, IDFA Bertha, San Francisco Film Fund, AlterCine Foundation, HotDocs Crosscurrents International. She has also been a fellow at Hot Docs Accelerator Lab, IDFA Academy, Sffilm and the Chicken & Egg Eggcelerator Labs.
Further support came from Région Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur in collaboration with the Cnc, Procirep Angoa.
Do you have advise for other doc filmmakers?
Sk: Lower your ambitions and strenthen your resolve. I do not want the moon.
I understand how radical it is and how documentary filmmakers (and journalists) themselves manage to make meaning out of their lives just as the Koli fishing people do, by living in a community, covering costs and needs basic in order to live a life of joy, love and sharing. That is radical and that is the lesson so many people come away with when they delve into the deeper meaning of life.
Do like Rakesh, downsize to support your life and that which is most meaningful in it. Thank you very much Sarvnik! You have restored my own resolve!
For my readers who have gotten this far, here is more informatin about the key crew:
Producer Koval Bhatia
Producer. Koval Bhatia is a filmmaker and producer based in India. She has been heading A Little Anarky Films for 12 years, during which time she has directed and produced commercials, impact films and TV shows. She began her journey as an international producer with Against The Tide, which she has pitched at multiple markets and forums across the world. She is currently a Getting Real Fellow at the International Documentary Association (IDA). Koval is a graduate from Eurodoc and a recipient of the Emerging Producer’s Bursary from the World Congress for Science and Factual Producers, and her feature documentaries as a producer have been awarded grants by Sundance Documentary Fund, Hot Docs, Catapult Film Fund, Docs By The Sea, Sffilm, Al Jazeera, and Dok Leipzig. She is a member of Ewa and Bgdm.
Co-producer. Quentin Laurent founded Les Films de l’Oœil Sauvage with Frédéric Féraud in 2015. Based in Paris and Marseille, the company mainly produces art-house documentaries and Quentin is particularly interested in non-Western narratives and viewpoints, in approaches that reveal spaces that have remained invisible or try to reconsider the perception of familiar places. He has recently produced or co-produced, Kinshasa Makamboby Dieudo Hamadi (Berlinale 2018), Overseas by Soa Yoon (Locarno 2019),Aswang by Alyx Arumpac (IDFA awarded 2019), Downstream to Kinshasa(Cannes 2020), Dreaming Wallsby Amélie van Elmbt and Maya Duverdier (Berlinale 2022), Things I Could Never Tell My Motherby Humaira Bilkis (Visions du Réel 2022), and Kristos the Last Childby Giulia Amati (Venice 20223)
Cinematography. Ashok Meena is an independent cinematographer from Rajasthan, India. He did his post-graduate degree in cinematography from the Film and Television Institute of India, working towards building an independent visual language at work. Known for his experimental films and videos, his independent work has been traveling to festivals and art galleries across the world. Ashok has shot several documentary films including Kamal Swaroop’s Pushkar Puran,which had its European premiere at the 60th Dok Leipzig.
Editing. Atanas Georgiev is one of the owners of Trice Films and Film Trick from Macedonia, subsidiaries of FX3X. His directorial and producing debut, Cash & Marry, won many international awards and recognition. It was followed by Avec l’Amour, a festival favorite in 2017 premiering at Hot Docs, and soon after with Honeyland in 2019, a triple winner at Sundance Film Festival and nominated for two Academy Awards: Best Documentary and Best International Feature for 2020.
Editing. Blagoja Nedelkovskiis a film editor and musician based in Skopje, Macedonia. He graduated from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Film & TV editing in Skopje in 2000. For almost two decades he has actively working on feature films, documentaries, TV series and music videos in Macedonia and the Balkans. He has also spent some time in Vienna, Austria, where he freelanced as an editor and an artist so that he could pay for his music studies at the Music Konzervatorium Franz Shubert. Some of the more notable projects as an editor are the films Punk’s Not Dead, State of Shock, To the Hilt,The Year of the Monkey, and Honeyland.
Sound Design. Moinak Bose is a sound designer based out of Bombay, India. He is a graduate of the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, with a specialization in sound recording and sound design. Moinak’s work includes the internationally acclaimed films A Night of Knowing Nothing in 2021 (sound design) and All That Breathes in 2022 (sound recording), both of which won L’Œil d’Or (The Golden Eye) for best documentary at Cannes. The films have been screened at many festivals and won top prizes at TIFF and Sundance Film Festival respectively. Against The Tide is his latest work as a sound designer
International sales agent is Deckert
North American Distribution: Submarine Entertainment.
Genre: Documentary
Country: India/France
Language: Koli, Marathi, Hindi
Year: 2023
Duration: 97 min.
Two Bombay fishermen navigate the effects of modernization on their friendship and livelihoods.
