All posts by imagineindia

Of Caravan and The Dogs (Askold Kurov, Anonymous 1) Germany

Of Caravan and The Dogs
Askold Kurov, Anounymous 1
Germany. 2024. 52 min

Putin had been preparing his country for the big war long before it started. Since 2012, a series of repressive laws were passed by the Government labelling everyone who publicly disagreed with the official narrative as “foreign agent”, a traitor of Russia. In these circumstances, a group of independent Russian media and activists with two Nobel Peace Prize winners Dmitriy Muratov of “Novaya gazeta”, and NGO “Memorial” among them are trying to resist and continue their work. Right after the invasion, another series of repressive laws is passed and overnight their work becomes virtually impossible. The journalists and activists are threatened with long prison sentences and forced to make difficult moral choices in the midst of total war censorship: should they stay or leave the country, should they go to jail or save their team, should they adapt to the new reality or stay true to their principals and close their media? Shot during one decisive year, before and after the invasion, the film portrays the last defenders of democracy in Russia and gives a glimpse of hope for another future.

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Waterdrop (Robert Budina) Albania, Italy, Kosovo

Waterdrop
Robert Budina
Albania, Italy, Romania, Kosovo. 2024. 91 min

In a picturesque Albanian town on the shores of Lake Ohrid, Aida reigns as a tough, successful businesswoman. As city planner, she manages the allocation of lucrative EU subsidies, navigating a corrupt system where her boss pockets large portions of the funds. To maintain her position in this ultra-masculine, patriarchal world, Aida isn’t above accepting the occasional bribe herself.

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Tracker (Udit Khurana) India

Tracker
Udit Khurana
India. 2024. 40 min

When a security breach shakes the foundations of a Delhi nightclub , the management enforces a new policy: mandatory tracking smartwatches for all staff members. Senior among the staff is Shalini, a bouncer who is a single mother. They are told that the smartwatches are tools for safety and efficiency. However, the watches soon reveal a darker purpose— constant surveillance. As the smartwatches begin to intrude on personal lives, harvesting data and controlling movements, the nightclub faces opposition from Komal – a young recruit from Shalini’s village who is extremely resistant to wearing the smartwatch.
Berated for her team’s incompetence, Shalini must ensure that her
colleagues wear the smartwatch or face severe consequences.

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An Orange from Jaffa (Mohammed Almughanni) Poland, Palestine, France

An Orange from Jaffa
Mohammed Almughanni
Poland, Palestine, France. 2024. 26 min

A few kilometres from Jerusalem, the Hizma checkpoint, even before the events of recent months. There has been tension here for decades and the controls are extremely strict. A small mistake can cost a lot. Mohammed, a young Palestinian with a temporary Polish identity card, tries to get through the Israeli checkpoint to meet his mother. Successive drivers refuse to give him a lift. The kind-hearted taxi driver Farouk agrees. He does not know that the boy has already tried to cross another checkpoint and has been turned back. Farouk is also in a hurry to attend a very important meeting. The military quickly discovers the truth, which means very serious trouble for both men. Locked in the car, they will wait for the final decision. A gripping cinema, close to the man, showing the absurdity of the conflict on a micro scale. The film is presented in the national and international competitions.

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Gulzar gets Lifetime Achievement Award at Imagineindia 2025

Gulzar (born Sampooran Singh Kalra; 18 August 1934) is an Indian Urdu poetlyricistauthorscreenwriter, and film director known for his works in Hindi cinema.  He is regarded as one of greatest Urdu poets of this era. He started his career with music director S.D. Burman as a lyricist in the 1963 film Bandini and worked with many music directors including R. D. BurmanSalil ChowdhuryVishal Bhardwaj and A. R. Rahman. Gulzar also writes poetry, dialogues and scripts. He directed films such as Aandhi and Mausam during the 1970s and the TV series Mirza Ghalib in the 1980s. He also directed Kirdaar in 1993.

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Humans in the Loop (Aranya Sahay) India

Humans in the Loop
Aranya Sahay
India. 2024. 74 min

Nehma, an Adivasi woman from the Oraon tribe, returns to her village with her children twelveyear- old Dhaanu and one-year-old Guntu, after her divorce. She begins to work as a data labeller, training the ‘childlike’ AI models to recognise images.
While Nehma faces the challenge of connecting with Dhaanu – who is biased against village life and forever tempted to flee back to the city she also notices that the AI she works with is adopting harmful human biases, echoing prejudices against her own community.

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The Man who could not remain silent (Nebojsa Slijepcevic) Croatia, France

The Man who could not remain silent
Nebojsa Slijepcevic
Croatia, France, Bulgaria, Slovenia. 2024. 14 min

February 27, 1993, Strpci, Bosnia and Herzegovina. A passenger train from Belgrade to Bar is stopped by paramilitary forces in an ethnic cleansing operation. As they haul off innocent civilians, only one man out of 500 passengers dares to stand up to them. This is the true story of a man who could not remain silent.

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Samantha Lang, Jury at Imagineindia for Best Film

Samantha Lang is a filmmaker and visual artist who directs, produces and writes. Over the last twenty years her films have screened at major international festivals including Sundance, Toronto, Locarno, and have received international recognition at the highest level, her film ‘The Well’ competing at the Cannes Film Festival for the prestigious Palme D’Or. She has directed across feature films, TV drama, as well as commercials and most recently several VR films.

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The Watchman (Ali Cherri) France

The Watchman
Ali Cherri
France. 2024. 26 min

In the remote village of Lourujina, situated within the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Sergeant Bulut, a young Turkish Cypriot soldier, finds himself stationed to guard the dividing line. As he dutifully stands watch over the quiet landscape amidst the routine and solitude, peculiar events unfold that challenge the very essence of his mission.
“The Watchman” looks at a life suspended in the limbo of waiting. While Sergeant Bulut grapples with the enigmatic occurrences around him, the film unfolds a narrative of duty entangled in illusion—a tale of disappointment by the anticipation of an elusive enemy that might never come.

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