Kolkata People's Film Festival 2015

Kolkata People's Film Festival 2015

Kasturi

Dear friends,

Hope all of you are doing well. It's that time of the year again. After our successful first Kolkata People's Film Festival we are planning our next edition and the tentative dates are either 15th-18th January 2015 or 22-25 January 2015, so if there is a chance of you being in Kolkata (other than those who are in Kolkata already) around that time do consider coming for the film festival.

The film list isn't ready yet but we are hoping to get Anand Patwardhan to come. Many of his films are really relevant to our present time. We have a tentative yes from him but again it will be finalized once the venue is booked and some other things are in place. We are also hoping that we can organize a tiny traveling festival with Anand. We have talked to some people in a couple of towns near (and a little far) from Kolkata. If they can pull off the local organizing on the other end we'll definitely like to do it as there is a need for this to reach smaller towns away from the big cities as well. 

Last year was a three day festival we are hoping to be able to make it four days this year and hopefully include a segment for children. It would depend on how much we are able to raise in time.

Since our last festival (http://corkolkata.wordpress.com/welcome/films-at-a-glance/) we have started doing (almost) monthly screenings. The attendance at these screenings is on the rise, which is a good sign, and in the process new volunteers have also joined in, which is absolutely necessary to sustain this long term. You can get some information about our past screenings here.

We have also started some distribution of documentary films at a very small scale. Started with Sanjay Kak and Anand Patwardhan's films. People do want to watch these films and the income from it is also essential for keeping the filmmakers independent in their film making. We are hoping to be able to provide this platform for other filmmakers as well.

If you need more information, please feel free to write to me.

It will be awesome if some of you can be here during that time and if any of you are interested in contributing towards the festival that would be really great too. As you know, according to our no-sponsorship model, we do not accept a paisa from corporate, NGO or government sources for organizing the festival and screenings, which are possible solely with the contribution of individuals. For publishing our commemorative brochure, we accept advertisments from book publishers, small businesses and individuals. Your support last year really took us far and helped us a great deal in the festival, and we are hopeful of receiving the same degree of solidarity this time too.

If you know others who would be interested in attending or contributing do pass along the information to them also.

Warmly,
Kasturi