This year, the 11th Madurai International Documentary and Short Film Festival (2009-10) was planned in 3 phases:
1) One 5-day single venue film festival with screenings, painting and photo exhibitions, music and theatre performances, stalls that sell books and films, discussions and interactions with filmmakers, media and the audience in December 2009.
2) 10 half-day, one-day and 2-3 day film festivals in colleges in and around Madurai, to be held over a period of 6 months starting from January 2010.
3) 10 half-day, one-day, evening, full night film festivals in villages, small towns, street corners and meeting halls in and around Madurai, in association with art groups, NGO’s, trade unions, people’s movements and other public forums, to be held over a period of 6 months starting from January 2010.
The first phase of 11th Madurai International Documentary and Short Film Festival 2009-10 was organised by Marupakkam between 15-19 December 2009 at the Madura College, Madurai in association with Media Research Centre, Department of Philosophy of the Madura College. The festival was supported by Zindabad Trust, New Delhi, Ideas and Evidence.
Dr. Karpaga Kumaravel, the Vice-Chancellor of Madurai Kamaraj University, inaugurated the festival on 15th December. Pandhi Bhojanam a Malayalam short film directed by Sreebala K. Menon was screened as the inaugural film.
Around 80 films were screened in 5 days on two screens between 10 am to 8 pm everyday. Around 500 people took part in the screenings. Documentaries and Short films were screened under 6 sections:
Retrospective (films by Sanjay Kak)
Country package (films from Kyrgyzstan curated by Paul Lee, presented by Cinema Development Fund, Kyrgyzstan)
International films
Rest of India
Films from Tamilnadu
Under Construction (films distributed by Magic Lantern Foundation, New Delhi)
The Under Construction package included:
Arzoo by Shashi Ghosh Gupta
Salata Baladi: An Egyptian Salad by Nadia Kamel
I do form to be deformed by Fauzia Khan
Memories of a Future by Margaret Dickinson and Pepe Petos
Remembrance of Things Present by Chandra Siddan
Voices by Sameera Jain
Silent Hues by R. Rohini
Peace Mission by Dorothy Wenner
Manipur Song by Pankaj Butalia, also distributed by Under Construction, was screened in the Rest of India section.
Discussions were held after almost every screening. Filmmakers K. P. Sasi, C. Sarat Chandran, Sreebala K. Menon, Kutti Revathi, Manohar, and K. Jayamurugan participated in the festival and screened their films.
Interactions with writers were organised every afternoon. Writers Kutti Revathi, Samayavel, Jayabaskaran, Sureshkumar Indrajith and Sa. Tamilselvan participated in the discussions. Painting and Photo exhibitions were organised during the festival for 5 days. Artists Arasan, Balu, M. G. Rafeeq Mohammed, James Peter, Babu, Senthil, Siva and Ibrahim and the photographer Senthil exhibited their works.
V. M. S. Subhagunarajan, theatre activist cum publisher, and Yadhaarthaa Rajan, film society activist, took part in the closing ceremony along with Dr. Murali, Head of the Department, Department of Philosophy, The Madura College on 19th Decemeber 2009. Valli thirumanam a mythological music theatre performance was presented by traditional artists Munirajan and company on 19th December 2009 as part of the closing ceremony.
The second and third phases of the festival are scheduled to be held between January and June of 2010 that include screenings at various colleges, public halls, street corners, villages and small towns in and around Madurai in association with educational institutions, voluntary organisations, trade unions, theatre and film groups, and interesting and interested individuals.