WITH AMAR KANWAR

They say u cannot say much about good work you just accept it but I have been given the difficult task of talking about good work and also to talk about how I accepted it .it was a privilege to attend a documentary film screening organized by open space and ftii with Mr.Amar kanwar himself. Mr Kanwar Lives and works from New Delhi.
He is the recipient of the 1st Edvard Munch Award for Contemporary Art from Norway, a Honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts, Maine College of Art, USA , the MacArthur Fellowship in India, the Golden Gate Award ( San Francisco International Film Festival); Golden Conch (Mumbai International Film Festival ); The First Prize (Torino International Film Festival. Italy ) ; Jury's Award (Film South Asia , Nepal ), Grand Prix at EnviroFilm , Slovak Republic and the Golden Tree at the 1st National Environment and Wildlife Film Festival Vatavaran. Delhi. His awards can speak more than my words.
The documentary screening was held on two days, on the first day the latest film by Mr.Kanwar “THE LIGHTNING TESTIMONIES” was screened .the film explores the history of violence against women in different parts of the country then and now . Mr.Kanwar's film maps a journey of exploring our relationship with the politics of power and violence against women. It raised many issues such as the atrocities faced by women at the time of the partition and the present condition of women in different parts of India such as Nagaland and Kashmir. The film left a long-lasting impression. The film was followed by a long dialogue between the film maker and the audience.
On the second day four films were screened the first one A SEASON OUTSIDE is about the border outpost Wagah, where this film begins its exploration. A Season Outside is a personal and philosophical journey through past generations, conflicting positions, borders and time zones. It throws light on the imaginary lines created by man.
The second film A NIGHT OF PROPHECY talks about the passage of time through poetry? The film travels in the states of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Nagaland and Kashmir trying to understand the past, the severity of conflict and the cycles of change. Through poetry you come about various situations and opinions. The different poetic narratives merge together, allowing us to see a more universal language of symbols and meanings. The third film HENNINGSVAER is about being in exile and the thin line that can exist between paradise and prison. Filmed entirely through glass, this film is located on the famous cod fishing island of Henningsvaer in Norway in the Arctic Circle. The fourth film THE MANY FACES OF MADNESS is about the ecological imbalance created by people in India .it talks about the deaf ear policy of the government in pursuing the so called modernization .The filmmaker talked about length about the film and how it was made.
It was truly an outstanding experience to watch such films of high quality and it was a privilege that the filmmaker himself was screening them. The dialog made things more interesting with lot of issues in the films being talked at length. At the end I will again like to say that good work can only be called good work and writing about Mr. Kanwar and his films for me is like showing a torch to the sun. I ask forgiveness I lack the felicity. MIR DAWAR