Film fest: Of Hakki Pikkis and other tales of survival

The festival that includes issues pertaining to incarceration, the environment and sustainability, oppression, race and racism, corruption within the system, and so much more, is aimed at creating a space for free thinkers to have a dialogue “Without the fear of being censored or killed”, says its curator Amudhan RP. 

The festival, jointly organised by Marupakkam (a media activist group) and Goethe Institut, will showcase works that challenge society structures all over the globe on a macro and micro level as well as works that challenge the medium. It will bring in stories, views and struggles of individuals and communities which demand, sustain and nurture a just society. Speaking about the festival that is being held after three years in the city, filmmaker and activist Amudhan says, “The festival’s mission is to forge creative alliances with diverse communities, bring inspiring filmmaking to new audiences, and make the art of filmmaking an integral part of social change. The idea behind this festival is also to give artistes, filmmakers and anyone who wants to question the status quo, have dialogue and agree to disagree on societal issues, without being intimidated or threatened. Such a platform, including social media, has become a rarity, considering the times we live in, where someone as fearless as Gauri Lankesh is shot for speaking her mind and challenging fringe elements and ruling dispensation.” The festival that has been scheduled between September 14 and 16 at Goethe, includes film screenings (14 documentaries and 2 short films), music, songs, dance, poetry reading, photo exhibition and panel discussions with noted personalities. 

Among the films to be screened is Sikkidre Shikari, that throws light on The Hakki Pikkis, a free-spirited nomadic tribe who began their wandering many generations ago in the north western part of the subcontinent. The film’s director Vinod Raja says, “Over time, they travelled through and settled in different states of the country. As they moved, they survived through trapping birds and hunting small game in the forests and selling them in cities and towns along with lucky charms and trinkets. If the trap failed, begging was the next best bet! Exiled from the forest, reviled by the city, their traditional ways of life outlawed, the Hakki Pikkis share their stories of wit and survival in our film that emerged through a series of community conversations held when we travelled with friends from a settlement in Bannerghatta, Bengaluru to other settlements across Karnataka.” 

Also to be screened is Accsex. Within stifling dichotomies of normal and abnormal, lie millions of women, negotiating with their identities — Accsex explores notions of beauty, the ‘ideal body’ and sexuality through four storytellers — four women who are persons with disability. “Through the lives of Natasha, Sonali, Kanti and Abha, I’ve tried to bring to fore questions of acceptance, confidence and resistance to the normative. These questions are not too removed from everyday realities of several others, deemed ‘imperfect’ and ‘monstrous’ for not fitting in,” says its director Shweta Ghosh as she traces the journey of the storytellers as they reclaim agency and the right to unapologetic confidence, sexual expression and happiness.