Joram, Perfect Days: Films That Stood Out at Dharamshala Film Festival 2023

Here are seven films that stood out at the 12th edition of the Dharamshala International Film Festival.

Amid many interesting feature films, documentaries, and shorts, there were some that touched people beyond geography, languages, race, and margins.

(Photo: The Quint)

After screening over 90 films from more than 40 countries, the 12th edition of the Dharamshala International Film Festival, founded by Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam, came to an end on 7 November.

Amid the many interesting feature films, documentaries and shorts, there were some that touched people beyond geography, languages, race and margins.

Here are seven films that have stood out for us – making us believe, question, and most importantly, think.

1. Indi(r)a's Emergency

A poster of Indi(r)a's Emergency.

(Photo Courtesy: Instagram)

Vikramaditya Motwane's 113-minute feature documentary was screened for a full-house at DIFF that smiled, laughed, and reflected in unison at what the writer-director-producer had created.

The film goes back to the Emergency imposed in 1975 by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Through archival footage and animation, Motwane tells a story that is already public knowledge, but tells it so well that it’s a lesson in filmmaking.

The film is broken into different chapters, through which the director shows Indira's rise from a gungi gudiya ("dumb doll") to someone who runs her cabinet and the country alone.

What takes the cake is the narration by Swanand Kirkire, that is extremely contemporary and relevant. You’re seeing archival footage but hearing the story of today. 

Also a class apart is how the film ends... a quote by Dr BR Ambedkar that binds together the entire narrative and brings it to close with today's reality.

2. I Am Sirat

A still from I am Sirat

An 83-minute feature documentary co-directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Deepa Mehta and Delhi-based Sirat Taneja received a standing ovation on the second day of DIFF. And deservedly so!

The film follows Taneja’s dual-life as she lives as Sirat for herself, her friends, and her colleagues… but as Aman for her mother who refuses to accept and acknowledge her gender and sexuality.

Taneja is funny, brave, warm, and loving. So is her tale. It’s heartbreaking too. The film shows Taneja fighting stereotypes and people's prejudices day in and day out – which are targeted towards her not just from strangers but her own family too.

But it’s refreshing to see that she gets to tell her story herself. Very rarely do we see marginalised people getting to own their lives on camera. In this film, Taneja does so, and so resiliently.

What also stands out is the cinematography – the film is shot entirely on phone, in vertical mode by Taneja and in horizontal mode by Mehta. 

3. Fallen Leaves

A still from Fallen Leaves.

Aki Kaurismaki’s 81-minute Finnish feature film is the fourth part of the director’s working-class trilogy. 

Ansa and Holappa are two working class people who almost get married after their first date – but there are obstacles in their way, like not knowing each other’s names or numbers. Alcoholism also comes in the way. 

The beauty of the film is such that even when you don't understand the language and are just reading the subtitles, the punchlines land, the emotions hit right, and you can actually feel the warmth of the film.

In a four-day festival where every second film was intense, strong, and powerful in a political sense, this film reminded me why I fell in love with cinema in the first place. It's extremely simple – it makes you love and believe.

That is not to say that Fallen Leaves isn't political. The radio commentary on the Ukraine-Russia war is constant throughout the film, as a backdrop to what unfolds between two strangers at the same time, just in another world of their own.

Funny, sweet, and wholesome, the film leaves you smiling for a long long time. 

4. Nocturnal Burger

A still from Nocturnal Burger.

(Photo Courtesy: YouTube)

Filmmaker Reema Maya’s 28-minute short film follows a night in the life of a 13-year-old girl at a police station.

Simi, played by Millo Sunka, brings Minu, played by Bebo Madiwal, to the police station after she sees a 30-year old school teacher (who is also the minor girl's neighbour) trying to assault her in an auto-rickshaw.

What unfolds in that one night is a tale of trauma, fear and insensitivity. The film bares open the misogyny of society.

We see how women, be it the police constable, Minu's mother, the trans woman who's not even named, or Simi herself, are all victims of a patriarchal setup that is constantly denying them any agency.

The film won the Gender Sensitivity Award at the festival.

5. Hello Guyzz!

With her debut short film, Samiksha Mathur won not just hearts but applause at DIFF’s 12th edition too. The film follows the life of an Instagram influencer from a lower-income family in West Bengal.

Sumita was a homemaker and a mother, engulfed in household duties as a young bride, until she came across TikTok and Instagram.

Through social media, Sumita got the opportunity to reclaim her love for dance, dressing up, and music.

This film is a tale of dreams, of realities, and of passion – crossing the boundaries of class, social background, and gender.

6. Joram

DIFF closed with Devashish Makhija’s 2022 film starring Manoj Bajpayee, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub and Smita Tambe.

A fast-paced film that follows the life of a migrant worker from Jharkhand as he is on the chase, allegedly after murdering his wife. 

Bajpayee's character Dasru runs to his village to seek the security of the commander who turns out to be the one behind all his misery.

There are a lot of subjects that the film touches upon and does justice to all of them – the encroachment of Adivasi land, the state of the tribals and the politics that binds it all. 

What particularly breaks the audience's heart is how with every frame, you realise what capitalism is doing to the tribals and to the forests – all under the garb of development and progress that they aren't allowed to enjoy an ounce of.

The actors’ performances are also to look out for. Bajpayee and Ayyub, like always, are at their best, but Tambe's performance is a welcome surprise.

7. Perfect Days

Before director Wim Wenders’ 124- minute feature narrative screened at DIFF, director of programming Bina Paul shared a tale – the Japanese government had asked Wenders to make a film on the architecture of public toilets and this is what Wenders came with.

How true that story is, Paul wasn’t sure. But if there ever was a film about toilets and a 50-year-old man who cleans public toilets, nothing could beat Perfect Days.

Hirayama seems content at his job as a toilet cleaner. He is dedicated, disciplined, and often picks up more work as his younger colleague slacks off. In his spare time, he photographs trees, reads, and listens to music.

He's awfully quiet. But always smiling. Is there something that he could be hiding, perhaps?

A repetitive sequence that breaks your heart at the end, an actor (Koji Yakusho) who deservedly won the Best Actor Award at Cannes, and a soundtrack that just plugs at you… the perfect recipe for a film you’ll love forever? Absolutely.

(All these films were screened at the 12th edition of the Dharamshala International Film Festival.)