Freedom Film Festival, Chennai

Freedom Film Festival, Chennai

23 Aug; 10 am to 1 pm; Discovery Book Palace, KK Nagar

Curated by Amudhan RP

Organised by MARUPAKKAM 30

Schedule 

10 am to 1 pm 

Caste, Constitution, Justice

Dir: Amal Raj;. 34.49 min; Documentary; India

This documentary attempts to trace the constitutional struggle undertaken and spearheaded by (late) Mr P S Krishnan, IAS (of 1956 batch). He along with like-minded IAS officials, dreamt an impossible dream, i.e., to dismantle the caste system and reclaim the dignity, rights and justice on behalf of the SC, ST and OBCs and other marginalised communities of India.

Punishing the Professor

Dir : Aayna; 28 min; Documentary; India

P. Senrayaperumal was forced to drop out of school to play his part in the caste-bound genre of Raja Rani Attam theatre. He and his brothers spent their childhood playing female roles — enduring slurs, sexual harassment, and bearing the burden of tradition. At age 23, he made a desperate gamble to reclaim education all by himself, even while dancing through nights to survive. He did earn the education that he was systemically denied. He got a PhD on the folk tradition he had been practising, all the while holding on to the promise of higher education in the country. A promise that, in his case, was tragically short-lived.

Naan Revathi

Dir: P Abhijith; 115 min; Documentary; Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada; India; 2025

Njaan Revathi is a brief journey into the life of transwoman A. Revathi, a writer, activist, and actor. It depicts the lifelong ordeals and struggles of a trans person. Revathi left her home in Namakkal, Tamil Nadu in the mid-1980s and lived in the hijra communities of Delhi and Mumbai. Over the years, she became a trans rights activist, a well-known writer and speaker, and more recently, a theatre actor.

We welcome you! Entry free!

For more details : 9940642044 / 9444025348

Film Festival on Education, Madurai

Film Festival on Education

9 Aug; 10 am to 6 pm 

LENS Media Centre, Madurai 

Curated by Amudhan RP

Organised by

MARUPAKKAM & LENS Media Centre

Schedule (yet to get the approval from the filmmakers)

10 am to 1 pm 

Entrance Exam

Dir : Aditya Verma; 60 min; Documentary; India

In a remote village in central India, school teachers put their heart and soul to prepare a group of children for an entrance exam for admission in a Government-run School of Excellence (Utkrisht School). Public-funded, these schools take care of the complete expenses for the students and hence the admission for these children would ensure their continued studies as most of them are first-generation school-goers from underprivileged families. 'Entrance Exam' unfolds many layers of struggle in this intense journey as much as many pleasant surprises.

Dindigul Diaries 

Dir : Annette Danto; 62 min; Documentary; India 

Shot over a twenty-three year period, Dindigul Diaries is a 52 minute documentary telling the stories of four women living in the Dindigul region of Southern India.

Dindigul Diaries is about the dignity of labor and the resilience of working women. It addresses human rights topics of girls education, dowry, and cultural restrictions and expectations of females around the world.

Happiness Class

Dir : Samina Mishra; 52 min; Documentary; India

Happiness Class is a journey through the unique and fascinating world of children: their preoccupations, their worries, and most importantly, their idea of happiness. Set in the context of an experimental happiness curriculum inspired by the ideas of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and included as part of formal pedagogy in the schools run by the Delhi government, Happiness Class explores this landscape in schools and diverse neighbourhoods, with resident and refugee families, across the metropolis of New Delhi.

2 pm to 5 pm 

Messi, Maradona, Tremenheere 

Dir : Logesh; 22 min; Documentary; India

In Vadakarai village of Tamil Nadu, Tremenheere Sports Academy, a budding football academy strives to set a stage for school going children to break the endless cycle of bonded agricultural labour.

Are you going to school today?

Dir : Anupama Srinivasan; 59 min; Documentary; India

The film takes us to rural schools in the predominantly tribal district of Dungarpur in southern Rajasthan. Children come from difficult contexts with very limited material resources, absentee fathers and younger siblings to attend to. How do teachers respond to this situation? How do they bring children to school and create an environment in which they are motivated to learn? 

A Pain in the Neck

Dir : Fernando Romero-Forsthuber; 65 min; Documentary; Mexico / Austria

“La piedra en el zapato” is a feature documentary about the struggle and efforts of Mexican students and teachers to form children into critical thinking citizens, despite facing the -sometimes deadly - hostility of the Mexican State.

When the Dust Clears

Dir : Leo Kang; 40 min; Documentary; China

War is like the dust raised by the wheels that crush the pavement. As the dust settles, the pavement reveals its indelible scars. The children born in the cracks in the pavement are growing up with the dangers of war, but they are still trying to grow up in their own way, and it seems that more people need to help them in this effort.

5.15 pm 

Recasting Selves

Dir : Lalit Vachani; 80 min; Documentary; India 

Set at CREST (the Centre for Research and Education for Social Transformation) in Kozhikode, Kerala – the film documents the ‘soft skills’ training of Dalit and Adivasi post-graduate students in a sensitive and nurturing campus environment as preparation for their employment in the new Indian economy.

Note : Yet to get the approval from the filmmakers!