Workers Film Festival, Madurai

Workers Film Festival, Madurai 

3 May 2026; MUTA Hall; 10 am to 6 pm 

Curated by Amudhan RP

Organised by MARUPAKKAM 30 & MUTA

Schedule (yet to get the approval of the filmmakers)

10 am : Refreshments and Registration 

10.30 am : Inauguration 

11 am 

See Me, When You Leave

Dir: Dipin Chenayil; 17:37 min; Documentary; India

Kerala, the southernmost state in India, with its lush landscapes, has seen many migrate abroad for work, creating local labor shortages filled by distant migrants. These workers endure isolation, discrimination and uncertainty, often overlooked beyond their labour. Yet, amid struggle, they forge bonds, share stories, and discover solace in fleeting joys.

The Delivery Guy

Dir : Debarun Dutta; 30 min; Documentary; Germany; 2025

The Delivery Guy follows the stories of two South Asian immigrants who came to Berlin as students and now work in the food delivery sector. The film sheds light on their hopes, disappointments, and daily struggle for dignity within a system that barely acknowledges their presence.

Garment Kelsa 

Produced by Cividep India; 45 min; Doc; India 

This documentary tells the story of women in India’s export garment factories, a

small but vital segment of the country’s 12–15 million garment workforce. The film

captures everyday realities from Bengaluru’s factories that echo across hubs like NCR and Tiruppur. These women help drive global fashion supply chains, yet face low pay, unsafe conditions, and social discrimination.

(Thanks to Kriti Film Club, New Delhi)

2 pm 

Mr Invisible, Mumbai Out of Frame

Dir : Christine Ithurbide; 82 min; Documentary; France; 2025

In Mumbai, production of contemporary art is often a collective process that relies on a diversity of art workers. They are fabricators, artisans, artists' assistants and represent an invisible workforce behind the art scene. Through a series of portraits, this documentary film explores their stories, their relationship to the art world, and their struggles in one of Asia's largest metropolises undergoing major economic and urban transformations.

KOOPUKKADU

Dir : Gita Hudson; 63 min; Documentary; Tamil; India; 2024

Set against the mist-covered hills of Valparai in Tamil Nadu, Koopukkadu is a poignant documentary that gives voice to the invisible lives of tea estate workers who sustain one of India’s most profitable industries while living in its deepest margins.Through intimate interviews with the estate workers, many of them women and descendants of indentured labour, Koopukkadu explores generations of silence, displacement, and systemic neglect.

Mind the Cart

Dir: Madhu Dhurve, Pushpa, Narendra Singh Pardhi; 22:12 min; Short fiction; India

Synopsis: Mann, a 13-year Pardhi boy, lives with his mother and two siblings. His mother rears goats and does odd jobs to support the family..His thela (pushcart) holds a special place in his heart, like a cherished family member. With his trusty thela by his side, Mann earns daily wages, has some fun and also tries to study.

But one day, A day which starts like any other day, Mann looses his trusted friend …

Valli

Dir : Amudhan RP; 60 min; Tamil; Documentary; 2025

A day in the life of Valli, a wife, mother and a domestic worker whose routine starts very early every day. This is part of a documentary series, the filmmaker is creating on working women.

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Summer Film Festival 2026, Madurai

Summer Film Festival 2026, Madurai

(yet to get the consent from the filmmakers)

2 May, Saturday; 10 am to 6 pm
LENS Media Centre, Gnana Olivupuram

Curated by Amudhan RP
Jointly organised by MARUPAKKAM & LENS Media Centre





Schedule (subject to changes)

10.30 am Refreshment and Inauguration

11 am

Analogue Natives
Dir: Bernd Lützeler; 25:33 min; Documentary; Germany, India



An expanded multi-genre documentary within the constraints of the so-called Masala Formula, popularly known from Indian cinema.


I want to come back
Dir: Sara Brun Moreno; 14:00 min; Short Fiction; Spain




Behind every adolescent suicide attempt lies a story of pain and disconnection. In adolescence, everything transforms: bodies, identities, and bonds shift without warning, and often no one truly understands. This short film forgoes explanations to focus on what remains: everyday objects, unanswered messages, rooms that fill with silence.

The Well
Dir: Balaji Maheshwar; 1:02:07 min; Documentary; India



In a remote tribal village, a community unearths an age-old well, reviving not just their water source but their deep-rooted cultural and spiritual ties to nature. Bhaavi is an observational portrait of resilience, indigenous knowledge, and the fragile balance between humanity and ecology.

Located at the convergence of Eastern and Western Ghat mountain ranges, near the Tamil Nadu-Karnataka border, lies the beautiful and pensive Solaganai tribal village. The Solagars are indigenous tribes who call the forests their home. But this home is without a dependable source of drinking water for most parts of the year, especially during the summer months. To bring one pot of drinking water, the people of Solaganai had to walk many miles, up and down hilly areas and down into the valley. For a scenic mountain hamlet, supposedly where springs and streams originate, this fate seemed ironic. This leads us to question our actions that disrupt ecological balance.

2 pm

Báaxpee: This Ground
Dir: Robin Starbuck; 29:42 min; Documentary; United States



Báaxpee: This Ground, is a lyrical and intimate documentary that traces the life and spiritual legacy of Ben Cloud, revered medicine chief of the Crow/Apsaalooke Nation and central figure in the sacred Sun Dance tradition. Far more than a portrait, the film becomes a living archive — a ceremonial act in itself — offering rare access to the inner world of the Apsáalooke as they carry ancient ritual into the twenty-first century. Merging personal memory with cultural transmission, Báaxpee: This Ground departs from conventional documentary form, embodying the quiet power and profound mystery of a spiritual practice rooted in land, lineage, and the unseen. Available with Spanish, German or Italian subtitles.

And the Fish Fly above Our Heads
Dir: Dima Adib El-Horr; 70 min; Documentary; Lebanon



Twenty years ago, I came to a public beach in Beirut to film, a woman observing a world of men. Among them was Réda, his body gleaming in the sun. I started filming him and others. Two decades later, I return to the same spot. To my astonishment, Réda is still there, as if time itself had not moved, only his face marked by wrinkles, his body by age. I begin filming him again, and his two friends, Qassem and Adel. By the sea, I film three men adrift, three aging and fatigued bodies, silent witnesses to a country collapsing under the weight of wars, social despair, and economic crisis.Expecting no miracle, they wait by the sea with the same quiet fatalism that shapes their lives. Their waiting becomes mine, in a space suspended between sleep and wakefulness, between dreams and reality, between past and present.

Dongar/Pani (Land/Water)
Dir: Sanjivani Kamble; 24:53 min; Short fiction; India



When Savi decides to leave behind the chaos of Bombay for a new job in Alibaug, her roommate Anu is left navigating the quiet storm of unspoken emotions. What begins as a simple farewell unfolds into a tender, introspective journey about love, and a friendship at the brink of change. It is a bittersweet coming-of-age story that explores the quiet ache of growing up, the choices we must make, and the bonds that shape us, even when they slip through our fingers.

4 pm

The Battle Royale
Dir : Lalit Vachani; 87 min; Documentary; India



The Battle Royale tracks Mahua Moitra’s re-election campaign in the high stakes battleground constituency of Krishnanagar, West Bengal, as she fights for her political survival and for redemption and retribution. Pitted against her in a close three – cornered contest are the CPI(M)/INC candidate, S.M. Sadi, and the Rajmata (royal queen) of Krishnanagar, Amrita Roy, who is supported by the mighty BJP.


Note: We are waiting for the approval from the filmmakers