From dak at sarai.net Mon Feb 3 17:12:53 2003 From: dak at sarai.net (dak) Date: Mon, 3 Feb 2003 17:12:53 +0530 Subject: [Sarai Newsletter] February 2003 Message-ID: <200302031712.53747.dak@sarai.net> Contents: Sarai Newsletter, February 2003 Workshop@ Sarai 22 Workshop in New Media Curatorial Practices Friday Films @ Sarai: 7 Metropolis 14 Clockwork Orange 21 Existenz City One Conference Sarai @ Asian Social Forum, Hyderabad Forthcoming Events: March 1 Urban Study Group Meet March 3-5 Crisis Media Workshop --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WORKSHOP @ SARAI Saturday, February 22, 2003 10:30 am – 5 pm Workshop in New Media Curatorial Practices by Amanda McDonald Crowley This one day workshop on curatorial practice will focus on new media art, providing an overview of the following topics: - New media art practices and access to art work using new technologies - New media art theory - Techniques and technical considerations of new media art exhibition - Audience development - Collaborative practice Amanda McDonald Crowley is a freelance cultural worker, facilitator, researcher, curator from Australia. She is currently artsworker in residence, at Sarai with support from Asialink. To pre-register email dak at sarai.net FRIDAY FILMS @ SARAI All screenings are on Fridays at 4:30 pm at the Seminar Room, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, 29 Rajpur Road, Delhi -110054. The films are listed in the order of screening. The Archaeology of the Future: Science Fiction @ Sarai While scanning sci-fi genres in the cinema, we may well wonder if we aren't confronted with futures past, visionary essays which already seem threatened with obsolescence. Perhaps these films afford us a sense of the times that produced them rather than an unattained future condition. Looking back to the days of early cinema history, it was probably Godard who noted, ironically, that rather than think of Georges Melies as fantasist and visionary of the future (amongst his credits was `Man on the Moon'), we should think of him as a realist, fully alert to technological developments that compose our present reality. In turn, what is futuristic, anymore, about Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1926), with its vertiginous highways and its dank subways; the brainwashing sequences of Clockwork Orange (Stanley Kubrick, 1971), which were perhaps already anticipated in cold war fantasies such as The Manchurian Candidate (John Frankenheimer, 1962, released around the same time as Anthony Burgess's novel); and how far off is the bio port so central to the imaginings of Cronenberg's 1999 eXistenZ, when chip implants are so widely advertised in current scientific practice and biometrics so central to the lineaments of surveillance regimes? Rather than visions of a technological future, perhaps we should think of science fiction as always composed of a layering of times past, present and future. Consider the Christian narrative of Metropolis, with the angelic Maria urging workers in the catacombs below the city to bear suffering with fortitude; or the grotty London council housing, parents attired in miniskirts and bellbottoms dating to the film's present time in Clockwork Orange. Ridley Scott's Blade Runner (1982), conjures up the neon nights of Japanese advertising, just as Tarkovsky's 1972 Solaris uses the spectacular Tokyo flyover for his vision of the future. Blade Runner also mobilizes the oriental bazaar, where dancers cavort with (mechanical) snakes cheek by jowl with body part manufacturers. This is the rub: these are not simply visions of the future, perhaps, but of its contemporary archaeology. February 7, 2003 Metropolis (1927), 122 minutes Directed by Fritz Lang Metropolis, a visionary and elaborate spectacle by director Fritz Lang is an epic projection of a futuristic city divided into a working and an elite class. In 2026, a de-humanized proletariat labours non-stop in a miserable subterranean city beneath a luxurious city of mile-high skyscrapers, flying automobiles, palatial architectural idylls, tubes and tunnels. With stunningly inventive special effects, Lang's allegorical narrative and architectural vision creates a highly stylized vision of a not-so-unlikely future (especially for 1926 when the film was made.) As the elite frolic above the