Documentary follows Somi and her husband, who are struggling to live an ordinary life after their past as Naxalite guerrillas
If it’s the function of a documentary to open a window on the world – a part of the world that isn’t revealed by the nightly TV news – then this film is a distinct and deliberate success: a product of the NoCut Film Collective, founded in 2016 by Romanian Cristina Hanes, Indian Arya Rothe and Italian Isabella Rinaldi to explore collaborative and transcultural ways of film-making.
A Rifle and a Bag is about the life of a quiet Indian couple, Somi and her husband Sukhram, who have one son and a baby on the way. They are looking for work and are concerned about schooling for their children, but their condition is more complex than most: they are former Naxalites, ex-members of a Maoist guerrilla group that operated in the...
If it’s the function of a documentary to open a window on the world – a part of the world that isn’t revealed by the nightly TV news – then this film is a distinct and deliberate success: a product of the NoCut Film Collective, founded in 2016 by Romanian Cristina Hanes, Indian Arya Rothe and Italian Isabella Rinaldi to explore collaborative and transcultural ways of film-making.
A Rifle and a Bag is about the life of a quiet Indian couple, Somi and her husband Sukhram, who have one son and a baby on the way. They are looking for work and are concerned about schooling for their children, but their condition is more complex than most: they are former Naxalites, ex-members of a Maoist guerrilla group that operated in the...
- 7/17/2023
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
„A Rifle and a bag” raises an important question – what comes next after the revolution or fight ends. The protagonists are a male and a female, a young married couple. Their life seems mundane. They live in a modest rural household, and do chores every day, dealing with all sorts of day-to-day problems and family matters. There’s a little boy in the house, the couple’s son, and they are expecting their second kid. But Somi and Sukhram are unlike other parents, as they both share a troubled past as Naxalite fighters. The makers don’t elaborate much on the subject of the organization. Just explain briefly in an information board displayed in the beginning: “The Naxalites, an armed Maoist rebel group have been fighting the Indian State for the rights of tribal people for the last 50 years. The Indian government considers them the biggest threat to India’s security.
- 5/23/2021
- by Joanna Kończak
- AsianMoviePulse
Indian premieres include Massoud Bhakshi’s Yalda – A Night For Forgiveness, which took the Grand Jury prize at Sundance.
India’s Dharamshala International Film Festival (Diff) is taking place as an online event (October 29-November 4) with a line-up of Indian premieres and talk events with Asif Kapadia and Venice best screenplay-winning director Chaitanya Tamhane (The Disciple).
Indian premieres include recent festival award winners such as Massoud Bhakshi’s Yalda – A Night For Forgiveness, which took the Grand Jury prize at Sundance; Babyteeth, winner of the Marcello Mastroianni Award for best young actor at Venice; and Visar Morina’s Exile, which...
India’s Dharamshala International Film Festival (Diff) is taking place as an online event (October 29-November 4) with a line-up of Indian premieres and talk events with Asif Kapadia and Venice best screenplay-winning director Chaitanya Tamhane (The Disciple).
Indian premieres include recent festival award winners such as Massoud Bhakshi’s Yalda – A Night For Forgiveness, which took the Grand Jury prize at Sundance; Babyteeth, winner of the Marcello Mastroianni Award for best young actor at Venice; and Visar Morina’s Exile, which...
- 10/19/2020
- by Liz Shackleton
- ScreenDaily
The 9th edition of the Dharamshala Film Festival is going online for the first time. Its highlights include the Indian premiere of Massoud Bakhshi’s Sundance grand jury prize winner “Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness,” and a conversation with Oscar-winner Asif Kapadia (“Amy”).
Nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas, Dharamshala is best known internationally as the seat of the Dalai Lama, who has been based there since being exiled from Tibet in 1959. The festival directors Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam are filmmakers in their own right. Their chronicles of the Tibetan condition like 2005’s “Dreaming Lhasa,” 2010’s “The Sun Behind the Clouds: Tibet’s Struggle for Freedom” and 2018’s “The Sweet Requiem” have received considerable festival play, including at Toronto and Manila.
The Dharamshala festival directors will be in conversation with Kapadia and also with Chaitanya Tamhane, director of this year’s Venice and Toronto award-winning title “The Disciple.
Nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas, Dharamshala is best known internationally as the seat of the Dalai Lama, who has been based there since being exiled from Tibet in 1959. The festival directors Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam are filmmakers in their own right. Their chronicles of the Tibetan condition like 2005’s “Dreaming Lhasa,” 2010’s “The Sun Behind the Clouds: Tibet’s Struggle for Freedom” and 2018’s “The Sweet Requiem” have received considerable festival play, including at Toronto and Manila.
The Dharamshala festival directors will be in conversation with Kapadia and also with Chaitanya Tamhane, director of this year’s Venice and Toronto award-winning title “The Disciple.
- 10/15/2020
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
All three Asian entries in this year’s Tiger Competition walk away with something to take home. First, hailing from Hangzhou, Chinese filmmaker Zheng Lu Xinyuan reaps the prestigious Tiger Award at the 49th International Film Festival Rotterdam with her debut feature, “The Cloud in Her Room.” The existential black and white film about love, loneliness, and loss subsequently earns a prize of €40,000 to be divided between filmmaker and producer. On the other hand, South Korean crime-thriller “Beasts Clawing at Straws” by Kim Young-hoon wins the Special Jury Award and €10,000. The star-studded first feature (featuring Jeon Do-yeon and Jung Woo-sung) similarly earned praise for its precise craftmanship. Last but not least, Tamil filmmaker Arun Karthick takes home the Netpac Award for best Asian world premiere of Iffr 2020 with his second feature, “Nasir.”
In the Bright Future Competition, Yoon Dan-bi’s Kore-eda-esque, intimate family drama “Moving On” adds the Bright Future...
In the Bright Future Competition, Yoon Dan-bi’s Kore-eda-esque, intimate family drama “Moving On” adds the Bright Future...
- 1/31/2020
- by Grace Han
- AsianMoviePulse
Zheng Lu Xinyuan's The Cloud In Her RoomTiger AwardThe Cloud in Her Room (Zheng Lu Xinyuan)Special Jury Award (Tiger Competition)Beasts Clawing at Straws (Kim Yonghoon)Bright Future Award Moving On (Yoon Dan-bi)Bright Future Award (Special Mention)A Rifle and a Bag Vpro Big Screen AwardA Perfectly Normal Family (Malou Reymann)Iffr Audience AwardParasite (B&W Version) (Bong Joon-ho)Voices Short AwardTabaski (Laurence Attali)Fipresci AwardOnly You Alone (Zhou Zhou)Knf AwardKala azar (Janis Rafa)Netpac AwardNasir (Arun Karthick)Iffr Youth Jury AwardLes misérables (Ladj Ly)Found Footage AwardMy Mexican Bretzel (Nuria Giménez Lorang)...
- 1/31/2020
- MUBI
Asian features, female directors dominate prize winners.
International Film Festival Rotterdam (Iffr) has announced the winners of its 49th edition, with Zheng Lu Xinyuan’s The Cloud In Her Room winning the Tiger Award and accompanying €40,000 prize.
Scroll down for full list of winners
The Tiger jury, comprised of Hany Abu-Assad, Emilie Bujès, Kogonada, Sacha Polak and Hafiz Rancajale, praised the film for how it “gracefully portrays a certain global generation paralysed by modern alienation and capitalism.”
The film tells the story of a woman who returns to her hometown for Chinese New Year and embarks on a relationship with...
International Film Festival Rotterdam (Iffr) has announced the winners of its 49th edition, with Zheng Lu Xinyuan’s The Cloud In Her Room winning the Tiger Award and accompanying €40,000 prize.
Scroll down for full list of winners
The Tiger jury, comprised of Hany Abu-Assad, Emilie Bujès, Kogonada, Sacha Polak and Hafiz Rancajale, praised the film for how it “gracefully portrays a certain global generation paralysed by modern alienation and capitalism.”
The film tells the story of a woman who returns to her hometown for Chinese New Year and embarks on a relationship with...
- 1/31/2020
- by 1100453¦Michael Rosser¦9¦
- ScreenDaily
My Mexican BretzelThe titles for the 49th International Film Festival Rotterdam are being announced in anticipation of the event running January 22 – February 2, 2020. We will update the program as new films are revealed.
