Movies – A window to the world – 10th BIFFes

I love watching movies, especially the “hatke” ones. And am open to watching movies on varied subjects from various parts of the world. The habit of watching movies in languages I do not understand, started from the old days of only national television where Doordarshan used to screen regional language films with subtitles. I have seen Malayalam, Odiya, Telugu and other language films with subtitles as a kid and enjoyed them. The treatment, sensibilities, issues are also different, apart from language, music, clothes etc.

So when Archana informed me of the upcoming 10th Bangalore International Film Festival, and offered to get me the tickets, I grabbed the opportunity (Opportunity’s knocks are usually faint. I’ve had to work hard  and strain my ears to listen to her knocks. Think I’m getting better…). The process was quite tedious. You’ve gotta fill a form and sign, provide two photographs and an ID proof and handover the form in person. And then go on another day to pick up the pass. And the place is faaaar faaaar away. Thanks to Archana for doing it for me. I owe you one dudette!

My boss is not the kind who would give time off to go watch movies. So I could go only on the weekend – Feb 23, 24 2018. Sowmya, Manpreet, Sajani and I reached Orion Mall between 11 and 11.30am. The organizers gave us a schedule of the movies and a booklet with a synopsis of each movie. It seemed like the entire city was here! There were long serpentine queues for every screen. Movies from about 60 countries in the world were showing in 11 screens. And 9 to 11 movies showing simultaneously on different screens. There were also panel discussions, workshops, Jury screenings apart from the regular screenings. So we had to decide which movies to watch. And we immediately decided, we should watch movies from different countries so we get a glimpse of as many different countries as possible.

We watched the following 7 movies across 2 days:

The Cakemaker : An Israeli movie in Hebrew set in Jerusalem and Berlin. A beautiful and sensitive movie about love between a German and a Jew! Yes, a bold topic especially in these racially regressive times. But even more bolder was that it was gay love.

Call me a thief : A South African movie in Afrikaans language set in the cape Town of 1960’s. This movie (based on the life of the scriptwriter) shows the stark reality of poverty, violence and crime and how it affects childhoods where kids fight to death over scraps of food. 4 young black kids are initiated into a gang by one of the kid’s father and they live a life of crime and thrill. AB and one of his friends gets imprisoned for petty crime and AB becomes a captivating storyteller in prison to avoid being hara  ssed by hardened criminals. On getting released he wants to give up crime, but his friends get him embroiled in something for which they are all tried in court. The other 3 try to put the blame on AB, but in the end, they end up being hanged for their crime and AB is let go. Shows that there is hope amidst darkness, that if one is determined, works hard, and is honest in his attempt, one can rise above all the misery and flourish.

Summer Blooms: A Japanese movie set in a town just outside Tokyo. A beautiful love story of a girl who has not moved on even three years after her boyfriend has died.  We slowly realize she had already broken up with him 4 months before he died, but holds herself responsible for his suicide. And lives a guilt ridden life. But soon someone enters her life and things take a positive turn. What I liked most about this movie is there is so much understanding, mutual respect and caring for each other. If the young Japanese of today’s generation are like this, I wish everyone sees this movie and learns from it.

The director of this movie Nakagawa was present and he took questions after the movie. I was surprised to learn that he was a young 28 year old! Incidentally Nakagawa is the youngest director to have his films selected by Tokyo International Film Festival for two consecutive years . Was amazed with the depth and sensitivity portrayed in the film by this kid. There were a lot of questions from the audience and he entertained them with a healthy discussion. Though his English was not very good, so there was an Indian lady who was translating for him.

Young Karl Marx – A German movie about the life of Karl Marx – the revolutionary thinker and Philosopher who along with Engels – his comrade and writing partner, is the father of Communism as we know it today. The movie shows the travails, anguish and misery he goes through, but his determination shines on. He authors the Communist Manifesto which was the bible for the likes of Stalin and Mao. I am a hardcore capitalist today, but I guess if I were among the proletariat of those days with the aristocracy being as oppressive as they were, I too might have thought that communism was the panacea to all the social problems.

Though Marx’s intent of Communism was good, the effect it had on the common citizenry in Russia, China and Cambodia where millions were killed during the height of Communism, was brutal. Marx am sure must be writhing in his grave at the way things turned out. That’s not what he had in mind when he conjured up the manifesto.

Candelaria – Set in Havana, Cuba of the 1990s, when the country was undergoing  a severe embargo.  A septuagenarian couple lives a life of poverty in the Cuba where work and food are sparse. The wife Candelaria works in a hotel and finds a video recorder. They learn to record on it and life becomes interesting, rekindling their romance. It shows an unconventional way of rediscovering love and there is hope, love and dreams. She has acted so well and their life situations and especially her fun, spunky and saucy actions bring a smile to our faces. Love conquers everything, even poverty, hunger and helplessness. And there’s something really charming to see an old couple bickering and at the same time caring and loving each other.

The Square – A Swedish movie which I still can’t figure out what it was about! It showed random things happening to an art museum director, but the things didn’t all seem to be connected. There was no common theme. Maybe it’s me, I am not evolved enough to understand the esoteric subject! There is one sentence in the film that really stood out for me and that is – How much inhumanity does it take before we access your humanity?”  But I would avoid this movie if I were you.