clouds, thousands of miserable workers toil night and day inside the belly of the gigantic machine that runs the entire city. Metropolis is controlled by a sinister authoritarian whose son, Freder, rejects his father's callous philosophy and attitude towards labourers. Meek though they are, the workers are encouraged by Maria, a wistful young woman who wills her comrades to embrace patience and silent strength. Upon discovering her influence upon the workers, a mad scientist kidnaps Maria and creates a robot in her image that will incite the workers to revolt. As Freder races against time to save Maria and curtail the damage done by her doppelganger robot, Metropolis is enveloped in chaos and the classes are brought together in a breathtaking and highly moralistic climax. February 14, 2003 Clockwork Orange (1971), 131 mins Directed by Stanley Kubric From dak at sarai.net Mon Feb 10 16:10:38 2003 From: dak at sarai.net (The Sarai Pogramme) Date: Mon, 10 Feb 2003 16:10:38 +0530 Subject: [Sarai Newsletter] 'FRIENDS OF SIDDHARTHA' FILM FESTIVAL Message-ID: <200302101610.38137.dak@sarai.net> 'FRIENDS OF SIDDHARTHA' LESBIAN & GAY ANNUAL FILM FESTIVAL celebrates 10 years with an evening of short films & discussion A TRIBUTE TO SIDDHARTHA GAUTAM on Sunday, February 16, 2003, 3 pm to 8 pm at SARAI, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, 29 Rajpur Road, Delhi 110054. The Friends of Siddhartha is an informal group that comes together each year to organise a day of films on Lesbian & Gay Sexuality. This event is held in the memory of Siddhartha Gautam who died of cancer in 1992. Siddhartha was a lawyer and well-known human rights activist. He was intensely involved in challenging discrimination against sexual minorities and people with HIV/AIDS and was instrumental in bringing out a path-breaking report called 'Less than Gay' on the status of homosexuality in India just before he died. The festival has been held since 1993. With this event, we seek to continue Siddhartha's engagement with these issues, and through it, pay our tribute to the vision and spirit of Siddhartha. Over the years the event has provided a safe space for people to dialogue on issues relating to lesbian, gay and other alternate sexualities, and also provided a forum for members of the community. Schedule 3.00 pm: Introduction to the Festival 3.05 pm: 'A Letter from Home', David Kalal & Gita Reddy, 1996, USA. Written & Performed by Shaffiq Essajee, 12 mins A humourous and touching piece where Essajee brings out his relationship with his mother and draws a sketch of her life, desires and anguish as he reads out a letter she writes to him, her gay son, when he leaves for the US. 3.20 pm: 'For Straights Only', Vismita Gupta Smith, 2001, USA & India, 22 mins "All that is good in the Indian culture is for straights only", says the filmmaker who makes this film after she finds out that her brother is gay. The film traces what it was like for him and others like him to grow up gay/lesbian in the 'perfect' Indian and Asian family, and brings out their struggles of coming out to and be accepted in their families. 3.40 pm: 'Julpari', Swati & Leith Murgai 1996, USA, 21.36 mins "Drag is not about life, but being larger than life", says Faraz Ahmed or Julpari, the protagonist of this film about drag queens in New York City. The film presents members of SALGA, South Asian Lesbian & Gay Association of NYC as they talk about how they live their lives and what it means for them to be a part of a larger community. Interspersed with fun dance sequences to Hindi film songs. 4.00 pm: 'Tom, Dick & Haresh', Mathew Parsons, India, 13.30 mins A group of men who have sex with men (MSMs) in Chennai talk about the men they love and how their lives are affected as a result of their life styles and AIDS. Some of them are field workers in the Community Action Network working for AIDS prevention. 