Mumbai reject finally shines in Berlin

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/arti ... 502004.cms

Final Solution , an Indian film, which depicted the communal violence in Gujarat, has bagged two awards at the 54th Berlin International Film Festival.

The documentary film by Rakesh Sharma was awarded the Wolfgang Staudte Award and the Special Jury Award at the festival, which concluded Sunday, according to a release here.

Interestingly, Final Solution , was rejected by the recently concluded Mumbai International Film Festival but was however screened at the parallel festival, 'Vikalp'.

Final Solution , is the first Indian film to win the Wolfgang Staudte Award, instituted in 1990 in the memory of the noted German Director. The award, carrying a cash prize of 10,000 euros, was presented for being an "epic documentary focussing on the culture of hatred and indifference".

"The directness, clarity and accuracy of the film enables the viewer to both reflect on the universality of the subject matter and relate this to his or her own human attitudes. The film-maker has chosen a documentary form that completely shuns the use of melodramatic effect," the citation said.

The second award was presented to the film for its clarification of issues that spawned hate and violence between Hindus and Muslims in Gujarat, its analysis of propaganda mechanisms for political purposes, and its measured voice to seek a final solution to the conflict.

Five Indian films invited to the festival in International Forum of new cinema section included - Hazaaron Khwahishen Aisi by Sudhir Mishra, Maqbool by Vishal Bhardwaj, Kal Ho Na Ho by Nikhil Advani, Hava Aaney De by Partho Sengupta.



Edited By rana on 1077058107

I watched this Final Solution documentary and it's a very hard hitting piece of film. Was it banned in India?

The documentary is viewed from people's perspective of what happened in Gujarat, it constantly switches views, giving raw accounts from people who survived, the politicians involved and the media aftermath of the events. The documentary is quite long and at times it feels the same ground is repeated over and over gain, maybe intentionally to get a message across. Truly encapsulates the hatred and apathy of people.

Ali

I have a PAL tape of this, which I've been meaning to get converted to NTSC for the last year, but never got around to.

DragunR2 --> where did you get this tape ?,is it possible to snag a copy for me ??, even better if you can burn it onto a DVD . i am willing to pay a suitable compensation for this.

Thanks

You can download a copy here;

http://www.bwtorrents.com/showthread.php?t=10960

Ali

I've never tried the bwtorrent..in order to get access, I need an invite for a log in..anyone able to send me an invite to mailto:shahenshah007@hotmail.com

Received this in my email:

Enclosed below is the text of a petition to be sent to authorities in New York, Washington DC and New Delhi to protest against Rakesh Sharma's harrowing experience with cops from NYPD. His seems to be a clear case of racial profiling, which, inspite of explicit denials by the US establishment, is a rampant practice. Please lend your support by raising your voice against harassment of individuals through draconian powers being exercised by the US law enforcement agencies in the name of War on Terror. Please sign the petition by going to http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/980334649 . Please circulate this petition to others in your addressbook as well.

Petition text :

We are shocked to hear about the intimidation and harassment faced by the well-known Indian film-maker Rakesh Sharma in New York on May 13, 2005. NYPD personnel 'detained and interrogated' him for 3 hours and subjected him to verbal and physical abuse. The details of the incident can be found in the formal complaint filed by him on May 16, 2005 with The Civilian Complaint Review Board, New York. (http://rakeshfilm.com/NYPD/index.htm )

Mr. Rakesh Sharma has been traveling in several countries including USA to screen his film – Final Solution ( http://www.rakeshfilm.com/finalsolution.htm). The film has been screened at over 60 international film festivals and has won over a dozen awards. On May 12, 2005, he was invited to present his film in New York at a screening co-organized by Columbia University and New School. As is clear from the sequence of events, the next day, Mr. Sharma was taking street shots of traffic in Manhattan, less than a block away from his hotel, when an NYPD detective accosted him. Even though Mr. Sharma answered each query, produced his identification papers and offered to put the detective in touch with his hosts in New York, he had to face hostile questioning, threats and public humiliation. The detective confiscated his passport, physically pushed him, snatched his camera and among other things said to him: "We know how to deal with you guys, asshole", clearly a racist remark. Though Mr. Sharma was not formally arrested, he was not free to leave, not allowed to make any phone calls and was 'interrogated' by 2 more sets of officers. Finally, detectives of the 'cold case squad' at the 17th precinct illegally previewed the footage shot by him even after his identity had firmly and formally been established.

