Anand Patwardhan in person
(Anand Patwardhan, India, 2018, 159 min, DCP)
The Block welcomes leading Indian filmmaker Anand Patwardhan in person for a screening of his nonfiction epic REASON/VIVEK (2018), an unflinching look at India’s traumatic transformation from the world’s largest democracy to a country gripped by religious majoritarianism. REASON provides a far-ranging examination of the historical roots of hate-driven ideology, tracing the connections between the 1948 assassination of Mahatma Gandhi to the ongoing violence committed against Muslim and Dalit communities in the present. Patwardhan’s camera daringly bears witness to the massive right-wing Hindu nationalist rallies, and to the resistance movements and protests led by Dalit activists and student groups—activities that have exposed the filmmaker himself to censorship and threats of violence. Despite these dangers, REASON manages to inscribe a signature sense of defiant optimism in the larger fight against religious and caste discrimination.
Co-sponsored by the Center for Global Culture and Communication, the Race, Caste, and Colorism Working Group, and the MFA in Documentary Media at Northwestern
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This is the second event in a two-part program with Patwardhan in person. Please join us on Friday, October 28th at 6 PM for a screening of JAI BHIM COMRADE (2012) followed by a Q&A.
About the series:
ANAND PATWARDHAN: REASON IN REVOLT
For over four decades, documentary filmmaker Anand Patwardhan has been one of India’s foremost social critics and activists, unflinchingly capturing rebellion and repression alike. Whether examining the emerging crises of environmental devastation or the long-gestating cancer of India’s caste system, Patwardhan combines impassioned indignation with the sobriety and rigor of a seasoned investigator.
Block Cinema is thrilled to partner with the Center for Global Culture and Communication, the Race, Caste, and Colorism Working Group, and the MFA in Documentary Media at Northwestern University to present two of his most riveting, epic, and essential works. In Jai Bhim Comrade (2011), Patwardhan traces the struggle for Dalit (oppressed-caste) rights from the revolutionary efforts of caste abolitionist B. R. Ambedkar (1891-1956) to the present; with his most recent documentary, the monumental Reason (2018), Patwardhan captures the rise of violent Hindu nationalist sentiment to mount a scathing indictment of India’s far right. Patwardhan will appear in person for both screenings.
Contact The Block Museum of Art for more information: (847) 491-4000 or email us at block-museum@northwestern.edu
