Sneak peek into the 14th Habitat Film Festival     

The 14th edition of the Habitat Film Festival was held from May 17 to 26, 2019, at the India Habitat Centre, Delhi. The ten-day festival included 42 feature films in more than 19 languages including Marathi, Bengali, Malayalam, Hindi, Kashmiri, English, Telugu, Haryanvi, Punjabi, Assamese, Kannada, Khasi, Gaddi, Garo and Ladakhi. Additionally, a total of 45 critically acclaimed films were also screened under the documentary, short film and student film categories.

The opening film of the festival was Ashvin Kumar’s No Fathers in Kashmir. A poignant film about the sufferings of the Kashmiris in the aftermath of insurgency told through the perspective of a young girl, No Fathers in Kashmir stars Zara Webb, Ashvin Kumar, Anshuman Jha, Natasha Mago, Soni Razdan, and Kulbhushan Kharbanda in major roles.

Devashish Makhija’s Bhonsle is the closing film of the festival. Starring Manoj Bajpayee in the titular role, Bhonsle tells the story of a retired Marathi police inspector who becomes a witness to the atrocities that the Bihari migrants living in a Marathi locality are subjected to as per the commands of a ruthless Marathi politician. The festival also screened Rima Das’ critically acclaimed film Bulbul Can Sing which has already won several prestigious awards.

The film is a coming of age film that revolves around three teenagers trying to come to terms with their sexual identities. The Gaddi language film directed by Ridham Janve titled The Gold-Laden Sheep and the Sacred Mountain was also screened at the 14th Habitat Film Festival. It revolves around an old Gaddi shepherd and his servant who witness a fighter jet crash in the Himalayan valley.

One of the festival’s major highlights was legendary Malayalam filmmaker Shaji N Karun’s latest film Olu which is essentially a fantasy revolving around a gypsy girl who is raped and dumped into the backwaters. Another important film to be screened at the festival was Kamakhya Narayan Singh’s directorial debut Bhor which examines Bihar’s poverty-stricken Musahar community.

Some other important films to have been screened at the festival include Priya Ramasubban’s Chuskit and Aditya Vikram Sengupta’s Jonaki. Also, National Award-winning filmmaker Praveen Morchhale’s Widow of Silence, which has already won several national and international awards, was screened at the festival. The film is about the half widows of Kashmir. Aijaz Khan’s Hamid, starring Rasika Dugal and also set in Kashmir, was also shown.

An interesting film with a hybrid narrative titled Mehsampur was screened at the 2019 Habitat Film Festival. Directed by Kabir Singh Chowdhary, Mehsampur tells the story of a filmmaker who travels to Punjab to make a film on Amar Singh Chamkila, a controversial Punjabi singer and songwriter who was killed by an unidentified gang of riflemen back in 1988. Speaking of the experimental narratives, Ukrainian filmmaker Daria Gai’s Namdev Bhau – In Search of Silence was another interesting title on offer. The film revolves around a 65-year-old chauffeur who travels from Mumbai to Ladakh in search of peace and quietude. Interestingly, Daria cast a real life chauffeur in the titular role. Dominic Sangma’s Garo language film titled Ma. Ama was another one that could not be missed. It tells the story of an octogenarian who waits for his wife every day even after 30 years of her death.

The festival also featured master classes by filmmakers along with various other interactive sessions. A panel discussion on the #MeToo Movement and the formation of the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) in the Malayalam film industry featured actress Rima Kallingal and director Jubith Namradath. There was also a special package of documentaries on Dadasaheb Phalke Awardees including BR Chopra, Ashok Kumar and Dilip Kumar among others.