We would like to register a strong protest against the NYPD and urge you to immediately conduct an enquiry into the episode. We find the ethic of interrogation adopted by the NYPD to be violent, insidious and oppressive . We feel that the NYPD not just violated several of Mr. Sharma's rights but may possibly have indulged in racial profiling. According to Mr. Sharma – " Perhaps I was accosted and interrogated because of my brown skin, my beard and the fact that I had a camera". We urge the United States Department of Justice through its Civil Rights Division to respond, especially in view of its " Initiative to Combat Post-9/11 Discriminatory Backlash".

Mayor Bloomberg, we urge you to take immediate punitive action against officers responsible for the incident. We hope that a formal apology will be tendered to Mr. Sharma and due compensation will be offered to him for the mental and physical distress suffered by him. May we also urge you to take formal steps to ensure that visitors to New York City are not subjected to such harassment and intimidation by NYPD in the future.

We would like directives to be issued to law enforcement agencies to put an immediate stop to the practice of racial profiling. We oppose and resist the perpetuation of newer and more grotesque forms of violence by state agencies in the name of national security and protest strongly against the consequent violation of peoples' civil liberties and legal rights. May we suggest that such actions are not just an assault on the US Constitution but on the very concepts of liberty and freedom of _expression.

Saw the documentary yesterday and i am still trying to wrap my head around it. For me as a "liberal" hindu/indian the incidents (when it happened) happened 5000 miles away on the other side of the world , but yesterday watching it felt as though it was happening 15 Ft away unfolding in a mere 2.5 hours . The footage is raw and in-your-face.

I consider this a kick in India’s nuts ( liberty and equality) - its shame that this happened and will continue to happen , for there is no final solution . The common factor that’s appallingly visible is the poverty written across the faces of victims ( hindus/muslims) and the few learned people who know how to wind it to their advantage ( totally disturbing to see a retired professor part of VHP/Baj Rang dal !) . What is even more painful is when the children talk - in all their naivety they bring out the truth that currently underscores the communal harmony - total confusion . At the end of it I realized something so bad that it made me want to puke on myself - I was desperate to get hold of this documentary , I guess "to spend my time watching other people suffer from the safety of my home 5000 miles away…, drinking coffee !" , alas I realize I am no different from the other “learned” folks – this documentary definitely ticks you off .

I have my reservations on the documentary , for I think it takes side even before the documentary begins. This is definitely a subjective documentary and their in fails as documentary and succeeds as a film. That part aside the camera does give you voyeuristic view on the incidents.

For all my brothers and sisters on zulm i recommend you to watch "brother kill brother spilling blood across the land"

as big of a jerk that I am, I still want to watch this documentary.

I too would like an invite, if possible.

looks like BWT are looking for TV Rippers. I might be doing this soon, to record Reth & Tumhari Disha on Z

Guys, i dont think i have "enough credits" to invite anyone to BTW - trust me i tried sorry

Couldn't you just send the torrent file to us, and then we could download it?

thats what i was thinking. PM us?? are these some sort of 'advanced' torrents?

Now why did i not think of this - send me a PM and i will send you a link to download it ( not sure if these are 'advanced' torrents - doubt it )

Send me (VijayDinanathChavan) PM with your email address. I will send you invitation to join BWtorrents. I have 5 invites to send, first come first basis.

heh, it says "Bhagwaan ke liye mujhe chor do"