Anand Patwardhan

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Anand Patwardhan
Anand Patwardhan
Born (1950-02-18) 18 February 1950 (age 74)
Bombay, Bombay State, India
Alma materUniversity of Mumbai, Brandeis University, McGill University
OccupationFilmmaker
Known forDocumentary filmmaking

Anand Patwardhan (born 18 February 1950) is an Indian documentary filmmaker known for his socio-political, human rights-oriented films. Some of his films explore the rise of religious fundamentalism, sectarianism and casteism in India, while others investigate nuclear nationalism and unsustainable development.[1][2][3][4] Notable films include Bombay: Our City (Hamara Shahar) (1985), In Memory of Friends (1990), In the Name of God (Ram ke Nam) (1992), Father, Son, and Holy War (1995), A Narmada Diary (1995), War and Peace (2002) and Jai Bhim Comrade (2011), and Reason (2018) which have won national and international awards.

Biography[edit]

Anand Patwardhan speaking in ViBGYOR Film Festival 2011

Patwardhan was born on 18 February 1950, in Bombay, Bombay State (now Mumbai, Maharashtra).[5] He completed a B.A. in English literature at Mumbai University in 1970, a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology at Brandeis University in 1972, and a Master of Arts in Communication Studies at McGill University in 1982.[4][6][7][8][9] He is a member of the Oscar Academy.[10]

Films[edit]

Patwardhan during a screening of Ram ke Naam at Kollam

Virtually all of Patwardhan's documentary films have faced censorship from the Indian government, eventually being cleared after legal action. His film Bombay: Our City was shown on TV after a four-year court case,[11] while Father, Son, and Holy War (1995) was adjudged in 2004 as one of 50 most memorable international documentaries of all time by DOX, Europe's leading documentary film magazine. Father, Son, and Holy War was shown on India's National Network, Doordarshan, only in the year 2006, 11 years after its making, after a prolonged court battle which lasted ten years and ended with the nation's Supreme Court ordering the network to telecast the film without any cuts.[12]

The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), refused to certify his next film, War and Peace, released in 2002. The board demanded 21 cuts before it would be certified.[13] Patwardhan took the government to court, leading to the film being banned for over a year.[14] However, after a court battle, Patwardhan won the right to screen his film without a single cut.[15][16][17] As with his previous films, Patwardhan also successfully fought to force a reluctant national broadcaster, Doordarshan, to show this film on their national network. It was commercially released in multiplexes in 2005.[18]

His 2011 documentary, Jai Bhim Comrade, was based on a police firing incident against Dalits at Ramabai Colony in Mumbai in 1997. The film, which took 14 years to complete, is considered by many to be a watershed in Patwardhan's long career.[19] In 2013 the Sheffield International Film Festival honoured Patwardhan with an Inspiration Award.[20] In 2014 the Mumbai International Film Festival honoured him with the V. Shantaram Lifetime Achievement Award.[21][22]

Upon being asked in a BFI interview to deliver a message for future documentary filmmakers, Patwardhan famously replied, "No message really. Do it only if it burns when you don't."[23]

Political views[edit]

In December 2023, alongside 50 other filmmakers, Patwardhan signed an open letter published in Libération demanding a ceasefire and an end to the killing of civilians amid the 2023 Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, and for a humanitarian corridor into Gaza to be established for humanitarian aid, and the release of hostages.[24][25][26]

