FILM CLUB DISCUSSION  - Group meets to discuss children’s films- For A Few Marbles More (Dutch/2006/11mins) Dir.Jelmar Hufen. Four ten–year-olds are kicked out of their favorite playground by two aggressive drunkards. When they realize their parents are not going to help them, there’s only one solution. They have to find a way to get the toughest boy in the neighborhood to help them. Basket Bronx (Eng/2009/14mins) Dir.Martín Rosete. Alex is an African-American kid from Bronx who dreams of playing basketball as his idols. However, the gang of older guys in the neighbourhood keeps reminding him that he cannot. One day Kiat, a newly arrived Chinese girl, appears in his life and using some Zen philosophy teaches him to overcome his fears, to enjoy life as much as possible and to stop worrying about his results. Film & culture activists Meenakshi & Vinay Rai will introduce the film and facilitate the discussion.

FILM CLUB SCREENING - Delhi International Arts Festival 2011. Journey Called Love (Italian/2002/96mins) Dir.Michele Placido The life of narrator and poet, Sibilla Aleramo, is revisited via a narrative and temporal arc moving from her adolescence to maturity, concentrating on the two years between 1916 and 1918, a period in which she was linked to Dino Campana. Sibilla is a cultivated, charming and independent woman, with a past full of suffering marked by tragic events: her mother locked up in a lunatic asylum, a failed marriage to a violent and miserly man, a son loved and abandoned. Sibilla's life is also marked by a long sequence of sentimental relationships, mainly with writers or literary figures, until the defining moment when the great poet Dino Campana towers arrogantly above all the other suitors: it is the beginning of an extremely tormented, but equally passionate and intense relationship.

FILM CLUB SCREENING - Delhi International Arts Festival 2011. El Greco (Spanish/Greek/2007/119mins) Dir.Yannis Smaragdis An epic tale of an uncompromising artist and fighter for freedom, Domenicos Theotokopoulos, known to the world as «El Greco». Set in the 16th century, El Greco’s search for freedom and love ranges from the courts of Crete and Venice to Toledo in Spain. Here he is confronted by his greatest adversary- the Holy Inquisition. Never backing down in his fight with the establishments of his day, El Grecos story is one of unusual heroism, betrayal, love, and the power of one man and his creative consciousness to stand out and overcome barbarity and ignorance.

FILM CLUB SCREENING - Delhi International Arts Festival 2011. El Benny (Spanish/2006/126mins) Dir.Jorge Luis Sanchez Based on the life of Benny Moré, the film concentrates on a period in the early 1950s when Moré leaves the orchestra of Duany and starts his own 'Banda Gigante'. In flashback we learn of his success in Mexico. Moré is caught in the events connected to Batista's coup in Cuba. Also, he tours Venezuela, where he suffers the machinations of a vengeful businessman. After collapsing and being hospitalised, Moré swears off alcohol. Some years later, he encounters his old band-mate Monchy, fallen on hard times.

FILM CLUB SCREENING - Delhi International Arts Festival 2011. Balgandharva (Marathi/2011/124mins) Dir.Nitin Chandrakant Desai The never-before-told, musical biographical drama of Indian theater legend Narayan Rajhans alias ‘Balgandharva’ (1888 - 1967). Born in a poor town in Pune, Maharashtra, he was famous for his roles of female characters in Marathi plays, since women were not allowed to act during the times. After hearing his soulful singing, Lokmanya Tilak, the great freedom fighter and the grand old man of the Indian independence movement, patted Narayan on the back and said that he was a "Bal Gandharva" (“singer from the heaven"). Narayanrao Bal Gandharva acted in numerous classic Marathi plays and was one of those who were responsible for making Sangeet-Natak (musicals) and Natya-Sangeet (the music in those musicals) popular among common masses.

FILM CLUB SCREENING - Delhi International Arts Festival 2011. Zsolnay- The Lover Of The Soil (Hungarian/2010/100mins) Dir.Zsolt Pozsgai The film relates the life and career of Vilmos Zsolnay (1828-1900), a world-famous potter, founder of modern Hungarian ceramics, and inventor of the lustrous glaze known as eosin. Set in the second half of the 19th century. Zsolnay's father wants the young Vilmos to become a merchant but his exuberant son has very different plans. He tries his hand at painting, imagines his future in art. Then an enigmatic old man from Italy appears who has haunted him since his teenage years and the mysterious Italian gives Vilmos the secret recipe to glaze a vase, which radically changes the course of Vilmos Zsolnay's life. From this point on, the film recounts the journey of self-discovery of a man whose name later becomes known all over the world. Zsolnay's life is one of love and tragedy, filled with conflict and passion.  Vilmos Zsolnay achieves his goal and keeps the secret entrusted to him -but will there be someone to pass it onto? And at what price?

DOC FILM - Kids For Kids Best of CHINH Early Education Web Channel's films exploring children expressions through media literacy. These films are made by children aging 4 - 17 years as part of a global media literacy initiative carried out by Chinh India

FILM CLUB SCREENING - Short Film Festival. A showcasing of critically acclaimed short films from across the world Collab: Shamiana

DOC FILM - Best of 5^th International CHINH INDIA KIDS FILM FESTIVAL 2011. A collection of exceptional, impressive, motivating, touching and sometimes brutally honest children films

DOC FILM -  Nature’s Greatest Defender Dir.Thomas Veltre. Exec.Prod.Cathe Neukum. Story of one man’s passionate fight and unwavering dedication to the incredible wildlife that we must continually struggle to protect. Dr.George Schaller, Wildlife Conservationist & VP, Panthera, returns to the sites of some of his iconic studies to see what has happened to those extraordinary animals and their habitats. Along the way, we will meet some of the people he influenced and see how they have continued to carry his work forward. Dr.Schaller will be present for the screening.

DOC FILM - Online And Available (English/2011/52mins) Dirs.Samreen Farooqui & Shabani Hassanwalia. Prod. Public Service Broadcasting Trust. The 19th century philosopher, Søren Kierkegaard, maintained that the individual is solely responsible for giving his/ her own life meaning, in spite of many existential obstacles like despair, angst, absurdity, alienation and boredom. The phenomenon of social networking, it seems, is here to answer the old existentialist’s call. To find reasons to love - ourselves and others. The Film explores online identity formation as it sifts through six lives, to tell a story of this new self we’re forming and of old selves we still inhabit. The screening will be followed by a discussion.

FILM CLUB SCREENING - Little Box Of Sweets Dir.Meneka Das (Eng/Hindi/2006/89mins) Set in a country coming of age, Little Box Of Sweets is a simple love story about a young girl's journey to fight for her dreams and the love of the man who inspired her! A little village in North India is Asha's world. Whatever she knows and wants is right here in her humble existence with her grandparents and soul mate Lalli. Till Seth comes along, the handsome son of an Indian Commissioner and Sheila, the beautiful daughter of a British missionary. Seth and Asha's common love for poetry draws them closer - awakening Asha to a dream to be more like him and strive for a better future... But it comes at a price. The screening will be followed by a discussion.

DOC FILM - The Dance Of Shiva A film on the early Chola Temples of Tamil Nadu by Benoy K. Behl. Prod. Doordarshan