‘Against the Tide’ directed by Sarvnik Kaur, World Premiering at 2023 Sundance Film Festival in World Cinema Documentary Competition, is a masterful vérité doc from India.
Koli fisherman Rakesh (r.) checking his catch. Courtesy of Snooker Club Films.
The film is a moving portrait of a friendship tested by the strains of the modern world. Its power is in the same deeply emotional thrust delivered in Honeyland (for those who saw it in 2019), and surprisingly, it was edited by the same team behind Honeyland.
Rakesh has kept faith in the traditional fishing methods while Ganesh has strayed away from them, embracing technology. The film tells a tale of deep friendship and rising conflict between the two men against the backdrop of an adoring sea, which is increasingly turning hostile because of climate change.
Rakesh and Ganesh are so close, they consider themselves brothers. Both are fishermen of Bombay’s Indigenous Koli community, but they’ve taken contrasting paths. Rakesh uses his inheritance — his father’s boat and the knowledge passed down by generations of Koli fisherman — to fish in the traditional ways, while Ganesh — who was educated abroad — has instead embraced modern, technology-driven, and environmentally destructive methods of deep-sea fishing, causing increasing friction between the friends. But with declining fish populations caused by pollution and invasive species, neither man is finding much success, adding to the burdens facing their young families, and testing the bonds of their brotherhood.
Ganesh relaxes with his best friend Rakesh. Courtesy of Snooker Club Films.
Beyond the story itself, I was faced with the conundrum of more frequently occuring question of why do we work ourselves up being moved by films of people we learn to love, when we know the way of our materialistic world will destroy their way of life. “These people”, the Kolis, are inheritors of the ancient and great Koli knowledge system — a way to harvest the sea by following the moon and the tides. Does it make us better people to watch docs like this or Honeyland? How can we reconcile the intimate view of these two men and their families and communities with knowing that their way of life is doomed (in this case by technology and climate change)? What is the point of watchng these docs showing us all the injustice of the world? I know I am not going to become more active in fighting climate change. I am too busy living. So then what? What action can we take to rectify the way we know all too well the world is going? There are too many issues needing to be addressed; social action is way beyond my own time and energy.
After I praised the film for its beauty, its honesty, its intimacy and the love it revealed sustaining the traditional but poor Koli community living in Bombay and barely getting by in their heritage as fishermen, basically, that was my first question to the director Sarvnik Kaur.
What’s the point of it all?
Director Sarvnik Kaur’s response surprised me.
Director Sarvnik Kaur
Sk: Making this film is a way for me to channel these things, to make sense of the world which is not following society’s mandates. I was given an opportunity to learn how to live life. I never thought about what the Kolis were going to do. The Kolis will take care of themselves. Life as it is lived on the outside, our modern obsession with possessions and growth of wealth does not encompass their lifestyle. They face hardships including finding food for their families while caring for newborn children as a community. With love, they create the joy of life and existence.
Kaur‘s deeply humanistic and intimate approach to these two men at a crossroads in both their friendship and profession immerses the viewer in their experiences, where neither man is hero or villain in the choices they make to survive in an imperiled world. She presents a microcosmic, sea level view of the fragility of our relationship with the changing environment while affirming what it is to be alive and human.
Sk: Perhaps no one would put their problems on the table unless I did, but I did it for myself, to be honest and to learn about life from one of its sources. I learned so much from Rakesh, Ganesh and the community.
How did you begin your journey?
For the past ten years, I have lived next to a Koli village. This has allowed me to get closer to them, to witness their daily concerns. In 2016, when the regional authorities decided to transform their market into a commercial complex without consulting them, the “Collective of Women Fish Sellers” immediately put up resistance. I became actively involved with them and made some short films that they used to conduct their campaign.
This is how my journey with the Kolis began, in trying to be as helpful as I could be. I have spent the last five years with the Koli community and have come to understand their lives — the conflicts and the joys — as a filmmaker, as an ethnologist, and now as a friend. With time and patience, we have established a relationship of trust.
I began conceiving the idea in 2015 at the end of my film about Kashmir. That film ‘A Ballad of Maladies’ which explores the tradition of political resistance in Kashmir through the work of those poets, musicians and artists who have turned their art into weapons of resistance during periods of heightened state repression and violence in the region. The film was banned from broadcast on the national network but it won India’s 64th National Film Award for Best First Non-Feature Film in 2017, Best Film at the 11th biennial Film South Asia and Best Documentary at the 10th Idsff Kerala.
Winning the award felt like a sort of co-option by the state, but the co-director certainly deserved an award.
I watched the Koli being pushed out and thought it was the same problem, though it was being labelled differently. My own honesty was at stake in telling their story as well, rather than being co-opted by the state who bestowed a prize on a film that was banned from ever being viewed. As an artist, I have only my own honesty. That the state took my story for its own purposes was unbearable. This new film gave me the chance to empty myself of their poisonous lying.
