THE QUEST (Pather Sandhan)                                                                                     Sikta Biswas. 2016. India. 115 min.                                                                             Cast :  Shubhashis Mukherjee,  Sikta Biswas, Arun Chakraborty

Adapted from a story by Bibhutibhusan, the author of “Pather Panchali”, the film “PatherSandhan” (The Quest) is set in the rural Bengal of the 1950s. The story traces the journey of aphilanthropist school-teacher, Naran Master, who has devoted himself to nation-buildingexpecting nothing in return. He believes confined within the classroom, students can’t feelMother Nature; he thus insists that they keep their inner eye open. In his sole mission ofeducating students with values, Naran Master has to confront numerous hurdles of life. His sonbecomes a rouge, his daughter is tortured at her in-laws’ house, and the School Committeeconspires against him. Only a magistrate Mr. Kanwar truly understands Naran Master and isproud of him as a real teacher. To make life worse, his son flees from their village home, whichshatters Manorama, Naran Master’s wife. Later, a telegram informs him that his son is in jail fortheft, and after Naran Master manages to meet him there, the boy commits suicide. Unable tobring the news to his wife, Naran Master tells her that their son hasn’t returned because he is ingreat peace and happiness in his current condition. Meanwhile, the magistrate, Mr. Kanwarhappens to meet Naran Master and feels deeply sorry for his sufferings. He offers Naran Master aposition in a Govt. level education committee. But Naran Master shows no interest in that andreturns to his village. However, the devastated teacher is at once rejuvenated when the youngstudents call on him to tutor them. Oblivious of his present condition, Naran Master continues toeducate the poor village children

Uttar Falguni
Asit Sen
India. 1963. 135 min
Cast :  Suchitra Sen, Bikash Roy, Chhaya Devi

This is the story of a women dogged by misfortune. Devjani,s engagement to Manish is cancelled as he has to go abroad to return as a barrister. She is thus doomed to marry Rakhal, who has lent money to her father. Soon, she is with a child but Rakhal has treated her all along so brutally that she attempts to escape and put an end to her life.

Saptapadi
Ajoy Kar
India. 1961. 160 min
Cast :  Suchitra Sen, Uttam Kumar, Khitish Acharya

Set in World War II, the reverend Krishnendu runs a military hospital in Bankura. A drunken Anglo-Indian woman soldier is brought to him for treatment and he recognized her as his former love Rina Brown.

Rauf
Soner Caner, Baris Kaya
Turkey. 2016. 90 min
Cast : Alen Huseyin Gursoy, Arif Arifogullari, Metin Asasin

Venue :  Función Lenguaje
Date :  21 may.  19.00h

Rauf hopes to win over his big crush, the older Zana, with the help of the colour pink. But what does pink really look like anyways, and will he even be able to find it in his snowy little Kurdish village up in the mountains? Meanwhile, disturbing rumours sweep in from the outside world.

The Sea and the Flying Fish
Mehrdad Ghafarzadeh
Iran. 2015. 78 min
Cast : Homayoun Ershadi, Akbar Fallah, Amir Hossein Rostami

Venue :  Función Lenguaje
Date :  22 may.  20.00h

Ehsan could neither speak nor hear but with his innocent eyes he could see the flight of flying fish over the sea of freedom.

The Silence
Gajendra Ahire
India. 2015. 90 min
Cast : Nagraj Manjule, Anjali Patil, Raghuvir Yadav

Venue :  Casa Asia
Date :  19 may.  19.30h

The film is based on a true story of a little girl Chini in rural Maharashtra. Her father has been going through difficult times since the demise of his wife. He is at a loss when his daughter gets her first period and asks her maternal uncle to take her to a nearby town, where he and his wife live. The events after her departure require a great deal of endurance even from an emotionally hardened viewer. There is a myriad of emotions stirring up in one’s mind ranging from fury, helplessness and frustration to a seed of hope and inevitability of the passing.

Withered Leaf
Duminda Sanjeewa
Sri Lanka. 2016. 90 min.
Cast :  Manuranga Wijesekera,  Chaminda Sampath.

Withered Leaf, explores the plight of widows and their children in Sri Lankan society. It’s the story of a country woman who turns to be a widow and a single mother is forced to choose between life and death by poverty, gender inequality and ignorance of the society.

Duminda Sanjeewa, was born in 1984 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. He possesses a keen cinematic eye that has enabled him to create some of Sri Lanka’s out-of- the box ,Tvcs , musicvideos and films. He carries a deep passion for motion graphics and special FX while greatly enjoying the process of filmmaking that allows audiences to escape the harsh realities of day to day life.

His film Withered Leafs has been selected for “57th Asian Pacific Film Festival” Hangzhou, China.