Unlock!

10th to 17th August 2020

This is the 6th edition of the 8-days online film-making workshop – exploring the nostalgia of the past, uncertainty of the present and imagination of the future; exploring the essential condition of being human…. 

Workshop  Overview:

In times of social distancing and limited contact, how are we learning about the world? How are stories reaching us? How are new words, new concepts, new habits forming? How are we humans, across nations being reprogrammed with new priorities and perspectives on problems quite new? The workshop will begin with the basic understanding of media and its pivotal role in imparting information, influencing perception, thus shaping individual and collective memory, and culture… 

In this new media environment, how can our own stories count? Can we open up with our own realities and not only those mediated to us? The workshop will encourage participants to reclaim agency over their own voice, expressing their own visions of being human… 

Anchored in the exploration of self and surrounding, the workshop will hold space for emerging stories and help participants to acquire a language, a possible expression in form of short films. Personal computers, smartphone cameras or any other gadgets readily available at home are enough to embark upon this intensive 8-days film-making journey!

Timings: 3 to 6:30 pm (Indian Standard Time – IST
The workshop is intensive. Participants will have to engage in various exercises such as observation, creative writing, photography, videography and editing beyond the classroom hours.

Duration: 8 Days

Medium of Instruction: English 

Participant Profile:  Anyone– interested in media, social media, journalism, art, film-making, photography, story telling, politics, environment and ecology – who are willing to articulate their reflections in the film form within the given constraints. 

Method of Training and Interaction:

The online course will be conducted on ‘GoogleMeet’. Details will be shared with each participant.

The course will be a combination of lectures, followed by live interactions, facilitated Q&A; and mentored practical exercises towards production of short films by the participants – within the confines of their home space and extended society – with whatever gadgets readily available at home –  without defying any norms of the lockdown. 

Course Facilitators:

Richa Hushing & Rrivu Laha

Guest Faculty: Aloke Thakore

Facilitators’ & Guest Faculty Profile:

Richa Hushing & Rrivu Laha are documentary filmmakers, both alumni of Film and Television Institute of India, Pune. Richa specializes in Direction and Editing, while Rrivu’s specialization is Direction and Cinematography.  Their films are often character portraits; and portraits of indigenous cultures in face of conflict and at the threshold of change. Cinema verité style is their strength.

‘Nicobar, a long way…’  a documentary observing Nicobarese identity and resilience in wake of state sponsored relief and rehabilitation post Tsunami – is one of their latest works, winning ‘Special Mention’ award at the Millennium Film Festival, Belgium, 2017. Some of the other festivals where it won accolades was Pêcheurs du monde, Lorient, France, 2018; Film South Asia, Nepal, 2017; Viscult, the festival of Visual Culture, Finland, 2017; World Film Festival, Estonia, 2017; Festival Film Library of the Royal Anthropological Institute, Bristol 2017; Ethnografilm Festival, Paris, 2017; Smaragdni Eco Film Festival, Croatia, 2017; International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala, India, 2016. Their prior works too have been recognised internationally.

After a decade-long practice based in Mumbai, in 2017 Richa and Rrivu moved to Auroville, an intentional international township dedicated to the ideals of human unity, free progress and transformation of consciousness. In Auroville, they’ve found Auroville Timelines, a media pedagogy and video arts unit, researching and curating recorded memories of Auroville, creating mnemonics of the dream.  

Richa and Rrivu have also co-founded ‘Auroville Film Institute’ dedicated to the ideal of cinema education, integrating world cinema and world citizenship, experimenting with a new pedagogy, encouraging new practices of conscious cinema. Auroville Film Institute has begun to offer short term courses; and is preparing for long term plans, individualised mentorship, student exchange programmes and cinema-centric learning journeys.

Aloke Thakore is a journalist, researcher and teacher. He has worked in print and television. He has been a newsroom coach for The Times of India (Chennai and Kochi), Hindustan Times, People (magazine), Bangalore Mirror, and Mumbai Mirror; and a management and editorial consultant for The Emirates Evening Post (Dubai).

Having started his career with The Statesman in Calcutta, Thakore worked as a Producer with ABNI and its merged avatar of CNBC, and was responsible for the channel output from Mumbai. He used to write a media watch column for The Hoot (thehoot.org) called ‘Hammer and Tongs’, and has also conducted, and consulted on, media research and training initiatives of the Media Foundation, Panos South Asia, and PUKAR (Partners for Urban Knowledge, Action & Research), Mumbai.

A Media Leadership Fellow of the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, Thakore has a Ph.D. in Journalism & Mass Communication from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, an AM in International Relations from the University of Chicago, and an MS in Journalism from the University of Kansas. He has a bachelor’s degree in English from Calcutta University. Thakore is the Honorary Director of the JM Foundation for Excellence in Journalism. He serves as a trustee of the Informed Voter project (MumbaiVotes.com).

Selection Criteria:  
Selection will be based on the strength of application. We will notify those selected. Please apply before 7th August 2020.

Expected Contribution:
The workshop is on a voluntary payment scheme, on the principles of gift economy. We will share account details with selected participants.

 Certificates: Those who wish for certificates will be given digital certificates of participation. 

Completion of production is mandatory to receive certificates. 

Queries:
For queries, if any, please write to:
filminstitute@auroville.org.in or call / message on +91 9969879319.