MDFF 2021 - A Rifle and a Bag
A young Indian couple of surrendered communist rebels (Naxalites) is fighting for their children's future.
Interview with NoCut Film Collective (Cristina Hanes - Romania, Isabella Rinaldi - Italy, Arya Rothe - India)
Watch A Rifle and a Bag on dafilms
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
We (Cristina Hanes, Romania, Isabella Rinaldi, Italy and Arya Rothe, India) started NoCut Film Collective in 2016 because we wanted to direct independent creative documentary films.
After studying together at the DocNomads Master Course in Documentary Directing, we started the research for our first feature length film in India. We learnt about the existence of the surrendered Naxalite settlements. The Naxalites are a communist guerrilla group that has been fighting since the 60’s for the rights of the indigenous communities of India.
We met and spoke to several surrendered Naxalites from that particular settlement, but it was only after we met Somi that we felt there was a story to tell. It was not only her background that struck us, but also Somi’s strength and straightforwardness. Somi and her husband, Sukhram met and fell in love inside the Naxalite commando unit from which they surrendered together. Their story as a couple and their solid relationship were also very gripping for us.
We understood when we met her that she was struggling to enroll her son Dadu in a school and she was facing many obstacles because of her past as a Maoist guerrilla rebel. This was to us the starting point for telling her and her family’s story.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
We recommend you our film firstly to get to know Somi, a strong and inspiring female character but also for a window into a very relevant political issue that is very controversial in India and across Asia, but very little known in the rest of the world.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Since the beginning we wanted to tackle a universal theme through a personal story. However incomplete or subjective a point of view of an individual can be, we knew that Somi's views would allow us to tackle universal issues that lie outside of India’s Maoist guerrilla. Our aim with the film was to discover the complex texture of moral, ideological and political engagement.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
We imagined the film within our script quite close to how it turned out to be in the end. As we are working with reality, some aspects we could plan but for others we just had to anticipate or just be present and film them, as they were happening.
Some of the scenes in the film are achieved in collaboration with the characters. The scenes that were triggered by us were always drawn from things we were told or we witnessed, that we would later on discuss with the characters in order to decide together the right moment to film them. Other scenes were shot completely spontaneous and “observational”, so in the film you can find a mix of these two approaches.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
Although we premiered the film in the pre-pandemic world in January 2020 at the Rotterdam International Film Festival, the film's journey had to be rerouted almost entirely online following this very first encounter with the audience. The feedback we managed to receive were in the form of endearing messages on social media or from film reviews. One very dear to us remark about one of the scenes in the film comes from Victor Morozov, a young Romanian film critic: "Yet it’s possible that this rediscovery of an utopia by the mother might be favoured exactly because she is in the experience of being in front of the camera – because the film manages to camouflage, if not invert, the power dynamics of a white foreigner filming an indigenous person. The impression that’s left is that, while going against the current, Somi – much more energetic and at ease than her husband – takes the technology into her own hands and uses it exactly to gain wings of her own, to take her struggle to new places."
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
In general the feedback was strongly oriented towards the main character of the film, Somi. Although the political context of the film is little known outside India and Somi's background as a guerrilla fighter is something far from the reality of most of us, many felt that Somi is a relatable character and they could deeply grasp her struggle, both personal and for her family.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
We hope for the film to be seen in different parts of the world.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
For the film to amplify its cause, buyers, distributors and film festival directors are needed to come on board.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
We would like the film to problematise an issue that is very polarised in the mainstream media and to amplify Somi's voice.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Where is the line between sacrificing for your family and sacrificing your family? What is the price to pay for trying to build a utopia?
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
We are collaborating with various filmmakers from across the world. At the moment, NoCut Film Collective is producing and co-producing creative documentaries in India, Nepal and Romania. On our website https://www.nocutfilmcollective.com/ you can find more about these ongoing projects!
Interview: July 2021
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
A Rifle and a Bag
Length: 1 hour and 29 minutes
Writer/Director/Producer
NoCut Film Collective was co-founded in 2016 by three filmmakers Cristina Haneș (Romania), Isabella Rinaldi (Italy) and Arya Rothe (India). The collective directs and produces author-driven documentaries, envisioning filmmaking as collaborative and transcultural.
Looking for:
Distributors, Film Festival Directors, Buyers
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/nocutfilmcollective
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/nocutfilmcollective/
Hashtags used:
#arifleandabag
More info:
https://www.instagram.com/nocutfilmcollective/
Where can I watch it next?
2021 Beirut International Women Film Festival/ Lebanon - July, 19-23; 2021 Indian Film Festival Stuttgart/ Germany - July, 23; 2021 First Look Museum of Moving Image (MOMI)/ New York City, U.S. - August, 2