4.15 pm: 'Apoornathakal' (The Incomplete), Bala Murali, India, 2001, 23 mins Apoornathakal is the story of a young man trying to come to terms with the death of his childhood friend - a friend with whom he shared intense love. It is the memory of moments spent together, of shared conversations and hints of intrigue surrounding the death that continue to haunt the living. Apoornathakal is based on a true story. (The film will be preceded by an introduction by the filmmaker and followed by a discussion with him.) 5.00 pm: Break 5.20 pm: 'Tedhi Lakeer - The Broken Line', Amrit Sharma, Aparna Sanyal, Arunima Shankar, 2003, India, 27 mins Made as part of a final project under the Masters programme at MCRC. The young filmmakers seek to tell the stories of two ordinary non-English speaking gay men living in conservative middle class India in a hope to 'shatter the 'FRIENDS OF SIDDHARTHA' LESBIAN & GAY ANNUAL FILM FESTIVAL celebrates 10 years with an evening of short films & discussion A TRIBUTE TO SIDDHARTHA GAUTAM on Sunday, February 16, 2003, 3 pm to 8 pm at SARAI, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, 29 Rajpur Road, Delhi 110054. The Friends of Siddhartha is an informal group that comes together each year to organise a day of films on Lesbian & Gay Sexuality. This event is held in the memory of Siddhartha Gautam who died of cancer in 1992. Siddhartha was a lawyer and well-known human rights activist. He was intensely involved in challenging discrimination against sexual minorities and people with HIV/AIDS and was instrumental in bringing out a path-breaking report called 'Less than Gay' on the status of homosexuality in India just before he died. The festival has been held since 1993. With this event, we seek to continue Siddhartha's engagement with these issues, and through it, pay our tribute to the vision and spirit of Siddhartha. Over the years the event has provided a safe space for people to dialogue on issues relating to lesbian, gay and other alternate sexualities, and also provided a forum for members of the community. Schedule 3.00 pm: Introduction to the Festival 3.05 pm: 'A Letter from Home', David Kalal & Gita Reddy, 1996, USA. Written & Performed by Shaffiq Essajee, 12 mins A humourous and touching piece where Essajee brings out his relationship with his mother and draws a sketch of her life, desires and anguish as he reads out a letter she writes to him, her gay son, when he leaves for the US. 3.20 pm: 'For Straights Only', Vismita Gupta Smith, 2001, USA & India, 22 mins "All that is good in the Indian culture is for straights only", says the filmmaker who makes this film after she finds out that her brother is gay. The film traces what it was like for him and others like him to grow up gay/lesbian in the 'perfect' Indian and Asian family, and brings out their struggles of coming out to and be accepted in their families. 3.40 pm: 'Julpari', Swati & Leith Murgai 1996, USA, 21.36 mins "Drag is not about life, but being larger than life", says Faraz Ahmed or Julpari, the protagonist of this film about drag queens in New York City. The film presents members of SALGA, South Asian Lesbian & Gay Association of NYC as they talk about how they live their lives and what it means for them to be a part of a larger community. Interspersed with fun dance sequences to Hindi film songs. 4.00 pm: 'Tom, Dick & Haresh', Mathew Parsons, India, 13.30 mins A group of men who have sex with men (MSMs) in Chennai talk about the men they love and how their lives are affected as a result of their life styles and AIDS. Some of them are field workers in the Community Action Network working for AIDS prevention. 4.15 pm: 'Apoornathakal' (The Incomplete), Bala Murali, India, 2001, 23 mins Apoornathakal is the story of a young man trying to come to terms with the death of his childhood friend - a friend with whom he shared intense love. It is the memory of moments spent together, of shared conversations and hints of intrigue surrounding the death that continue to haunt the living. Apoornathakal is based on a true story. (The film will be preceded by an introduction by the filmmaker and followed by a discussion with him.) 5.00 pm: Break 5.20 pm: 'Tedhi Lakeer - The Broken Line', Amrit Sharma, Aparna Sanyal, Arunima Shankar, 2003, India, 27 mins Made as part of a final project under the Masters programme at MCRC. The young filmmakers seek to tell the stories of two ordinary non-English speaking gay men living in conservative middle class India in a hope to 'shatter the Indian perception of homosexuality as a western import'. (The film will be preceded by an introduction by the filmmakers and followed by a discussion with them.) 6.10 pm: 'Lakme Takes Flight', by Sheila James & Melina Young, Canada, 13 mins Explores the fantasy of a woman, Lakme, as she takes a flight with a saucy, young flight attendant and pilot. 