It's no exaggeration to say that the documentaries comprising the Traveling Film South Asia tour have come halfway around the world. These 15 recent films -- from Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan -- were selected at the Film South Asia festival held last year in Kathmandu, Nepal. The tour's goal is to illuminate the region's diverse social, political, economic and cultural aspects, often with films shot with the intimacy and immediacy that digital video confers.
The tour comes to Pittsburgh in collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University, and runs from Tue., Nov. 9, through Sun., Nov. 21. The films, presented in thematic groups, will be screened via video projection, at locations on both campuses. Admission is free. For more information, call 412-268-9832 or visit www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/jsharma. The first week's schedule:
6:30 p.m. Tue., Nov. 9. Porter Hall 100, CMU
Development Issues
Development Flows from the Barrel of the Gun (India, 54 min.). Indigenous people confront development projects in an age of globalization.
Hunting Down Water (India, 32 min.). India's changing patterns of water use affect the rural poor.
6:30 p.m. Wed., Nov. 10. Porter Hall 100, CMU
Conservation
The 18th Elephant: Three Monologues (India, 62 min.). Depicts the plight of the Kerala elephant.
4 p.m. Sat., Nov. 13. Posvar Hall 5130, Pitt
Rivers and People
Sand and Water (Bangladesh, 105 min.). Portrays the existence of the people who live on the Jamuna River's islands, coping with extreme conditions.
4 p.m. Sun., Nov. 14. Posvar Hall 5130, Pitt
Indigenous People
The Fire Within (India, 57 min.). Corruption, energy politics, displacement of villages and tribal identity in a coal-mining belt.
Resilient Rhythms (India, 64 min.). The Dalits, of the ex-untouchable caste, respond to their marginalization with armed struggle and electoral politics. c
