FILMS
CINEMA PE CINEMA
THE THEATRES. THE MOVIES. AND US
An act of resistance against forgetting single screen cinema theatres as they shutter down across India. An effort to keep the memories of some films alive through traces of their audio and visual ephemera. A shared cinematic space in which diverse audiences speak of complex single screen theatre-going experiences.
Direction: Vani Subramanian
63 mins | English, Hindi, Tamil | English Subtitles | 2024
DOCUMENTARY
THE DEATH OF US
A quiet contemplation on a range of cases which the death penalty was pronounced, ending in execution, commutation to life sentence, acquittal or even pardon. Speaking to those who have been on death row or those very closely involved with the cases, we engage in complex conversations on crime and punishment, revenge and justice, popular rhetoric and personal experiences.
Direction: Vani Subramanian
78 mins | English, Hindi, Telugu | English Subtitles | 2018
DOCUMENTARY
STIR. FRY. SIMMER
Conversations about food, memory, nostalgia, identity, family, community, nation, desire, disgust, politics, prejudice and power... just some of the things that food signifies to all of us.
Direction: Vani Subramanian
58 mins | English, Hindi, Malayalam | English Subtitles | 2012
DOCUMENTARY
Special Jury Mention, John Abraham National Film Awards, SiGNS, Kerala, 2013
IT'S A BOY. IT'S GOING TO BE A BOY
A film that looks at the challenge of falling numbers of girl-children by the locating current rhetoric and statistics in their social, political and cultural context.
Direction: Vani Subramanian
24 mins | English, Hindi | English Subtitles | 2008
DOCUMENTARY
Best Documentary, Bollywood and Beyond Indian Film Festival, Stuttgart, Germany, 2008
AYODHYA GATHA
What does it mean to belong to a city that has become a symbol of religious intolerance, majoritarian aggression and communal assertion in India - Ayodhya? The film revisits the small town at the centre of the political storm, almost two decades after the controversial demolition of the historic 16 Century mosque, the Babri masjid, meeting its residents whose lives touched and were touched by the tumultuous events that changed the course of the nation.
Direction: Vani Subramanian
62 mins | English, Hindi | English Subtitles | 2007
DOCUMENTARY
Best Narration/ Voice Over, Rajat Kamal, 55th National Film Awards, 2007
Special Jury Award, Film South Asia, Kathmandu, 2007
HOLY DUELS OF HOLA MOHALLA
On the festival that celebrates the establishment and traditions of the Khalsa Panth, and its relationship to the challenges of the present.
Direction: Vani Subramanian
28 mins | English, Punjabi, Hindi | English Subtitles | 2001
DOCUMENTARY
Golden Statuette for Best Film On Religion, International Festival of Short Films on Culture, Jaipur, 2007
First Prize, One Billion Eyes Indian Documentary Film Festival,Chennai, 2010
CLASS OF 2001
A documentary film on adult/community perceptions of present day currents and challenges in primary school education. Created for the European Commission Education Promotion Office, New Delhi.
Direction: Surajit Sarkar & Vani Subramanian
29 mins | English, Hindi, Malyalam | English Subtitles | 2001
DOCUMENTARY
PADHOGE LIKHOGE HOGE NAWAB?
Children constantly hear this from adults: "Padhoge Likhoge Hoge Nawab, Kheloge Koodoge Hoge Kharaab" (Read 'n' Write, You'll be a King, Play Around and You'll Pay for your Sins). But how well-founded is this notion? Does schooling mean the same thing to all children?
Direction: Surajit Sarkar & Vani Subramanian
35 mins | English, Hindi | English Subtitles | 1998
DOCUMENTARY
MEALS READY
Set in the early days of the 'liberalising' economy in India, the film that explores the political economy of rice growing to illustrate how deeply social hierarchies of caste, class, gender and economic power are embedded in the so-called ‘freemarket.’
Direction: Surajit Sarkar & Vani Subramanian
44 mins | English, Tamil | English Subtitles | 1996
DOCUMENTARY
Second prize, Film South Asia 1997