Anand Patwardhan

A broad-ranging examination of Indian society, where secular rationalists are hunted down as they attempt to stem the rising tide of religious and nationalist fundamentalism.

A broad-ranging examination of Indian society, where secular rationalists are hunted down as they attempt to stem the rising tide of religious and nationalist fundamentalism.

A broad-ranging examination of Indian society, where secular rationalists are hunted down as they attempt to stem the rising tide of religious and nationalist fundamentalism.

A broad-ranging examination of Indian society, where secular rationalists are hunted down as they attempt to stem the rising tide of religious and nationalist fundamentalism.

Dalits, in the Indian caste system, belong to the lowest social sphere and therefore they always endure discrimination as well as the violation of their Human Rights. Also known as “the untouchable,” this group was vindicated by Bihmrao Ambedkar, a Dalit who earned doctorate degrees abroad and fought for the emancipation of his people. In 1997 a statue made for honoring him was desecrated, unleashing the rage of the Dalit community; but instead of getting support by the authorities, ten persons were murdered. This documentary took 14 years to be made and it captures the music and poetry of this people, showing a tradition against superstition and religious bigotry that has strived since the times of Buda.

Dalits, in the Indian caste system, belong to the lowest social sphere and therefore they always endure discrimination as well as the violation of their Human Rights. Also known as “the untouchable,” this group was vindicated by Bihmrao Ambedkar, a Dalit who earned doctorate degrees abroad and fought for the emancipation of his people. In 1997 a statue made for honoring him was desecrated, unleashing the rage of the Dalit community; but instead of getting support by the authorities, ten persons were murdered. This documentary took 14 years to be made and it captures the music and poetry of this people, showing a tradition against superstition and religious bigotry that has strived since the times of Buda.

Dalits, in the Indian caste system, belong to the lowest social sphere and therefore they always endure discrimination as well as the violation of their Human Rights. Also known as “the untouchable,” this group was vindicated by Bihmrao Ambedkar, a Dalit who earned doctorate degrees abroad and fought for the emancipation of his people. In 1997 a statue made for honoring him was desecrated, unleashing the rage of the Dalit community; but instead of getting support by the authorities, ten persons were murdered. This documentary took 14 years to be made and it captures the music and poetry of this people, showing a tradition against superstition and religious bigotry that has strived since the times of Buda.

Dalits, in the Indian caste system, belong to the lowest social sphere and therefore they always endure discrimination as well as the violation of their Human Rights. Also known as “the untouchable,” this group was vindicated by Bihmrao Ambedkar, a Dalit who earned doctorate degrees abroad and fought for the emancipation of his people. In 1997 a statue made for honoring him was desecrated, unleashing the rage of the Dalit community; but instead of getting support by the authorities, ten persons were murdered. This documentary took 14 years to be made and it captures the music and poetry of this people, showing a tradition against superstition and religious bigotry that has strived since the times of Buda.

Dalits, in the Indian caste system, belong to the lowest social sphere and therefore they always endure discrimination as well as the violation of their Human Rights. Also known as “the untouchable,” this group was vindicated by Bihmrao Ambedkar, a Dalit who earned doctorate degrees abroad and fought for the emancipation of his people. In 1997 a statue made for honoring him was desecrated, unleashing the rage of the Dalit community; but instead of getting support by the authorities, ten persons were murdered. This documentary took 14 years to be made and it captures the music and poetry of this people, showing a tradition against superstition and religious bigotry that has strived since the times of Buda.

Gérard Courant's "Filmed Diary" of December 14, 2011, produced in Dubai (United Arab Emirates). Between December 7 and 15, 2011, Gérard Courant was invited by the Dubai International Film Festival, in the United Arab Emirates. It was an opportunity for him to film many "Cinematons" of personalities from the Arab world and to continue his "Film Notebooks" from which he brought back 7 episodes.

A message from the economically displaced children of a slum colony in Mumbai who are educating themselves in the face of government apathy.

"Global censorship of the war on Iraq has stifled the outrage that may have otherwise curtailed the ongoing atrocity of occupation. Not only have the real causes of war been hidden but also its effects. Most people see a sanitized and falsified version that feeds their complacence and sedates their conscience. But one place where the truth cannot be totally hidden is the Internet. “images you didn’t see” is a music video that interprets images gleaned from the net – images that either never appear in the mainstream media, or images whose import are masked behind a velvet curtain of global infotainment."

Documentary about the nuclear sabre-rattling that has been going on between India and Pakistan. Comprised mostly of interviews with average folks on the street, the movie superbly demonstrates the gulf between the people's will and the greed of those in power.

