AmDocs 2019/ Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival – Children of the Soil
A thought-provoking visual comment on events plaguing India's farmer community with its associated evils like starvation, debt trap, homelessness, deprivation, begging, suicides and urban migration to losing the very farmland that defines them.
Interview with Writers/Directors/Producers/Editors Ranadeep Bhattacharyya and Judhajit Bagchi
Watch Children of the Soil here:
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
The film was born out of the genuine calling from our conscience while we were roaming around the country to shoot a corporate social responsibility film for a corporate client. We could not avert our eyes from the painful condition in which the farmers dwell in our villages. The images of malnourished kids, starving families, drought infected lands, the cry for help stayed within us and stirred a will to do something for these humble souls because of whom we in the cities can have our daily bread.
A man was only civilized when he left being hunter and gatherer and established his bond with the soil through agriculture. Man as a farmer toiled hard in the fields to grow his food and this lead to civilizations flourishing as he could now settle in a place and provide for not only himself but also his entire family. Thus, Society was formed and Man became civilized, devoting his mind to greater pursuits of building the world into a better place as we now see it. A farmer’s profession is not for his own sake. It is for the entire society. They have taken upon themselves the responsibility of feeding the entire nation, to provide for all.
Food is a universal leveller. From the richest of the rich to the poorest of the poor, none can survive without food. To think of it, the farmers who have taken it upon themselves to toil with their blood and sweat day in and day out, working through the vagaries of nature just to make sure humanity as a whole survives with his labour, is finally not left with enough to fend for himself.
We started delving deep into the matter and with the help of a few of our journalist friends, we visited the drought-hit hinterland of India where farmers had committed suicide. Their lands lay barren. The same lands which at one time had crops dancing on them. The soil is mother earth. She is the one who holds us, nurtures us and looks after us. We come from the soil and we go back to her. Human life's journey is intrinsically tied to the soil. We romanticise it, sing harvest songs in her homage, write poems on her, celebrate her through our art. But here in these killing fields, we could almost hear the cry of mother earth for her long lost children. Just like a mother who has lost her child, she lays barren in their absence.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
Over 12,000 farmers* commit suicide in India every year. (Source: Times of India report; May 3, 2017). This is a serious issue of our times and hence after months of research, we wanted to tell the entire story of the perils, that farmers as a community face. Since they are the children of the soil, we decided to make the film in a way so that it would be organically tied to the very soil it is trying to give a voice to. Hence all the sculptures in the film have been made of soil collected from the barren farms of farmers who have committed suicide.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Even though the film is based on the perils of Indian farmers, the themes of hunger, poverty, displacement, migration, deprivation, land acquisition from indigenous inhabitants and suicides are part of the global social justice, humanitarian and development issues that are plaguing the world.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
Researching and culminating the entire events leading to farmer suicides was a huge challenge while scripting. We wanted to weave a script where the sculptures visually say for themselves the story of their eternal struggle and at the same time we wanted to weave the metaphor of the 'iron hand' that snatches away food, basic necessities and even land from farmers in the name of development, leaving no option for them to survive. Hence at the very script level, we decided to weave a lot of references from classical paintings and Indian masters who have championed the cause of farmer rights. The end of the film is evocative of a modern day holocaust with the contemplative modern man as Rodin's Thinker at the Gates of Hell.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
The film will be officially Premiering at the AmDocsocs in Palm Springs on the 30th of March 2019 and we are eagerly awaiting the audience’s reaction. Up until now, the people who have privately watched the film have connected well with its theme and core.
The only issue we are facing as filmmakers is to categorise the film in a particular genre as it is a short film that is based on a real theme but dealt in an experimental way with clay sculptures that have been shot live.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
We are yet to have the audience’s feedback. We are looking forward to hearing the feedback on the film after the screening.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
We want more and more people to watch this film and create awareness about the issue of farmer suicide that is plaguing Indian farmers and their families. We intend the film to start a dialogue on this pertinent issue and hopefully, then we can collectively develop ideas and policies to make things better for the farmers.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
We intend this film to be picked up by film festivals, distributors and buyers so that the visibility of the film can be increased. Also, we hope that journalists watch this film and can help us create a dialogue on this human rights issue that is slowly becoming the price we pay in the name of development.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
The story of the farmer's plight has been told in the film entirely through clay sculptures that have been made from the soil collected from the barren farmlands of farmers who have committed suicide. It took us about seven months to make these sculptures and now we want to preserve them. Since the sculptures are made of clay and we don't have the money to preserve them at the moment, the sculptures are slowly disintegrating. So we are looking for a way to put up a curated exhibition on this issue with the aid of the sculptures and the film. We want to collect funds to put up this exhibition and auction the sculptures after the exhibition so that the money from it can be given to the families of the farmers who have committed suicide and for farmer welfare.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Can there be any future without farmers?
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Right now we are working on a feature film script along with pitching ideas for web-based content.
Interview: March 2019
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
Children of the Soil
A thought-provoking visual comment on events plaguing India's farmer community with its associated evils like starvation, debt trap, homelessness, deprivation, begging, suicides and urban migration to losing the very farmland that defines them.
Length: 4:15
Director: Ranadeep Bhattacharyya, Judhajit Bagchi
Producer: Ranadeep Bhattacharyya, Judhajit Bagchi, Ricky Singh Bedi
Writer: Ranadeep Bhattacharyya, Judhajit Bagchi
About the writer, director and producer:
RANADEEP BHATTACHARYYA & JUDHAJIT BAGCHI are a director-duo based in Mumbai, India who have been making clutter-breaking ad films and short films and are currently working on their first feature film under their production house Yaanus Films. They are the first ever Indian filmmakers to win the coveted Cannes Dolphin consecutively in 2015 and 2016 along with winning international acclaim. They have also produced and directed the award-winning short film Amen on the issue of child sex abuse and gender identity. Their latest short film Children of the Soil, made completely out of sculptures crafted from the soil collected from the barren fields of farmers who have committed suicide, is about to have its World Premiere at Amdocs in late March.
In their own words - 'Films are our raison d'être. We think, live, breathe and thrive upon films. What challenges us into making clutter breaking films is the beauty of amalgamation of all art forms that can be used to communicate a story exploring the world of visuals. Whenever we take up a project, we literally put a part of ourselves into it. For us, every project is a new leap into the ocean of creativity, delving deep into the content of the film, exploring its thematic and visual possibilities with respect to its scope. A film that is emotionally engaging, entertaining and visually powerful'.
This film has been produced by Yaanus Films and Passion Film.
Key cast: Clay Sculptures, Ila Arun (Voice)
Looking for: sales agents, distributors, journalists, film festival directors, buyers
Facebook: Ranadeep Bhattacharyya
Twitter: @JudhajitB
Instagram: @ranadeep_n_judhajit
Hashtags used: #childrenofthesoil #sonofsoil #farmersuicide #farmer #sculpture #getintotheirshoes #claysculpture #indiandocumentary #documentaryshort #socialawareness #socialissue #ranadeep #judhajit #yaanus #soil #art #environment #equality
Website: www.yaanusfilms.com
Other: Ranadeep Bhattacharyya’ IMDb, Judhajit Bagchi’s IMDb
Made in association with: Apex
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? 35th Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival | May 2 - May 10, 2019