I dream in another language – A Spanish movie set in a small village in Mexico. There are only two living souls left in the world  – once close friends but now bitter rivals – who talk the endangered language Zikril. But since they had a fight,  they haven’t spoken to each other in 50 years! Martin, a linguist is on a mission to save the Zikril language and gets the two to start talking to each other. But they have a secret past which comes in the way. Zikril was a very evolved language, allowing its speakers to communicate directly with the birds and trees. When any language dies, especially such a rich one, a lot of context, perspective and cultural history is lost.

Thoroughly enjoyed this movie, the cinematography, the location, the subject, the humour, the emotions it brings through and the intriguing Zikril culture. A very thought provoking, intriguing and a compelling film.  I was more interested in the mystery behind the decades old rift between these friends than to know if Zikril survived!

Apparently,  a real language dies somewhere in the world every couple of weeks. Maybe I should talk to my nieces and nephew in Gujarati from now on. My two bits to delay the extinction of my mother tongue…

If there was just one movie I have to recommend amongst all that I have seen at the fest, it would be the “The Cakemaker”. “I dream in another language” would be a close second.

They say movies are a window into the world. And I experienced just that at the 10th BIFFes. The food, music, culture, language, religion, clothes, beliefs are all different in each country. But realized that at the core, human beings are all the same. They have the same emotions – angst, fear, joy, passion, greed are all the same. The same things make them happy or unhappy. Our basic instincts are the same. No matter the color of our skin, the God we pray (or don’t pray) to, our sexual preferences, our culinary choices, we are basically the same. We are ONE.

 

Oxfam trailwalk – 100KM walk in 35 hours!!

When my colleague Pratap mentioned about the 100km in 48 hours Oxfam trailwalk, I thought he was nuts! It’s just not possible to walk that much in so less a time. Maybe I could join the 50K walk team. But when he said he had done it twice before, I said I will join him for practice walks and see how it goes. When we did 20K in the first walk, I was quite excited I was able to maintain a speed of 5km/hour! After a couple more practice walks, Pratap convinced myself, Heramba and Vaishali to form a team of 4 for 100K! I was still very skeptical, but Pratap had more confidence in me! Unfortunately Vaishali had an injury so Paresh replaced her. Nitin and Kaushik volunteered to be our support crew and in hindsight, they were just the perfect team!

Just a week before the event, I sprained my ankle during a practice walk and my doctor said he does not recommend that I walk that much. Firstly he could not believe I wanted to walk 100K in 48 hours. He asked me 3 times if he heard it right! But when I told him not participating was not an option, he put me on physiotherapy which really helped. I was determined to finish, especially after having done so many practice walks. (OK I have to admit it was also because I could show off 😉 )

On the D day – 2^nd Feb 2018, Nitin picked me up first at 3am and then picked everyone else up along the way and we reached the base of Nandi Hills which was the starting point. There were 260 teams participating in the 100K and another 100 teams would do the 50K next day. Almost everyone was wearing something or the other from Decathlon – dry-fit shirts, tights, backpacks, hats, shoes, etc. Seemed like an ad campaign for Decathlon! There was so much energy on the grounds, drums rolling, everyone taking selfies, stretching and gearing up for the big walk! Milind Soman (who looked absolutely hot in his salt and pepper hair and extremely fit and lean body) flagged us off at the stroke of 6, and a 1000 of us started off with gutso.

There were 9 checkpoints along the way, the earlier ones about 12 km apart and the later ones about 8 km apart. Each checkpoint was sponsored by a corporate. They offered tender coconut water, biscuits, fruits, energy drinks etc. At many checkpoints, we were welcomed by drum rolls and people cheering us on. Some of the checkpoints were better maintained than others. Some were in government schools and some were setup as huge tents in an open area. We took breaks at every checkpoint. Reaching the first checkpoint was a breeze. And the route was beautiful too. We walked through fields, mud roads, fragrant flower beds, saw the magnificent sun rise, and enjoyed the crisp morning breeze. We filled our water bottles at every checkpoint, did stretches, had food and got some rest before marching off again. The support crew carried our luggage and stuff in a car and reached the checkpoints via a different route. They bought food, electrolyte and other essentials and were ready to serve us before we reached each check point.

The stretch between checkpoints 2 and 3 was the worst for me. It was from noon to about 3pm, the sun was very harsh, we were all totally drained of energy, dehydrated and tired. No matter how much water we had, it wouldn’t quench our thirst. Towards the end every step was a herculean effort. Add to that, the landscape was barren with absolutely no shade. Heramba had fallen behind and Pratap was accompanying him. Paresh and I were trudging along. My mouth was so dry, when I put a piece of chapatti in my mouth, I couldn’t chew it. After a couple of mins, it became a paste and I had to spit it out as I couldn’t even swallow it. Just then we saw Nitin and Kaushik in the car on the way to pick up Heramba who had sprained his ankle and couldn’t walk any more. That demotivated me further and I was about to give up and go sit in the car. But we were just 500 meters away from the checkpoint so Paresh urged me to walk it up and I relented.

