Kathi, Kathi, Kaarana: an anthology of true tales by the restless workers of the city
When:
—
Venue:
Birkbeck 43 Gordon Square
Last term, Laura Cowley curated a very successful and interesting film series at Birkbeck on co-production of health as part of the ECR co-production of health group activities funded by the Wellcome Institutional Funding for Research Culture.
This term, we are continuing the series with a monthly screening.
On Wednesday February 11 from 3.30 pm to 5 pm we will be screening Varun Kurtkoti's film Kathi Kathi Kaarana. Varun will be joining remotely to discuss the process of making the film.
Kathi, Kathi, Kaarana: an anthology of true tales by the restless workers of the city.
ಕಥಿ ಕಥಿ ಕಾರಣ | Kathi Kathi Kaarana
Duration: 36 minutes. Followed by Director's talk and Q&A
Language: Kannada, Tamil, English
SYNOPSIS
A sanitation worker dreams of becoming a lawyer to fight for her and her fellow workers’ rights; a mother dreams of sharing her secrets and struggles with her child; a woman rehearses to prepare for a difficult conversation with her boyfriend…
Kathi, Kathi, Kaarana is an anthology of ‘true fiction’, narrated and produced by the workers and their families from the city of Bangalore. ‘Workers will only know how to process the world if we get to do anything other than work,’ one participant shares. Likewise, the film explores mental wellbeing as a factor of the power to share and shape our own narratives. What does it mean to be able to rehearse, dream and creatively explore our struggles? What does it take to have a home, and manage it? How to share feelings that cannot be said, otherwise?
The film marks the culmination of weekend film school for informal sector workers of Bangalore, that artist Varun Kurtkoti designed and facilitated in monsoon 2022. The school ran for 3 months, and engaged the learners in learning filmmaking skills and methods, and scripting narratives based on lived and dreamt experiences.
About Varun Kurtkoti
Varun R Kurtkoti is a filmmaker, community artist and arts educator who divides his time between Bangalore and Dharwad, Karnataka. Varun’s practice includes animation, filmmaking, theatre, ethnography and designing film and sound pedagogies. Varun has an MA in Community Arts & Applied Anthropology from Goldsmiths University, London, and a Diploma in Art & Design, from Srishti Institute of Art, Design & Technology. Varun has been a recipient of National Geographic Young Explorer fellowship in 2017 and PSBT-Doordarshan Filmmaking Fellowship in 2019.
Contact name: Matthew Barrington
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