Filmography[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Interview Tehelka 13 October 2007.
  2. ^ 'Michael Moore of India', screening and Interview, University of California, Berkeley 13 October 2004.
  3. ^ Silverdocs Documentary Film Festival Archived 26 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine American University School of Communication 16 June 2004.
  4. ^ a b "Manas: Culture, Indian Cinema-Anand Patwardhan". ucla.edu. Archived from the original on 13 January 2003.
  5. ^ Interview with Indian director Anand Patwardhan Archived 24 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine, BFI, 5 May 2015.
  6. ^ Films of Anand Patwardhan Archived 9 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine Icarus Films, New York.
  7. ^ About Anand Archived 3 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine Official website.
  8. ^ Documentary Voices- Anand Patwardhan.
  9. ^ "About Anand". patwardhan.com. Archived from the original on 3 July 2010. Retrieved 13 June 2008.
  10. ^ "Academy invites record 774 new members; 39 percent female, 30 percent people color". Hollywood Reporter. 29 June 2017. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  11. ^ "Tehelka - The People's Paper". tehelka.com. Archived from the original on 12 September 2012.
  12. ^ Article Title[usurped] Father, Son and Holy War] The Frontline, The Hindu, September 2006.
  13. ^ "Filmmaker's Battle to Tell India's Story in India", The New York Times, 24 December 2002.
  14. ^ Censorship and Litigation
  15. ^ "Alone against India's nuclear nationalism", BBC News, 12 August 2003.
  16. ^ Director Interview BBC Four, 4 August 2003.
  17. ^ Film Review BBC Four, 2002.
  18. ^ War and Peace hits the box office for the first time in India Tehelka, 25 June 2005.
  19. ^ "Dubai International Film Festival". Archived from the original on 23 March 2012. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
  20. ^ "Sheffield Doc/Fest: Sheffield International Documentary Festival". 6 February 2015. Archived from the original on 6 February 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  21. ^ Pawar, Ypgesh (1 February 2014). "Anand Patwardhan to get V Shantaram award at Mumbai International Film Festival". DNA. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  22. ^ "Dr. V. Shantaram Lifetime Achievement Awardees | Mumbai International Film Festival". Mumbai International Film Festival. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  23. ^ Earth vision: interview with Anand Patwardhan BFI 5 May 2015.
  24. ^ "Gaza : des cinéastes du monde entier demandent un cessez-le-feu immédiat". Libération (in French). 28 December 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  25. ^ Newman, Nick (29 December 2023). "Claire Denis, Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Christian Petzold, Apichatpong Weerasethakul & More Sign Demand for Ceasefire in Gaza". The Film Stage. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  26. ^ "Directors of cinema sign petition for immediate ceasefire". The Jerusalem Post. 31 December 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  27. ^ "Articles and Reviews". patwardhan.com.
  28. ^ Films Index Official website.
  29. ^ Awards imdb.com.
  30. ^ Screening of screen Patwardhan's films at Stanford University Rediff.com, October 2001
  31. ^ "FRIF". Archived from the original on 13 May 2008. Retrieved 14 June 2008.
  32. ^ "Earth-vision.jp". 6 February 2007. Archived from the original on 6 February 2007. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  33. ^ 3rd KaraFilm Festival Archived 28 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine Karachi International Film Festival, website.
  34. ^ 51st National Film Awards - 2004 Archived 1 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine Official listings Directorate of Film Festivals Official website.
  35. ^ Kumar, Sunalini (21 March 2012). "Jai Bhim, Comrade Patwardhan « Kafila". kafila.org. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012.
  36. ^ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/Inheriting-injustice-A-chilling-film-on-Indias-Dalits/articleshow/11459368.cms [dead link]
  37. ^ Ram Bahadur Trophy for Best Film, Festival of South-Asian Documentaries, 2011, Film South Asia, archived from the original on 2 January 2014, retrieved 1 January 2014
  38. ^ Golden Firebird Award, Hong Kong International Film Festival, 2012, IMDb, retrieved 1 January 2014
  39. ^ "59th National Film Awards for the Year 2011 Announced" (Press release). Press Information Bureau (PIB), India. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  40. ^ Palmarès / Award-winning films 2012, Jean Rouch Film International Film Festival, 19 November 2012, retrieved 1 January 2014
  41. ^ "Films of Anand Patwardhan". Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  42. ^ Wise, Damon (21 November 2018). "IDFA Awards 2018: The Jury Sees 'Reason'". Variety. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  43. ^ "17th Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles Winners Announced | LATF USA". latfusa.com. 15 April 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2019.

External links[edit]

Wikiquote has quotations related to Anand Patwardhan.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Anand Patwardhan.

Websites on Anand Patwardhan's work[edit]

Interviews[edit]

Writings[edit]

Reviews[edit]

Video clips[edit]

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