Screening of BEING OSAMA on International Migrants Day

Open Space
screened the documentary
Being Osama
on
International Migrants Day

Friday, 18th December, 2009
at
Open Space - Lucknow Office


It was on 18th December in 1774 when Jews were expelled from Prague, Bohemia, and Moravia.

Jointly made by a Jew and a Muslim and recipient of a number of international awards, Being Osama details the lives of six Montreal men, all with the first name Osama, in the wake of 9/11.

Screening of THE ROMANY TRAIL on International Human Rights Day

Open Space
drew attention to the plight of the Romani,
who have Indian origin,
by screening the documentary
The Romany Trail - Part I
on
International Human Rights Day
Thursday, 10th December, 2009
at
Open Space - Lucknow Office

The people popularly known as gypsies are shrouded in mystery : migratory tribes of Indian origin, with their own language and a lifestyle that has kept them apart from tha mainstream of most the societies in which they have settled. To the Romani people, music is a life force and a medium to tell of their history and suffering. They are the victims of ignorance and prejudice, who have suffered much, and their experiences are expressed in their music and dance across Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

The Romany Trail - Part One takes us on a search for the lost Romani tribes of Egypt, up to the Nile to the ancient town of Luxor in the shadw of the great Pharaoh's tomb. Along the way, from the markets of Cairo to the temple of Karnak, we meet dancing girls and acrobats, magicians, fortune-tellers and even mystics performing an exorcism. The programme culminates in the rythms of Flamenco, in the gypsy caves of the Alhambra, where some of Spain's foremost gypsy families celebrate their history.

A Week of Stories from Nazi Concentration Camps

Tadeusz Borowski (1922-1951)

Yogendra Krishna

Open Space
organised
"A Week of Stories from Nazi Concentration Camps"
from 7th to 12th December, 2009
at
Open Space - Lucknow Office,
during which
Yogendra Krishna's Hindi translations of
Tadeusz Borowski's Polish stories
from his collection
This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen
(गैस चेंबर के लिए कृप्या इस तरफ़)
were read out.

Homage to the Victims of the post-Babri Mosque demolition riots

Open Space
paid homage to those who lost their lives in the communal riots that followed the demolition of the Babri Mosque by screening at its office Saba Dewan and Rahul Roy directed 1989 documentary
Dharmayudh (The Holy War)
on
6th December, 2009.

The first documentary to come out on the Ram Janm Bhoomi/Babri Masjid controversy, Dharmayudh follows the leadership of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Babri Masjid Action Committee on their campaign trail in Uttar Pradesh. The documentary captures the communal campaign unleashed by the leadership of the two movements.

Saba Dewan and Rahul Roy, founder trustees of Aakar, studied film-making at the Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi from 1985 to 87 and have been making documentaries on various themes since then.

Saba Dewan's films have focussed on communalism, gender and sexuality. She is at present working on an India Foundation for the Arts supported research project on tawaif (courtesan) art and sexuality.

Rahul Roy has worked in the areas of labour, masculinity and communalism. Besides making films he has been working on the issues of masculinity with national and international non-governmental groups.

Indo-Israel Relations

Open Space
organised
a lecture
by
Ms. Sharon Rappaport,
Second Secretary - Political Affairs,
Embassy of Israel, New Delhi
on
Indo-Israel Relations
on
Wednesday, 2nd December, 2009
at the
Department of Ancient Indian History & Archaeology,
University of Lucknow

Homage to the Victims of the Anti-Sikh Pogrom in Delhi in 1984

On the birthday of the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak
and
on the completion of 25 years since the 1984 anti-Sikh pogrom of Delhi
Open Space
paid homage to those who perished in it
by screening
Ranjana Mazumdar directed documentary-film,
Delhi Diary 2001
on
Monday, 2nd November, 2009
at
Open Space - Lucknow Office

Delhi Diary 2001 attempts to understand how the anti-Sikh pogrom impacted the lives of the people in Delhi, scarring them with the memory of terror.

The Role of Religion in Society

"Humankind have to contend with the vagaries of nature, which remains inscrutable, making life unpredictable. Questions relating to life and death, suffering and the caprice of fate, and common conduct, always exercise the human mind. Society comes into being in response to the needs of human life dictating interdependence. Codes of conduct become necessary to curb and control greed and selfishness. Religion rises in a bid to understand the origin and end of life, to propitiate the supernatural power that seems to control, command and kill at will. It seeks a way of life embracing the individual and society, groping for communion with the True Reality inhering all existence," said Professor Sarva-Daman Singh, the Honorary Consul of India for Queensland, Australia, while giving a lecture under the auspices of Open Space - Lucknow on "The Role of Religion in Society" at the Department of Ancient Indian History and Archaeology, University of Lucknow on 1st December, 2009.

