other indias watch party: All Was Good + A Night of Knowing Nothing (screening & discussion)

Friday 26 January 2024, other indias watch party: All Was Good + A Night of Knowing Nothing (screening & discussion). Doors open at 18:00.

other indias curates an evening of films and dialogue on India’s Republic Day to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the 2019 student-led protest movement in India against the discriminatory Citizenship Amendment Act. Two protest films will remember what was built, reflect on what was lost, and discuss new solidarities.

On December 12, 2019, India enacted the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), igniting nationwide and international student-led protests against the discriminatory legislation and its proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC). Critics condemn the CAA for religious bias, particularly in its exclusion of Muslims. Four years later, the act still remains in force, while many protestors face punitive criminal and legal charges. To commemorate the fourth anniversary of the movement, and offer an alternative to India’s official Republic Day “celebrations”, other indias curates a double-feature film screening capturing the essence of the CAA-NRC protests. Filmmaker Teresa A Braggs, director of “All Was Good,” will lead a discussion following the film. We will also contribute to the resistance by writing postcards to India’s political prisoners connected to the protests.

Join us for an evening of remembrance and reflection. Together, we watch to revisit the past and keep the spirit of solidarity alive—a collective effort to reflect, resist, and stand united.

Schedule: Doors open at 6 pm
6:30 – 7:50 pm: All Was Good (76 min)
7:50 – 8:30 pm: Q&A with Teresa A Braggs (other guests TBC)
8:30 – 8:50 pm: Snacks (samosas, chaat) + postcards
8:50 – 10:30 pm: A Night of Knowing Nothing (97 min)

About the films:

Sab Changa Si (All Was Good), India, 2022 / Teresa A. Braggs

In this debut, Teresa A Braggs draws us to the very centre of the student-led anti-CAA protests in Bangalore, India, to reveal a delightfully defiant and sensitive portrait of young people in search of a common language. With a raw and persistent gaze, the filmmaker intimately documents and critically reflects on the challenges of solidarity across identities. Made with a budget of less than 60 EUR, Sab Changa Si became the first Indian film to win the Peace Film Prize at the 72nd Berlinale. Teresa A Braggs, 24, was also the youngest filmmaker to win this award.

A Night of Knowing Nothing, France, India, 2021 / Payal Kapadia

L, a university student in India, writes letters to her estranged lover, while he is away. Through these letters, we get a glimpse into the drastic changes taking place around her. Merging reality with fiction, dreams, memories, fantasies and anxieties, an amorphous narrative unfolds. “A fever dream of impossible love tied to a broader reflection on contemporary India”. A Night of Knowing Nothing was selected for Director’s Fortnight at Cannes 2021, where it won the Golden Eye Prize for Best Documentary.
Trailer: https://vimeo.com/687092162

other indias
otherindias [at] riseup [dot] net
https://radar.squat.net/en/amsterdam/other-indias