Join us for a weekend of Sanjay Kak documentary films curated by Tajender Sagoo director of Frank Brazil.
Sanjay Kak is a leading figure in a generation of filmmakers that emerged in post-independence India. Urgent and uncompromising, Kak's films have reached audiences in villages and small towns, distributed and screened through India’s vast network of activist groups.
His study of the Asian community in the UK, This Land, My Land, Eng-Land! was filmed in 1990, the era of Norman Tebbit’s ‘cricket test,’ but speaks just as much to present day Brexit Britain.
Jashn-e-Azadi (How We Celebrate Freedom) is about the ongoing conflict in Kashmir, released in 2007, the people of Kashmir live in a profoundly militarised society.
Red Ant Dream is a film that critiques the idea of citizenship in a democracy as people across India protest against land grabs, under policies that evoke colonial era occupations. The film asks – are revolutions even possible anymore?
Sanjay Kak is a leading figure in a generation of filmmakers that emerged in post-independence India. Urgent and uncompromising, Kak's films have reached audiences in villages and small towns, distributed and screened through India’s vast network of activist groups.
His study of the Asian community in the UK, This Land, My Land, Eng-Land! was filmed in 1990, the era of Norman Tebbit’s ‘cricket test,’ but speaks just as much to present day Brexit Britain.
Jashn-e-Azadi (How We Celebrate Freedom) is about the ongoing conflict in Kashmir, released in 2007, the people of Kashmir live in a profoundly militarised society.
Red Ant Dream is a film that critiques the idea of citizenship in a democracy as people across India protest against land grabs, under policies that evoke colonial era occupations. The film asks – are revolutions even possible anymore?
Sat 16 September
This Land, My Land, Eng-Land!
+ Q&A with Sanjay Kak, Rita Wolf , Farook Shamser and Virinder Kalra and , Professor in Sociology, University of Warwick India 1990. Dir Sanjay Kak. 59min. EST
Sanjay Kak explores life with artists Rita Wolf, Parv Bancil, and Faruk and Harun Shamser of Joi Bangla Crew as they struggle for a place in the sun. Three decades after South Asians first came to Britain in the 1960s, this compelling film follows a new generation of young creatives, and examines the endless rehearsals that go into the construction of identity.
To book tickets and for more info visit This Land Is Ours at the BFI.
Sat 16 September
Jashn-E-Azadi How We Celebrate Freedom
+ intro by Sanjay Kak India 2007. Dir Sanjay Kak. 138min. Kashmiri, Urdu with EST.
Sanjay Kak explores the many meanings of Azadi (Freedom) using a combination of vérité, rare archive and poetry, and sets his film during the long-running conflict in Kashmir, possibly the most militarised zone in the world. It’s now 10 years since the release of his film but the words of Kashmiris continue to bear urgent witness to the unfolding trauma. ‘Start speaking about Kashmir again. Start speaking about Kashmir now,’ insists Kak. An informal discussion with Sanjay Kak in the Blue Room follows the screening .
To book tickets and for more info visit This Land Is Ours at the BFI.
Sun 17 September
Red Ant Dream
+ intro by Sanjay Kak India 2013. Dir Sanjay Kak. 119min. Gondi, Odiya, Punjabi with EST.
Are revolutions even possible anymore? asks Sanjay Kak. Armed insurrection simmers in Bastar, Chattisgarh. In Odisha, beleaguered Adivasis from the mineral-rich hills resist. In Punjab, peasant protestors rally around Bhagat Singh, icon of the anti-colonial struggle. In this state-of-the-nation film, Kak uses found footage and the rich tradition of poetry and protest songs in an urgent critique of Indian democracy. Joint ticket available with Sanjay Kak in Conversation £15, concs £12
(Members pay £2 less).
To book tickets and for more info visit This Land Is Ours at the BFI.
To book tickets and for more info visit This Land Is Ours at the BFI.
Sanjay Kak in Conversation TRT 90min
Sanjay Kak (b.1958) has been making documentaries since the mid-1980s and is part of a generation of independent Indian film auteurs who have challenged dominant narratives and who have sought alternative distribution for their work. During a richly illustrated conversation, Sanjay Kak will talk about his work as an activist and filmmaker. The session will be chaired by Virinder Kalra, Professor in Sociology, University of Warwick, and there will be an opportunity for you to ask your own questions.
To book tickets and for more info visit This Land Is Ours at the BFI.
Programmed in partnership with the BFI