He added, "Morality takes its birth out of the constantly felt need to control and channel the human will towards the greatest good of the greatest number. Religion and morality combine to please and placate Providence; to discipline human conduct for the greatest good of humanity."

Professor Singh, who is also the Director of the Institute of Asian Studies, Brisbane, Australia, went on to say, "Religions broadly agree on a supernatural source and cause of creation, which presupposes the fraternity of all humanity, leaving no room, despite doctrinal diversity, for discord, intolerance and violence. If life is sacred, as our religions and secular laws alike uphold, it behoves us to preach and practise tolerance and engage in inter-religious dialogue to bring out the similarities of ethical values, instead of constantly harping on differences. Wars and violence, intolerance and unholy terrorism are a travesty of true religion, whatever its name. The ethical precept of religion evokes the best in human nature, sanctifying it with religious prescription.

"Monopolistic, exclusive, narrow formulations of the Truth consigning unbelievers to hell will not deliver the world from violent conflict. The ultimate Truth admits of many manifestations and many modes of worship. We must defeat the purveyors of intolerance with deliberate purpose, and do better than submitting to the tyranny of texts without weighing them in the scales of justice and fair-play. Religion must continually evolve to answer the needs of an ever evolving society. The search for ever greater truth must ceaselessly go on. Let us understand, live and let live.

"Life is full of suffering. Religion helps us cope. All religions must emphasize the indivisibility of humanity, enabling us to identify with one another. There can be no peace without peace among religions. There can be no peace among them without dialogue. No dialogue is possible without respectful tolerance. Religious peace is a pre-requisite to world peace. And peace, like humanity, must always remain indivisible: sarvam shantih."

Remembering Gujarat 2002

Photo: Arko Datta, Reuters

Robin David

Open Space
presents
"Remembering Gujarat 2002"
Reading of excerpts from the Indian Jewish writer and journalist Robin David's account of the anti-Muslim violence in Gujarat in 2002, City of Fear,
and the
Screening of Nooh Nizami & Akanksha Joshi directed documentary-film Passengers: A Video Journey in Gujarat

Sunday, 1st November, 2009
at
Open Space - Lucknow Office


The event also commemorated the publication of the first Hebrew daily newspaper, Hadoar, which began publication on 1st November, 1921.

An Assistant Editor with the Times of India and a member of the tiny Bene Israel Jewish community, Robin David's memoir of the anti-Muslim pogrom in the western Indian state of Gujarat in 2002 is City of Fear, Penguin, 2007, shortlisted in the top five of the Vodafone Crossword Book Awards in the Non-Fiction Category.

Passengers: A Video Journey in Gujarat (52 minutes): The genocide in Gujarat is documented through the lives of a Hindu and a Muslim family. Filmed over a year and a half, it follows the echoes of violence, intense pain and betrayal. The politics of division is experienced through the two families that form the micro unit of the Indian society.

A Retrospective of the Israeli Filmmaker Yael Katzir's films and Workshops by her

Professor Yael Katzir being felicitated by Professor B. Hanumaiah, Vice Chancellor, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow

Professor Yael Katzir speaking at the Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow

Professor Yael Katzir

A view of the audience at the Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow

Professor Yael Katzir

Professor Govind Ji Pandey of the Department of Journalism & Mass Communication introducing Professor Yael Katzir

The Vice Chancellor of the Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow, Professor B. Hanumaiah speaking at the workshop

Professor Yael Katzir at the University of Lucknow

The audience at the University of Lucknow

Professor Yael Katzir

Professor R. C. Tripathi, Head, Department of Journalism & Mass Communication, University of Lucknow, speaking at the workshop

Professor Yael Katzir at the City Montessori School, Lucknow

Dr. Navras Jaat Aafreedi, the organiser of the workshop and film retrospective and Professor Yael Katzir

Professor Yael Katzir at the City Montessori School, Lucknow

Dr. Jagdish Gandhi, founder and manager of the City Montessori School (left) speaking to Ms. Ruth Amit, Consul of Paraguay for Israel (centre) and Professor Yael Katzir (right)

Bagpipers giving welcome salute to Professor Yael Katzir at the City Montessori School, Lucknow

Professor Yael Katzir

Open Space
organised
A Retrospective of the Israeli Filmmaker Yael Katzir's films and Workshops by her
on

Monday, 9th November, 2009, 
in memory of the victims of Kristallnacht (1938),
at the
Department of Mass Communication & Journalism,
Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow

and

Wednesday, 11th November, 2009
in commemoration of the cease-fire agreement signed between Israel and Egypt on 11th November, 1973, 
at the
Department of Mass Communication & Journalism,
University of Lucknow, Lucknow

City Montessori School, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow

Professor Yael Katzir's films (please click on the title to read about the film):

• Company Jasmine
• Shivah for my mother
• Praying in Her Own Voice
• Out for Love, Be Back Shortly
• Marie Balian: An Armenian Artist in Jerusalem