The best of Dharamshala film festival 2019

In just eight years, the Dharamshala International Film Festival (DIFF) has emerged as a haven for independent filmmakers from all across the globe. It is a testament to the dedication and commitment of the festival directors Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam that the festival has managed to build a strong reputation for itself as one of the finest indie film festivals in the world. The 8th edition of the festival ran from November 7 to 10, 2019, in McLeodganj. This year, the festival featured films from countries such as Japan, Spain, Germany, UK, USA, France, Switzerland, Macedonia, Cambodia, Palestine, Portugal, Netherlands and India, among others. Amongst the various films screened at the 2019 DIFF, the following five films stood out for their content and cinematic brilliance.

Eeb Allay Ooo!

This atmospheric satire by FTII Alumnus Prateek Vats highlights the problem of monkey menace in Delhi. Some of the most important government offices in the capital are raided by monkeys. The use of langurs to repel the monkeys away seems like the only viable alternative. But the langurs are removed after concerns raised by animal rights activists. As a solution, the authorities start hiring men who can mimic the langur’s voice. What ensues is a series of events revolving around one such man named Anjani (brilliantly essayed by Shardul Shardul Bhardwaj) who must master the voice of the langur to be made permanent at his job. The film, produced by Shwetaabh Singh, is superbly crafted, wonderfully shot and cleverly edited. Here is a film that needs to be watched for its cinematic flair and underlying socio-political commentary.

Jallikattu

Lijo Jose Pellissery’s follow up to Ea.Ma.Yau is rife with symbolism and allegories. Based on a short story by S. Hareesh, it is essentially a film about toxic masculinity and power politics. The film is set in a remote village in the hill ranges of Kerala and it unfolds during the course of a day and night. The events are set off after a butcher’s buffalo breaks free and runs amok. The hunt gathers storm and the whole village gets into the act of hunting down the beast on the run. Lijo yet again succeeds in demonstrating his audio-visual mastery over the medium. There is so much energy in every frame that it appears difficult to contain and yet Lijo never really loses control over the material at hand. While not as sprawling as Angamaly Diaries, Jallikattu nonetheless proves to be a worthy addition to easily one of India’s most exciting filmmaker’s oeuvre.

Vitalina Varela

Films by the master Portuguese filmmaker Pedro Costa are known all around the world for their beautiful compositions and deeply humanistic subjects. Vitalina Varela is no different. It takes its title from the name of its lead actress, a Cape Verdean woman, who plays a fictionalised version of herself. She first appeared in an episode in the director’s previous film Horse Money (2014), wherein she recounted how her husband had left their homeland nearly 25 years ago to work in Lisbon, never to return again. In Vitalina Varela, Costa expands that episode, capturing her extraordinary strength and resilience as she deals with reality.

God Exists, Her Name is Petrunya

Teona Strugar Mitevska’s God Exists, Her Name is Petrunya exposes the deep-rooted patriarchy in the society like no other film in the recent times. This multiple Berlinale award-winner from Macedonia is a scathing attack against patriarchal control. Every year in January, in a small town in Macedonia, the high priest throws a cross into the local waters as dozens of men charge for it. The one who finds the cross is believed to gain overall good fortune and prosperity. However, things go awry when a woman throws herself into the ceremony and catches the cross before her male competitors. What makes the situation grow more intense is Petrunya’s refusal to return the cross.

Tehran: City of Love

This beautiful film by Ali Jaberansari revolves around three lonely souls’ search for love in Tehran. One of them is an ex-champion bodybuilder who suddenly discovers secret excitement in his life when he begins to train a young man for the championships. The second is an overweight beauty clinic secretary who uses her sexy voice to create a persona for seducing men and the third is a dispirited religious singer who tries his luck at becoming a wedding singer with the hope of increasing the chances of finding the love of his life.