I wanted the film to be life affirming.
When did you begin shooting?
As I watched two friends, both indigenous Koli fishermen in Bombay, being driven to desperation by a dying sea and their friendship beginning to fracture as they take very different paths to provide for their struggling families.
Ganesh and Rakesh
Meeting Rakesh was like finding a treasure trove. He is not stupid. Generations before him have understood the moon and the movement of the stars and the fish. He took a marker and on my whiteboard drew a bird’s eye view from the moon and stars shining light upon his boat and how the moon’s refracted light attracted the fish and lit the way for the fisherman.
I realized the film was about one people (the Koli) becoming divided in itself. Watching these two men conversing in 2019, I knew that was how I would build the film. I saw there were two factions in the community and one faction was “othering” the “other”. Like two monkeys fighting while the cat comes and takes the cream, each side blames the other for the lack of fish which in truth is being depleted by offshore oil drilling and climate change.
Rakesh and Ganesh fight to survive in this implacable reality they have no control over. Their strategies for getting by diverge, sometimes clash, but what they have in common is that they are fueled by the same determination to exist in a changing and merciless world where respect for nature and tradition weighs very little in the face of the economic and internationalized interests of some.
Ganesh chooses a different route of bringing in LED lighting on a large scale to attract fish but which leads him into forbidden watersd as well as into compeitition with the Chinese and big business. Both struggle to survive. Rakesh’s solution is the most radical.
And in the end, the two are reconciled by the birth of a new child. Rakesh has solved the problem by selling his boat and downsizing to a smaller boat but catching only high-value fish like lobster which bring in higher prices sufficient to feed his family while keeping overhead low. He has dignity and no debt, lives more slowly and celebrates life.
What attracts you to your subjects? Your previous and first film, Soz — A Ballad of Maladies, explored the tradition of political resistance through music and poetry in Kashmir.
Sk: The subjects reflect my own family’s history. My grandparents were born in Pakistan when the country was part of British India. In 1947, India and Pakistan were divided and the two countries entered into a mortal conflict, which continues today. My grandfather’s family, Sikhs, fled Pakistan to a refugee camp in New Delhi, where my father was born. In 1984, my grandparents managed to leave the camp and build a modest house, but it was completely destroyed during an anti-Sikh riot. I was one year old. My family had to move again.
I grew up with the trauma of these successive uprootings and a constant fear. This personal story brings me back to the Koli community, whose territory and tradition are also threatened. Bombay is a suffocated city where space is scarce and expensive. The Kolis’ lands are now the last available space in the city center and their owners, whose income depends on increasingly meager fisheries, are often forced to sell them to rich entrepreneurs or politicians who will build luxury residences with a view. The Kolis who still live there will be driven out in ten years by land pressure and rising waters. Even the most resistant, like Rakesh, will inexorably abandon their house and, with it, their way of life, a part of their history and their traditions. Like my father and his family, they will one day be displaced and become refugees.
Koli concerns are the concerns of all of Bombay. They’re the guardians of the city’s coast, the sea and even the mangroves. The Koli community of Bombay will be sacrificed for lucrative real estate deals and generalized inaction regarding climate change. It will soon disappear, and I am Zilming its last stirrings.India is one of the places where the effects of climate change are the most dramatic. Every year, the monsoon and the meteorological hazards become more violent and unpredictable. Since 2000, some of Mumbai’s shores have retreated by more than 20 meters and tomorrow, the city’s climate displaced will number, at the very least, in the hundreds of thousands. If nothing is done to curb climate change, many experts agree that Bombay will be largely submerged by 2050, with the Kolis’ land being the first to be flooded.
Rakesh is in a way the ancestral conscience of Ganesh. But by sticking to the age-old traditions of his people at all costs, he risks putting his family in danger. I didn’t want to make a film about who is good or bad; I wanted simply to witness and record as sincerely as possible the stakes that these two intelligent, honest and hard-working young men face, and the consequences that their decisions entail. By following the life of one and then the other, I hoped to make the viewer question his own convictions and the choices he would have made himself if he had been in their place.”
How did you begin and find support for this film?
SK: In December 2019 I shot a pilot for the film because I had the clarity of vision that it was about one community and the two “brothers” facing the crisis of the sea with its polution, lack of fish and that everything that was happening in the sea was showing itself in the financial crises, social crises and familial crises.
That’s how I started to get the workshops and funds. Once you begin, you are led, as if by your own nose. Then you find champions all over the world. If you care, you find others care about the story and the struggle.
It was life affirming. I felt lost, persecuted, alone. It was eye-opening that someone in Amsterdam or the US or France cared about my story and my struggles, to be recognized. The everyday lies are not the real world. The read world is in being true to oneself and then others lead you into life. That is the real world.
