Anand Patwardhan
2012 | India
In India, members of the Dalit ("Untouchable") caste were systematically discriminated against and oppressed for thousands of years, denied education, and treated as bonded labor. By the 1920’s Bhimrao Ambedkar broke the taboo winning doctorates abroad and fighting for the emancipation of his people. His legend still spreads through poetry and song. This film was shot over 14 years by acclaimed political documentarian Anand Patwardhan, whose work pursues diverse and controversial issues at the crux of Indian social and political life and has been frequently targeted by state censors. Epic in its scope and ambition, the film stands as both a record of recent history of the Dalits and an eloquent testimony to the power of countering superstition and religious bigotry with reason.
This screening will be followed by a Q&A moderated by Dr. Arjun Appadurai, a contemporary social-cultural anthropologist and the Paulette Goddard Professor of Media, Culture, and Communication at NYU's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development.
Co-presented by Human Rights Watch Film Festival