Documentary about the nuclear sabre-rattling that has been going on between India and Pakistan. Comprised mostly of interviews with average folks on the street, the movie superbly demonstrates the gulf between the people's will and the greed of those in power.

Documentary about the nuclear sabre-rattling that has been going on between India and Pakistan. Comprised mostly of interviews with average folks on the street, the movie superbly demonstrates the gulf between the people's will and the greed of those in power.

Fishing in the Sea of Greed documents the response of one fishing community in India to the “rape and run” industries that have begun to dominate their livelihood and decimate their environment. Under the leadership of the National Fishworkers Forum and the World Forum of Fishworkers and Fish Harvesters, workers are fighting not only for their jobs, but for the survival of the world’s coastal communities and ecosystems.

"Made in the aftermath of Indian and Pakistani nuclear tests, Ribbons gives new meaning to an old film song by Kishore Kumar – a kind of “Imagine” composed before the days of John Lennon. With guest appearances by well-known movie stars like Naseeruddin Shah, Aamir Khan, Kittu Gidwani and Chandrachur, the film was made to counter a pro-nuke music video made by the political party in power."

"Textile mills were once the backbone of Bombay’s economy and provided the city its working class culture. Today, foreign investment and rising real-estate prices have made selling mill lands more profitable than running mills. Mill ‘sickness’ is now an epidemic. OCCUPATION: MILLWORKER records the inspirational action of workers who, after a four-year lockout, forcibly occupied The New Great Eastern Mill."

"We Are Not Your Monkeys is a music video that reworks the epic Ramayana story to critique the caste and gender oppression implicit in it. Sung by Sambhaji Bhagat and composed by Sambhaji, the late Daya Pawar and Anand Patwardhan, the music video opposes the systematic oppression and negation of basic human rights of the underclass, in the name of religion and culture."

"Narmada Diary" introduces the Narmada Bachao Andolan (the Save the Narmada Movement), which has spearheaded the agitation against the Sardar Sarovar Dam. As government resettlement programs prove inadequate, the Narmada Bachao Andolan has emerged as one of the most dynamic struggles in India today. With non-violent protests and a determination to drown rather than to leave their homes and land, the people of the Narmada valley have become symbols of a global struggle against unjust development.

Filmmaker Anand Patwardhan looks to history and psychology as he delves into the possible reasons behind the demolition of the Babri Mosque.

Filmmaker Anand Patwardhan looks to history and psychology as he delves into the possible reasons behind the demolition of the Babri Mosque.

The film explores the campaign waged by the Hindu right-wing organisation Vishva Hindu Parishad to build a Ram temple at the site of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, as well as the communal violence that it triggered. A couple of months after Ram ke Naam was released, VHP activists demolished the Babri Masjid in 1992, provoking further violence.

The film explores the campaign waged by the Hindu right-wing organisation Vishva Hindu Parishad to build a Ram temple at the site of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, as well as the communal violence that it triggered. A couple of months after Ram ke Naam was released, VHP activists demolished the Babri Masjid in 1992, provoking further violence.

About the communal clashes between Sikh and Hindu fundamentalists during the Khalistan Movement and the subsequent endeavors of secular parties with Marxist associations in reinstating peace in the state.

A documentary on the socio-economic injustice meted out to the slum-dwellers in Bombay, and an attempt to understand the factors responsible for it.

A documentary on the socio-economic injustice meted out to the slum-dwellers in Bombay, and an attempt to understand the factors responsible for it.

A documentary on the socio-economic injustice meted out to the slum-dwellers in Bombay, and an attempt to understand the factors responsible for it.

On April 6, 1980, the Canadian Farmworkers Union came into existence. This film documents the conditions among Chinese and East Indian immigrant workers in British Columbia that provoked the formation of the union, and the response of growers and labor contractors to the threat of unionization. Made over a period of two years, the film is eloquent testimony to the progress of the workers’ movement from the first stirrings of militancy to the energetic canvassing of union members.

An early Patwardhan documentary completed in 1978, Prisoners of Conscience focuses on the state of emergency imposed by Indira Ghandi from June 1975 through March 1977. During this time over 100,000 people were arrested without charge and imprisoned without trial. They were released only by the government that replaced Ghandi's. The film also shows that political prisoners existed in India before the state of emergency and continued after the new government was elected.

Film made during the repressive days of the Emergency in India documents the 1974-75 uprising of the people of Bihar in Eastern India.