Ek Aur Vivek Ki Khoj (India)
(57 min; Hindi)
Director: Devi Prasad Mishra

A film on the eminent Hindi writer and critic, the late Devishankar Awasthi

(Collaboration: The Raza Foundation)

A solo theatrical performance by Keshav Roy
Concept, Script & Direction: Renu Roy

AN entertaining and thought-provoking production based on Twain’s most memorable commentaries on life, love, relationships and satirical takes on human frailties: subjects that occupied his thoughts over fifty years of writing and remain socially relevant today, as they were when he first penned them

(Organised with the support of KCT Group; and The Lalit Delhi)

Odissi Recital
By Sarita Mishra from Bangalore, disciple of Guru Bichitrananda Swain and Guru Aruna Mohanty.

At 19:00
Kathak Recital
By Varsha Dasgupta from Delhi, disciple of Guru Abhimanyu Lal

Sitar Recital
By Pt. Partha Pratim Roy from Kolkata ,disciple of Prof Debi Prasad Chatterjee and Pt. Ajoy Singha Roy
Accompanist :Pandit Subhas Kanti Das(Tabla)

At 19:00
Hindustani Vocal Recital
By Arati Thakur Kundalkar from Kolkata, disciple of Smt  Dr. Prabha Atre & Dr. Sanjeev Shende

Curator: Rajiv Mehrotra

Nanak Shah Fakir (India)
(146 min; 2015; Hindi/Punjabi with English subtitles)
Director: Sartaj Singh Pannu

With Puneet Sikka, Arif Zakaria, Adil Hussain

A biographical film on the life and teachings of the first Sikh guru, Guru Nanak Dev.

(Collaboration: Foundation for Universal Responsibility of His Holiness the Dalai Lama)
 

Play: Shunchhe Shey Shongeeter Moto
 

Presented by Rabi Parampara, Kolkata

A gripping account of facets of the unsung heroes of our freedom struggle with narration and songs

(Collaboration: Impresario India)

Two short plays

Sandhikhon
Written by Soumitra Basu
Director: Ayan Banerjee
Presented by Theatrewala, Delhi

Followed by
Uttara
Written by Sisir Kumar Das
Director: Rabishankar Kar
Presented by Prarambh, Delhi

(Collaboration: Impresario India)
 

Body Transference (Chile)
(45 min; Spanish with English subtitles)
Director: Catalina Bize del Campo

Film that talks about old age as a liminal experience between life and death

Our Tales (Mexico)
(4 min; Spanish with English subtitles)
Director L Flavia Hevia

A short film designed to capture the vital memories held by immigrant women from their homelands and recreate them in Stop Motion Animation

Chiaroscuro (Canada)
(9 min; non-verbal)
Director: Elias Djemil-Matassov

Chiaroscuro…between the light and the dark that life operates in contrasts. Between the puppeteer and the puppet. Between shadow and light

The Room of Forgotten Voices (Ireland)
(19 min; English)
Directors: Emma Fisher-Owen, Ivan Fisher-Owen

A day in the life of Hugh’s brain on a very normal day, but inside his head he encounters hundreds of versions of himself…

Persephone (Canada)
15 min; non-verbal)
Director: Emilie Racine

Created as a palimpsest blending mythical references and personal mythology, the film traces the trajectory of an identity quest through a feminine lens, addressing mother-daughter transmission

AT 16:00
Iniskim-Return of the Buffalo (Canada)
(39 min; 2024; English)
Directors: Leanne Allison, Pete Balkwill, Amethyst First Rider

An intercultural artistic response to the return of the buffalo, as wild animals, to North America. The film is an opportunity to learn about Indigenous ways of knowing as a group of puppeteers are transformed by their experience of ‘being buffalo’ at night under the stars, guided by the stories of the Blackfoot Elders.

AT 18:30: PERFORMANCE
Shadow Puppet Theatre
Presented by UNIMA Puppeteers Trust-India
 

The Lost Glove (UK)
(6 min; 2016; non-verbal)
Director: Lizzie Oxby

It’s that time of the year when gloves get lost, and found…

Planet Utopia – A Possibility (Brazil)
(25 min; 2013; non-verbal)
Directors: Silvana Marcondes, Amanda Viera, Evelyn Cristina, Kika Antunes, Natalia Peixoto, William Simplico

A show without words, with visual and sound dramaturgy, entirely designed for the virtual universe

The Migrants (Retirantes/Brazil)
(13 min; non-verbal)
Director: Maira Coelho

The short film tells the story of a woman traveling through an arid, depopulated region, unable to feed her baby. The film combines “live-motion” and “stop-motion” techniques, visual arts, puppetry and cinema.

The Package (Canada)
(14 min; French with English subtitles)
Director: Lucie Ernard

Intrigued by the delivery of numerous packages at her new neighbour’s house, Jeannette at 80 is getting out of her loneliness to live a last love story

FROM 14:00 TO 17:00
Scribouillis (Canada)
(11 min;  French with English subtitles)
Directors: Noemi Belanger, Maia Menard-Belanger

Scribouillis is a tribute to the imagination of children and a metaphor for our fear of the unknown

Life Cycles (Brazil)
(6 min; Portuguese with English subtitles)
Directors: Thiago Bresani, Maria Soledad Garcia

The story tells the relationship between a granddaughter and a grandmother and the moments of uncertainty in view of the impossibility of meeting

A Treasure (USA)
(6 min; English)
Director: Freddie Levin

With the help of a very large dragon, a poor tailor searches for a treasure and finds it where he least expects it

Valentin, the Puppeteer Puppet (Brazil)
(4 min; non-verbal)
Director: Naiara Parolin

To escape monotony and loneliness, Valentin uses creativity to create a new company

After the Endling (UK)
(15 min; English)
Director: Daniel A. Kelin

This is a story of a pupu kani oe (Hawaiian tree snail) named George and a tiny, yet vital, battle against extinction

The Adventures of Prince Achmed ( Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed/Germany)
(80 min; 1926; German with English subtitles) 
Directors: Lotte Reiniger, Carl Koch

A handsome prince rides a flying horse to faraway lands and embarks on magical adventures, which including befriending a witch, meeting Aladdin, battling demons and falling love with a princess

AT SIDDHARTHA HALL, GOETHE INSTITUT FROM 21:00 TO 06:00: PERFORMANCE
Sita Apaharan: Ram-Raavan Yuddha (Kannada, Hindi)
From Karnataka Shadow puppetry tradition
Presented by Shri Raja Rama Togalu Gombe Mela from Hassan, Karnataka
 

Desa Timun: Collection Vol. I (The Cucumber Village/Indonesia)
(32 min; 2021; b/w; with English subtitles)
Director: Daud Nugraha

Shadow puppet animation which tells the story of three little mousedeers: Cila, Cili, and Cilo, who always want to play. The Cucumber Village series combined actual Indonesian traditional shadow puppet (wayang kulit) and digital animation. It has been screened in multiple international children film festivals and won awards in 12 countries, such as in San Diego International Children Film Festival, Kineko International Children Film Festival Japan.

AT 15:00
Nee Engey (Where are You/India)
(150 min; 2003; with English subtitles)
Director: R.V. Ramani

An impressionist ethnography of the puppet theatre tradition in some of the southern states of India. The filmmaker tracks both the performances and the lives of the puppeteers— painting a haunting picture of the neglect of a tradition and the difficult lives of the puppeteers.

AT 18:30: PERFORMANCE
Episode from Ramayana (Tamil)
From the Tamil Nadu shadow puppetry tradition
Presented by Kalaimamani Muthulakshmana Rao and team from Theni, Tamil Nadu