6.25 pm: 'Beauty Parlour', Mehreen Jabbar, India, 2000, 18 mins 4 faces, 4 masks: 4 short sketches of the lives and loves of 3 women and a eunuch as they talk about their desires traced through their visits to the beauty parlour and other everyday events. 6.45 pm: 'Unmapping Desire', Sheila James, Canada, 1999, 7 mins A short poetic piece for a lover, using the body to map desire, relationships and borders that separate nations and loves. 6.55 pm: 'Sum Total - A Matrimonial' & 'Barefeet', 'S', USA, 8 mins 2 short films. In the first one the filmmaker talks about what goes into making of herself as a strong lesbian woman 'not fit for marriage'. The second is a nostalgic piece about leaving and returning home, a place that brings up many contradictions and emotions for her. 7.05: 'Kashish', Meenakshi Rai & Vinay Rai, 2003, India, 30 mins 2 women explore their attraction to each other. (The film will be preceded by an introduction by the filmmakers and followed by a discussion with them.) -------------------------------------- The programme is subject to last-minute changes. Entry: There are no tickets or passes, but Friends of Siddhartha welcomes contributions to help cover costs. Suggested contribution: Rs 50/- for students Rs 100/- for others. For further information contact: Anuja (for Friends of Siddhartha) at 26238466 (o), 9811213316 (Mobile) Ranita (for Sarai) at 23960040, 23951190 Indian perception of homosexuality as a western import'. (The film will be preceded by an introduction by the filmmakers and followed by a discussion with them.) 6.10 pm: 'Lakme Takes Flight', by Sheila James & Melina Young, Canada, 13 mins Explores the fantasy of a woman, Lakme, as she takes a flight with a saucy, young flight attendant and pilot. 6.25 pm: 'Beauty Parlour', Mehreen Jabbar, India, 2000, 18 mins 4 faces, 4 masks: 4 short sketches of the lives and loves of 3 women and a eunuch as they talk about their desires traced through their visits to the beauty parlour and other everyday events. 6.45 pm: 'Unmapping Desire', Sheila James, Canada, 1999, 7 mins A short poetic piece for a lover, using the body to map desire, relationships and borders that separate nations and loves. 6.55 pm: 'Sum Total - A Matrimonial' & 'Barefeet', 'S', USA, 8 mins 2 short films. In the first one the filmmaker talks about what goes into making of herself as a strong lesbian woman 'not fit for marriage'. The second is a nostalgic piece about leaving and returning home, a place that brings up many contradictions and emotions for her. 7.05: 'Kashish', Meenakshi Rai & Vinay Rai, 2003, India, 30 mins 2 women explore their attraction to each other. (The film will be preceded by an introduction by the filmmakers and followed by a discussion with them.) -------------------------------------- The programme is subject to last-minute changes. Entry: There are no tickets or passes, but Friends of Siddhartha welcomes contributions to help cover costs. Suggested contribution: Rs 50/- for students Rs 100/- for others. For further information contact: Anuja (for Friends of Siddhartha) at 26238466 (o), 9811213316 (Mobile) Ranita (for Sarai) at 23960040, 23951190 From ranita at sarai.net Mon Feb 24 16:13:57 2003 From: ranita at sarai.net (ranita) Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 16:13:57 +0530 Subject: [Sarai Newsletter] Films for February & March Message-ID: <200302241613.57531.ranita@sarai.net> Friday Films @ Sarai: ASIAN FILM CULTURES JAPANIME, curated by Diya Mehra The graphic form has a long and significant history in Japanese visual and textual culture. Since the 1940's and 50's it has emerged in comic book form as 'Manga' which has subsequently developed into the most highly read medium in the country and is increasingly been used as the basis of animated films and television series - some examples of which Sarai presents in its Japanime series. Manga are akin to graphic novels, wherein stories are lengthy and serialized, characters and plot lines complex yet discrete making the volume of Manga produced extremely large. In its visual style, Manga is drawn in elongated narrow cells, proliferating detail, visual vantage points and imaginative and thematic possibilities only open to animation. Many genres of Manga have emerged - from the pornograhic to Pokeman. In the complex and abundant world of Japanese popular culture, genres have come to be associated with particular niche markets. They are drawn by gender and age and use specific tropes and milieus to address fundamental questions on technology, the media, the environment and popular culture in Japanese contemporary society. The three films included here represent three specific sub-genres of Manga. 