As soon as I reached the checkpoint, I found an empty spot on the verandah and crashed. I was so tired and drained, that I made up my mind I will give up. I couldn’t do this anymore. When I woke up, Kaushik gave me stretches, Nitin got cold water in a bucket for me to soak my feet in, Pratap got me a tender coconut and I also had some food. I must say we had an awesome support team. When I told I cannot continue, Pratap would just not have it. He kept saying I could do it. He was determined to get me to walk. Then my mom called and my little niece was with her. When I said I was tired and was thinking of giving up, my niece said – Fiya, go slow, but go. So it is thanks to Pratap and Veda that I decided I will go to the next checkpoint and then decide. Unfortunately Heramba had to give up because of his sprain so we were just the three of us from now on.

When we started from the 3rd checkpoint, the sun had gone down and the rest did me good. I had the spring back in my step and actually jogged a bit. Now I felt more confident of finishing the 100K. About 60 to 70% of the distance was mud roads and trails and the remaining were tar roads. Along the way, we passed so many fields of potatoes, tomatoes, chillies, bottle gourds, grapes, chow-chow, etc. There were also acres of flower beds of roses, yellow and orange chrysanthemums, and other flowers. It was lovely to walk along these fields. We also went through several villages and in almost every village, the children greeted us with a smile, asked us our names and wished us. In one particular village – Lakshmidevipura – almost every kid insisted on giving us a high-five! Some of the villagers were amused to see us walking on for miles just for the sake of walking!

We rested for about an hour or more at each check point. The longest was 3 hours at night where we got some sleep. Though Pratap kept waking me up every few minutes telling we should start and not take rest! But Paresh was unwell and needed sleep so luckily we got some rest! The checkpoints in the middle were huge tents with about a 100 or more mattresses and we could plonk anywhere. The support crew had reserved them for us, got us hot food and ensured all our demands were met. Unfortunately late night / early morning I realized I had two big blisters one each on my little toes. Each checkpoint had lots of volunteers who would give stretches, massages and also tape our feet and take care of blisters. So I had one volunteer puncture my blisters and bandage them.

The blisters were so huge, that it affected my mind and I thought I couldn’t walk. Each step I took, hurt my toes and I slowed the team down. But once you start walking, in a few minutes you get used to the pain and slowly I picked up speed.  But once again when the sun was up, it got difficult. And I thought to myself – why am I putting myself through this torture! At this point though it was all in the mind. And once you make up your mind, you can get your body to do just about anything. Since we were already 75K through, there was no way I was going to give up. Especially since Paresh kept popping crocins and kept going, I could not give up. It’s amazing the power of the mind! And also the team motivating each other, talking about everything under the sun, admiring the beauty around us and bonding as a team. I have made some good friends and built a strong friendship because of the walk!

At the last checkpoint, while I was taking rest, Pratap decided to sprint away to the finale! I don’t know where he gets the energy from! Paresh and I started after a while. But the last stretch was treacherous. We had to walk through the highway and main roads, with absolutely no shade and a very uninspiring, boring route. And we were so tired, we didn’t even want to talk. Just focusing on one step at a time! Finally we reached the destination – Brigade Orchards at Devanahalli and Pratap was waiting there to welcome us! We entered the destination to bhangra beats, lots of cheer and a super huge sense of achievement! We did it! One hundred kilometers in about 35 hours! Had never imagined I could do it, but there we were, basking in the glory of our grit, determination and chutzpah!

Two things stand out in this whole eposide:

One – We have heard this phrase many times – you can do anything you set your mind to. But we always brushed it aside thinking it’s just something you say to motivate someone but not really true. But we saw it happen to us, we did what we never thought we could. Of course it was not just saying we will do it. We had to work hard, keep pushing ourselves despite the pain, and facing our fears head on. It was not easy, but it was not impossible either. And no matter how much someone motivates, YOU have to take the step. YOU have to do it. It is very easy to give up. But that’s exactly when you have to be strong and have a mind of steel. Keep going. One step at a time. One little step at a time. But keep going. Keep moving. And that’s what got us to the end.

Two – I had an awesome team with an awesomer team lead! The unbridled energy, positive attitude, cheerful spirit and helpful nature of the team lead Pratap did wonders to our spirit. Each team member brought their own personal touch and helped boost the overall morale. And our support team was the best! Their constant motivation, camaraderie, ensuring we were well fed, filling our water bottles, giving us massages, going back umpteen times to get us things we wanted, keeping us in good cheer… There is no way we could have done this without them. A BIG thank you to my entire team. Are you ready to go on the next adventure?!!

 

Some notes on Oxfam – https://www.oxfam.org/en/

Oxfam is a global NGO that works towards eradicating poverty. They conduct a 100k trail walk every year in about 18 cities around the world. In India, it happens in Mumbai and Bangalore. Teams of 4 can participate in the walk. Most of the teams are usually corporate teams. Each team raises a minimum of one lakh rupees that goes towards charity. The teams walk for whatever cause they support. Our team raised about 1.2 lacs and we walked in support of Children’s education and women empowerment.