SHOT BY SHOT

ANALYSIS OF ‘A SEPARATION’ by  Asghar Farhadi

2012 Oscar Winning Iranian masterpiece, superbly crafted, emotionally astute, raising ethical and philosophical questions. 

15-16-17-18 July 2021; 14:30 to 18:30 IST_Online

“As the film progresses, terrible things happen in a succession of unintended consequences. Flawed people behave badly and they will make ferocious appeals to justice and to law in preliminary hearings very similar to the divorce court, heard by harassed, careworn officials oppressed by the knowledge that there is no black and white, but numberless shades of grey. Despite the angry denunciations flying back and forth and the fizzing sense of grievance being nursed on both sides, the messy, difficult truth is that both parties can be justified, that all-or-nothing judicial war will bring destruction, and that some sort of face-saving compromise will somehow have to be patched up”…. – Excerpt from a Review from The Guardian (June 2011)

Over 4 days (15, 16, 17, 18 July) Kamal Swaroop will deconstruct this film shot-by-shot, scene-by-scene alongside its script. Original script will be read alongside reviewing the shots, scenes. This exercise is a highly valuable exercise in understanding in detail the very specific language of film construction, plotting of interpersonal dilemmas, building up emotional appeal, and raising existential questions. 

NOTE: This film analysis is the 1st unit of a longer filmmaking workshop titled “SEPARATION”, wherein participants will be mentored to make their own short films.

FACILITATORS’ PROFILES: 

KAMAL SWAROOP: 

“I don’t believe in sense, but nonsense. I don’t want to connect, but rather to disconnect. How can you show death in films? Nobody dies. Everybody lives. It’s all a pretense.” These words spoken by filmmaker Kamal Swaroop in an interview are an indication of the unconventional, impossible to label nature of this artist. As a journalist once described him, “His ideas are unassumingly bold, preposterously original and tend to cut against the grain almost by design.”

Swaroop is a two-time President’s award and Filmfare Award winning film, television and radio director and screenwriter. In 1974 he graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India and even his student works met with unusual international acclaim. He continued with postgraduate studies at the Institute. In 1982, he assisted Sir Richard Attenborough in the filming of Gandhi. Om-Dar-B-Dar (1988) is his path breaking masterpiece. Swaroop’s career, spanning 42 years, covers a broad range of films, channel promos for Channel V India, ads and Radio Spots.

FEES FOR THIS 4 DAYS UNIT – 

INR 1500 For Ex PArticipants of Auroville Film Institute

INR 2000 For Indian Nationals

USD 30 For participants from SAARC nations

USD 80 For international participants outside of SAARC

Voluntary contribution for Aurovilians and Newcomers.

CERTIFICATE:

Certificate of participation will be issued by Auroville Film Instiitute

QUERIES:

If you have any queries please write to filminstitute@auroville.org.in / 

or call +91 9969879319