ACF
Asian Cinema Fund
Asian Network of Documentary(AND) Fund
2015 Asian Network of Documentary (AND) Fund
LIST 1984, When the Sun Didn′t Rise
| Category | BIFF Mecenat Fund |
|---|---|
| Project | 1984, When the Sun Didn′t Rise |
| Director | Teenaa KAUR |
| Country | India |
| Director's Profile |
Teenaa has been involved in filmmaking since 2010. When the Sun didn’t rise has received the AND Fund from BUSAN International Film Festival. It was also selected for DOCEDGE Kolkata, then in DocWoK (a part of DOK Leipzig). In 2013 she was awarded a fellowship by Time Warner foundation supported Asia Society, New York for her first feature film screenplay The Red Autumn. Her documentary In Symphony with Earth has also been broadcast on National Geographic and Fox History. Her debut documentary film was on a martial art form named as Hola! The Mighty Colors that screened for the Asia Society and Museum, New York, 2012. |
- Synopsis
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October 31 1984, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was shot dead by her Sikh bodyguards. Violent killings followed in New Delhi as well as other cities and towns in India. Sikhs were killed all over India as the government turned a blind eye.
Poor women (the widows) were given jobs in the Delhi Administration and put together in a place called Widows Colony. Located close to the hustle bustle of New Delhi, time has been stagnant here just like the lives of the survivors.
The film follows an observational approach to the lives of three extra-ordinary women living in the Widows Colony. As a Sikh myself I explore my own quest for redemption from the anger of my mother due to the violent atrocities on my uncle during the massacre. This was an event that I never witnessed, but I wanted to know the truth and effects of violence on those who survived.
Living in the shadows of the past still trying to survive the present, the women share a common bond and a space that provides a sense of security.
- Director's Note
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The film is a journey that I undertake to understand the journey of women and children who survived the tragedy of the massacre of 1984 when more than 3,000 Sikhs were killed in Delhi and 30,000 in the rest of the country after the death of the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Sikhs were systemically killed and the Indian government did nothing to stop it. The violence continued for four days until Indira Gandhi was cremated.
I never witnessed the massacre but grew up under the anxiety of my mother. Thirty years later, after suffering a personal loss, I came to Mumbai and found myself personally lost. Life was hard on me, and I could relate to the pain of the women who had lost husbands and family members during the violent four days of 1984. The women had to become the breadwinners of the family and life did not stop for them. There has been no justice yet. My journey began in 2008 by reading and researching on this subject, I started shooting in 2011.
- Festivals
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2017 DC Asian Pacific American Film Festival - Best Documetnary Feature Award
2017 Indian Documentary Short Film Festival Kerala
2017 Jagran Film festival - Competition Section
2018 Mumbai Film festival - Competition Section
2018 India National Film Award
- Still Cut
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