Tanvir Ka Safarnama

(78 minutes, 2007)

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

5-8pm, Center for the Humanities at Temple University, 10th Floor, Gladfelter Hall

A screening and discussion with filmmaker Ranjan Kamath

 

About the film:

Ranjan Kamath’s empathetic documentary film on Habib Tanvir and his troupe, Naya Theatre,showcases the introduction and domestication of the alien by unschooled, uneducated villagers of central India who present theatrical masterpieces based on the adaptations of Shakespeare and Brecht to rural, regional, national and international audiences. Habib Tanveer dedicated his life to serving theater and the peoples of central India. At a time when indigenous communities all over the world are expressing themselves in film and video, domesticating an introduced technology that empowers by providing voice and articulating agency, this pioneering endeavor alerts us to appreciate the powerful forces of collaboration in a globalizing world where the remaining barriers of language and cultural exclusivity are becoming porous, producing new cultural gems in performance and practice.

About the filmmaker:

Ranjan Kamath has been working as cinematographer and director on feature documentaries and television series for PBS, BBC, Channel Four, National Geographic and Discovery Channel amongst others since 1989. Presently, Ranjan produces and directs feature documentaries. His films include Fishers of Men, The Die Is Caste, Tam Bram in a Jazz Jam. In January 2009 Ranjan started C+ive, a non-profit foundation committed to effect change through non-violence.

Ranjan Kamath will be present to introduce the film and discuss it after the screening. Professor Bapa Jhala will moderate the Q&A.