Starting on the 17th of May, the 14th edition of the Habitat Film Festival offers an impressive showcase of meaningful films from across the country

Over the last decade or so the Habitat Film Festival has developed into a major cinematic feast as far as the Delhiites are concerned. And the festival promises to be bigger and better in its 14th year with over 40 feature films in 19 languages set to be screened across a ten-day period, starting May 17. “Habitat Film Festival is always exciting because we get to see the latest cinema from different regions and the festival endeavours to put a special focus on young and upcoming filmmakers also. This year again we have several noteworthy films including our opening film ‘No Fathers in Kashmir’ by Ashvin Kumar. In fact, there is a lot of excitement among the people for the passes of the film,” chuckled Sunit Tandon, director of the India Habitat Centre.

The programmes team led by the IHC programmes director Vidyun Singh has put together an exiciting line-up of Indian regional cinema this year.

“Every year the focus is on bringing the best of Indian cinema to the Habitat Film Festival for our audience. So we look at the cinema across the length and breadth of the country. Ideally, we would love to screen more films but unlike other festivals we cannot host the festival at multiple venues across the city. There are always a lot of very good films out of Bengal, Kerala and Maharashtra but we can’t take too many from any one language in order to represent good cinema that is happening at other places as well,” explained Singh.

The regional languages set to get focus at the Festival include Malayalam, Khasi, Sherdukpen, Santhali, Ravula, Bengali, Haryanvi, Gaddi, Ladakhi, Assamese, Punjabi, Kannada, and Garo, among others.

The irresistible five

Films to watch out for include Wanphrang K. Diengdoh’s Khasi language film titled “Lorni - The Flaneur”. It is essentially a noir set in Shillong, Meghalaya. Adil Hussain plays an out-of-work private detective relegated to the task of tracking down stolen objects. Diengdoh’s first feature, “Lorni - The Flaneur” is shot entirely in Shilling over 24 days on a shoestring budget with a local supporting cast comprising fresh college pass outs.

Dominic Sangma’s Garo language film “Ma.Ama” tells the story of an elderly man’s love for his dead wife. Even after three decades of her death he dreams for the day when he will be able to finally reunite with her in afterlife. The film offers interesting insights into the gender equation in the hill community serving as a powerful reminder that women are the binding force behind every community and the human civilization at large.

Dystopian world

Sanal Kumar Sasidharan’s Malayalam film “Unmadiyude Maranam” / Death of an Insane is set in a dystopian world where individuals aren’t allowed to dream without the permission of authorities. In a short time Sanal has managed to establish himself as a rebel filmmaker who isn’t afraid of taking the fight to the authorities. “Unmadiyude Maranam” has also been described by some critics as Sanal’s personal reaction to the pain and trauma he suffered leading to the release of “Sexy Durga”.

The film was initially banned by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting from getting screened at Indian film festivals and was later released as “S Durga” as per the instructions of the CBFC.

Ridham Janve’s Gaddi language film “The Gold Laden Sheep and the Sacred Mountain” revolves around an old Gaddi shepherd and his servant who witness a fighter jet crash in the Himalayan valley. While the servant intends to make a fortune by scavenging the jet’s parts, the shepherd insists they continue their journey. The film is shot in the Chamba and Kangra regions with a cast consisting of members of the Gaddi community.

Connecting with God

A screengrab from the film Hamid | Photo Credit: Special arrangement

Aijaz Khan’s Urdu/Hindi film “Hamid” tells the story of an eight-year-old Kashmiri boy in search of his father who has gone missing. When one day someone tells him that 786 is God's number he decides to try and reach out to the God by dialling the number, hoping to talk to his father and try and convince him to come back. “Hamid” is based on by Mohd. Amin Bhat’s play called “Phone No 786”.

A frame from ‘Jonaki’ | Photo Credit: Special arrangement

Shaji N Karun’s Malayalam film “Olu”, Rima Das’ Assamese film “Bulbul Can Sing”, Priya Ramasubban’s Ladakhi film “Chuskit”, Priya Krishnaswamy’s Tamil film “Baaram”, P. Sheshadri’s Kannada film “Mookajjiya Kanasugalu”, Aditya Vikram Sengupta’s Bengali film “Jonaki”, Kabir Chowdhry’s Punjabi-Hindi film “Mehsampur”, and Ukrainian filmmaker Daria Gai’s Hindi film “Namdev Bhau” are some other interesting choices at the Festival.

The 14th Habitat Film Festival will also screen a wide array of critically acclaimed documentaries and short films. “Other than a special focus on regional Indian languages this year we also have a documentary series on the Dadasaheb Phalke Awardees directed by well know documentary filmmaker Savita Oberoi. Student cinema is another interesting section featuring short films from the students of FTII, SRFTI, NDI as well as a few other institutes,” summed up Tandon.