Tiger COMPETITIONEl año del descubrimiento (Luis López Carrasco)Beasts Clawing at Straws (Kim Yonghoon)The Cloud in Her Room (Zheng Lu Xinyuan)Desterro (Maria Clara Escobar)Drama Girl (Vincent Boy Kars)La fortaleza (Jorge Thielen Armand)Kala azar (Janis Rafa)Nasir (Arun Karthick)Piedra sola (Alejandro Telemaco Tarraf)Si yo fuera el invierno mismo (Jazmín López)
Bright Future COMPETITIONBabai (Artem Aisagaliev)Chaco (Diego Mondaca)Los fantasmas (Sebastián Lojo)Fellwechselzeit (Sabrina Mertens)For the Time Being (Salka Tiziana)I Blame Society (Gillian Wallace Horvat)Moving On (Yoon Dan-bi)My Mexican Bretzel (Nuria Giménez Lorang)Ofrenda (Juan María Mónaco Cagni)Panquiaco (Ana Elena Tejera)A Rifle and a Bag (Isabella Rinaldi / Cristina Hanes / Arya Rothe)Sebastian jumps über Geländer (Ceylan-Alejandro...
Tiger COMPETITIONEl año del descubrimiento (Luis López Carrasco)Beasts Clawing at Straws (Kim Yonghoon)The Cloud in Her Room (Zheng Lu Xinyuan)Desterro (Maria Clara Escobar)Drama Girl (Vincent Boy Kars)La fortaleza (Jorge Thielen Armand)Kala azar (Janis Rafa)Nasir (Arun Karthick)Piedra sola (Alejandro Telemaco Tarraf)Si yo fuera el invierno mismo (Jazmín López)
Bright Future COMPETITIONBabai (Artem Aisagaliev)Chaco (Diego Mondaca)Los fantasmas (Sebastián Lojo)Fellwechselzeit (Sabrina Mertens)For the Time Being (Salka Tiziana)I Blame Society (Gillian Wallace Horvat)Moving On (Yoon Dan-bi)My Mexican Bretzel (Nuria Giménez Lorang)Ofrenda (Juan María Mónaco Cagni)Panquiaco (Ana Elena Tejera)A Rifle and a Bag (Isabella Rinaldi / Cristina Hanes / Arya Rothe)Sebastian jumps über Geländer (Ceylan-Alejandro...
- 12/18/2019
- MUBI
Update: Audience award winner revealed; Good Manners, Winter Brothers also among winners.
Documentary filmmaker Wang Bing became the fifth director from China in Locarno’s seven-decade history to win the top honour of the Golden Leopard at this year’s edition.
Mrs. Fang, which is the first documentray ever to win the festival’s top prize, follows the last days of a 67-year-old Alzheimer’s patient in southern China.
Previous Golden Leopard winners from China were Hongqui Li with Winter Vacation in 2010 and Xiaolu Guo with She, a Chinese a year before, as well as Shuo Wang with Father in 2000 and Yue Lü with Mr Zhao in 1998.
The decision by the international competition jury, headed by director Olivier Assayas, reflects a trend at international festivals of recent years for documentaries beating out competition from fiction productions.
While the special jury prize went to the Brazilian writing and directing team Juliana Rojas and Marco Dutra’s Good Manners about...
Documentary filmmaker Wang Bing became the fifth director from China in Locarno’s seven-decade history to win the top honour of the Golden Leopard at this year’s edition.
Mrs. Fang, which is the first documentray ever to win the festival’s top prize, follows the last days of a 67-year-old Alzheimer’s patient in southern China.
Previous Golden Leopard winners from China were Hongqui Li with Winter Vacation in 2010 and Xiaolu Guo with She, a Chinese a year before, as well as Shuo Wang with Father in 2000 and Yue Lü with Mr Zhao in 1998.
The decision by the international competition jury, headed by director Olivier Assayas, reflects a trend at international festivals of recent years for documentaries beating out competition from fiction productions.
While the special jury prize went to the Brazilian writing and directing team Juliana Rojas and Marco Dutra’s Good Manners about...
- 8/12/2017
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
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