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A distribution initiative for independent films ... |
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The Under Construction journey had begun with a desire to disseminate independent films that would provide civil society with a range of voices and discourses and enable a re-look at the terrain of knowledge and culture both as a site and practice. We have carefully curated a truly eclectic range of films that demonstrate diverse issues and form. This work of curation is an integral part of the distribution activity and is critical for presenting a collective but plural picture in terms of politics, form and craft. Moreover, it is this body of work that creates a mechanism and tool for us to work with the politics of visibility.  We have a collection of over 200 films that we curated for distribution. However, this collection also creates an archive or repository of some of the finest films from India and the world that is available for public access. In the process of collecting we encountered and overcame many limitations. For instance, in the popular understanding the political film is one that represents political events. However, we found that definition to be limited, as it tended to leave out work that explored everyday lives and desires, or films that engaged with the folk cultures or memory; issues that are crucial to the rendition of the ‘political.’ Hence we stepped into the arena of the aesthetic. Now we will continue to curate works that celebrates the diverse nature of films in India today. The idea is to showcase the range of subjects and forms the films work with, and to interrogate the emerging aesthetics of political filmmaking. Keeping with our past we will continue to curate relevant international documentaries that are difficult to access in India. And although these films deal with issues and themes that are unique and not very well known in India, there is indeed a common resonance or a common resistance.  From the beginning we have tried to create a fair, transparent and accountable model of distribution. We realised that the traditional terms of distribution are largely one-sided in favour of the distributor and very little is offered to the creator, and this is true for all sectors of creative activities – be it craftspeople, inventors, writers, painters – and filmmakers as well. Keeping this in mind, we begin with the premise that the intellectual property of the films rests with the concerned filmmakers and we take only the rights to disseminate them in the territories they allot us. It is also a non-exclusive dissemination mechanism whereby the filmmaker is free to give his or her films to other distributors in the same territory. We remit 65% of every sale to the filmmaker as royalty. We use the remaining 35% for mastering, duplication, packaging, promotion and dissemination. We provide detailed sale reports every three months and royalties twice a year. In order to create a transparent system of accountability we have created a database system by which inventory records of every film can be accessed and verified at any time. Even though we do not take television rights or rights for film festivals, we put the filmmakers in direct touch with the broadcasters or festival curators. Also, when we curate packages for festivals, we keep the filmmakers constantly informed about the events as they develop.  The films that Under Construction distributes cover a range of themes and ideas that is truly very wide. We have Biographies - from the story of the life of three sex-workers providing a nuanced view of prostitution, one in which violence and victimhood sit side by side with a relentless drive to survive; to Mariammal, the Dalit woman who spends her days cleaning shit from the streets of Madurai; or the extraordinary experiences of Kamlabai, the first woman ever to act on the Indian screen. Many of our films deal with Exclusion, be it because of caste, identity, ethnicity or economic subjugation. A large number of films are on Ethnography – religious minorities, indigenous people and diaspora; Films on Gender tell stories of violence faced by women in conflict zones of Kashmir, North East or Afghanistan; on the ever neglected birth attendents who handle almost 50% of the births in India; the assertion of the queer people against the harsh realities of homophobia; hilarious and yet serious exploration of the engagements of contemporary women in urban India with feminism; or a search for public toilets in Bombay, watching who has to queue to pee. The entire range of subjects of our films are Borders; Caste/ Exclusion; Citizenship; Collective Action; Conflict; Culture; Development; Displacement/ Exile; Ecology; Education; Ethnography; Fiction; Health; Gender; Governance; Globalization; Identity; Journeys; Labour; Livelihood/ Lifestyles; Performing Arts; Resistance; Rights.  The collective body of films that we distribute offer new ways to work with public cultures in India and the world. It opens up the concepts of an archive and thus truncates the false umbilical cord – often enforced by commercial cinema and its ‘run’ - between cinema and temporality. It makes works of art active and offers an opportunity to keep them alive beyond the dictates of temporal logic. It allows silenced and marginalised voices and stories to enter the public arena to articulate, to question, and challenge. The new and emerging aesthetics also help to challenge the popular misconception that documentaries are boring. Further, the collective body of work provides infinite opportunities to link individual films under different topics to illustrate diverse themes. Hence while individual films articulate plural concerns and aesthetics, each subject-collection allows for multiple rendition and articulation in different times, spaces and cultures. Many people ask us why this name? Why Under Construction? It's simply because this initiative will always be under construction. We will continue to grow and spread, but with your help.  Some thanks are in order here. Our journey began because of Vijaya Mulay, better known as Akka. When she received the life-time achievement award at the Mumbai International Film Festival 2002 she donated the prize money to us to start the work with. She said: you have talked about it long enough, now do it. Akka's support was truly heroic and gave us the moral resource to step into this difficult and unknown arena. The Ford Foundation provided the material support. Under Construction was created and is supported by a grant from the Ford Foundation. We feel we have taken the very first steps into an unchartered terrain and there is still a long way to go. Nevertheless, this is an important step, not only to circulate films in the public domain but also to simultaneously create an archive of films that are easily accessible and will assist to broaden and deepen the scope and terrain of discourse. |
Check out our new arrivals More new arrivals at Under Construction. Click here for the new arrivals.
NFDC Films available with us
More...
 Under Construction is happy to announce the launch of its 2009 catalogue. The catalogue lists a little over 200 films that it is distributing. Under Construction is happy to include films of Amar Kanwar, Anjali Monteiro and K. P. Jayasankar, Pankaj Butalia, Sanjay Kak, among many other distingushed filmmakers from India and the world.
UC goes non-exclusive We are delighted to announce that the contract that Under Construction draws up with filmmakers for distribution is now non-exclusive. Technically, this means even if filmmakers sign a contract with us, they are free to have similar arrangements with other distributors in the same territories. In case filmmakers with exclusive contracts choose a 'non-exclusive' option, send us an email. We welcome filmmakers to join us with their films. Write to us for more information
UC ties up with Scholars Without Borders In an attempt to reach its films to a wider range of viewers, Under Construction has tied up with Scholars Without Borders, an online bookstore that aims to promote Indian books on the global arena. All UC films with world distribution rights are available on the Scholars site. The site provides online payment facilities through credit card or Paypal. Prices at the Scholars site include tax / postage, as applicable. On the Scholars site, look under 'Documentaries' and further under 'Under Construction films':
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A distribution initiative |
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