'Ghost is the Shell' is "mecha" anime concerned with technology in the form of robots, transformative armor, cyborgs and more recently artificial intelligence. 'Perfect Blue' is a psychological thriller about a pop star, her fans and the multi-mediated world. 'My Neighbor Totoro', a children's film directed by Hayao Miyazaki , emerges from an anime studio that is unique in its production - producing mythical and allegorical tales that often draw on Japanese folklore. February 28, 2003, 4:30 pm GHOST IN THE SHELL (1995), 120 minutes Directed by Mamoru Oshii Set in 21st century Hong Kong, the film centres on anti-terrorist police forces that fight the Puppet Master - a formless self-generated secret agent who hacks his way into net-connected cyborgs and takes over their bodies. By fighting the Puppet Master, the film's heroine, a cyborg herself, is forced to question the origins of her own "ghost" or soul and the challenge the technology presents to her own humanity. When the Puppet Master appears, as a ghost in the shell of a female cyborg, he/she/it turns out to be something new under the sun, an intelligence that has never been human. A fragment of computer virus that replicated itself and acquired sentience, the Puppet Master has commandeered a body in order to demand "political asylum," the rights that any other "life form" would be entitled to. "What if a cyber-brain could generate its own 'ghost'?" wonders the mostly cybernetic heroine -- with the "ghost" of the title understood not just the sum total of a person's memories but the bedrock of her self-awareness. If that essence can take up residence as easily in a mechanical as in an organic system, "then what's the value of being human?" March 21, 2003, 4:30 pm MY NEIGHBOUR TOTORO (1988), 87 minutes Directed by Hayao Miyazaki Set in the 1950's 'My Neighbour Totoro' tells the story of Satsuki, aged ten, and Mei, aged four, and their father who move to the Japanese countryside to provide a healthy environment for their mother when she is able to leave the hospital. The children spend their days exploring their new home and neighbourhood, which is when Mei discovers the existence of Totoros - magical forest spirits which only children can see. What follows are a series of delightful and often surreal adventures set among Miyazaki's sublime summary landscape. Totoro is not based on any exact Japanese mythological or folk character, but does spring from the idea of nature spirits in Japanese culture. Miyazaki's vision encompasses both a nostalgia for a lost lifestyle since most of these rural areas near Tokyo have been converted into crowded suburbs by now and also an exploration of the natural world that is central to his work. While his later works grapple more directly with questions of ecology in 'My Neighbor Totoro', Miyazaki reveals through the enormous detail and perceptive quality of his work a seamless interaction that appears to him to be crucial to it. March 28, 2003, 4:30 pm PERFECT BLUE (1999), 80 minutes Directed by Satoshi Kon Mima abandons her pop star career to opt for a career in television soaps, alienating the male fans of her sugar-candy past. When she accepts a part that involves her being raped, her life begins to fall apart. She discovers internet sites describing every detail of her life. Helpless and afraid, she watches as her associates are threatened and killed by a mysterious stalker, who she sees everywhere. When Mima's TV drama begins mimicking her everyday life, she can no longer tell the difference between television, hallucination and real life. The film develops a complex structure for Mima's psychosis, exaggerating elements of pop and Manga as product and form, and interweaving elements from her different realities to consider the relationships between media, celebrity and technology.