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.