She is a recipient of multiple grants from Sundance Film Fund, Catapult Film Fund, IDFA Bertha, San Francisco Film Fund, AlterCine Foundation, HotDocs Crosscurrents International. She has also been a fellow at Hot Docs Accelerator Lab, IDFA Academy, Sffilm and the Chicken & Egg Eggcelerator Labs.
Further support came from Région Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur in collaboration with the Cnc, Procirep Angoa.
Do you have advise for other doc filmmakers?
Sk: Lower your ambitions and strenthen your resolve. I do not want the moon.
I understand how radical it is and how documentary filmmakers (and journalists) themselves manage to make meaning out of their lives just as the Koli fishing people do, by living in a community, covering costs and needs basic in order to live a life of joy, love and sharing. That is radical and that is the lesson so many people come away with when they delve into the deeper meaning of life.
Do like Rakesh, downsize to support your life and that which is most meaningful in it. Thank you very much Sarvnik! You have restored my own resolve!
For my readers who have gotten this far, here is more informatin about the key crew:
Producer Koval Bhatia
Producer. Koval Bhatia is a filmmaker and producer based in India. She has been heading A Little Anarky Films for 12 years, during which time she has directed and produced commercials, impact films and TV shows. She began her journey as an international producer with Against The Tide, which she has pitched at multiple markets and forums across the world. She is currently a Getting Real Fellow at the International Documentary Association (IDA). Koval is a graduate from Eurodoc and a recipient of the Emerging Producer’s Bursary from the World Congress for Science and Factual Producers, and her feature documentaries as a producer have been awarded grants by Sundance Documentary Fund, Hot Docs, Catapult Film Fund, Docs By The Sea, Sffilm, Al Jazeera, and Dok Leipzig. She is a member of Ewa and Bgdm.
Co-producer. Quentin Laurent founded Les Films de l’Oœil Sauvage with Frédéric Féraud in 2015. Based in Paris and Marseille, the company mainly produces art-house documentaries and Quentin is particularly interested in non-Western narratives and viewpoints, in approaches that reveal spaces that have remained invisible or try to reconsider the perception of familiar places. He has recently produced or co-produced, Kinshasa Makamboby Dieudo Hamadi (Berlinale 2018), Overseas by Soa Yoon (Locarno 2019),Aswang by Alyx Arumpac (IDFA awarded 2019), Downstream to Kinshasa(Cannes 2020), Dreaming Wallsby Amélie van Elmbt and Maya Duverdier (Berlinale 2022), Things I Could Never Tell My Motherby Humaira Bilkis (Visions du Réel 2022), and Kristos the Last Childby Giulia Amati (Venice 20223)
Cinematography. Ashok Meena is an independent cinematographer from Rajasthan, India. He did his post-graduate degree in cinematography from the Film and Television Institute of India, working towards building an independent visual language at work. Known for his experimental films and videos, his independent work has been traveling to festivals and art galleries across the world. Ashok has shot several documentary films including Kamal Swaroop’s Pushkar Puran,which had its European premiere at the 60th Dok Leipzig.
Editing. Atanas Georgiev is one of the owners of Trice Films and Film Trick from Macedonia, subsidiaries of FX3X. His directorial and producing debut, Cash & Marry, won many international awards and recognition. It was followed by Avec l’Amour, a festival favorite in 2017 premiering at Hot Docs, and soon after with Honeyland in 2019, a triple winner at Sundance Film Festival and nominated for two Academy Awards: Best Documentary and Best International Feature for 2020.
Editing. Blagoja Nedelkovskiis a film editor and musician based in Skopje, Macedonia. He graduated from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Film & TV editing in Skopje in 2000. For almost two decades he has actively working on feature films, documentaries, TV series and music videos in Macedonia and the Balkans. He has also spent some time in Vienna, Austria, where he freelanced as an editor and an artist so that he could pay for his music studies at the Music Konzervatorium Franz Shubert. Some of the more notable projects as an editor are the films Punk’s Not Dead, State of Shock, To the Hilt,The Year of the Monkey, and Honeyland.
Sound Design. Moinak Bose is a sound designer based out of Bombay, India. He is a graduate of the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, with a specialization in sound recording and sound design. Moinak’s work includes the internationally acclaimed films A Night of Knowing Nothing in 2021 (sound design) and All That Breathes in 2022 (sound recording), both of which won L’Œil d’Or (The Golden Eye) for best documentary at Cannes. The films have been screened at many festivals and won top prizes at TIFF and Sundance Film Festival respectively. Against The Tide is his latest work as a sound designer
International sales agent is Deckert
North American Distribution: Submarine Entertainment.
Genre: Documentary
Country: India/France
Language: Koli, Marathi, Hindi
Year: 2023
Duration: 97 min.
- 1/24/2023
- by Sydney
- Sydney's Buzz
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