Supriyo Sen | India | 2009 | 13’ | Hindi, Farsi, Urdu gesproken, Engels ondertiteld
Every evening at Wagah, the only border crossing along the 3,323 km frontier between India and Pakistan, border guards on both sides orchestrate an extravagantly macho, patriotic (and hilarious) parade. Thousands gather to watch, then crowd the gates to greet their former neighbours. But three children, who sell DVDs of the parade, speak far more warmly and wisely of their neighbouring country, than the macho Big Daddies running the show and the countries. Absolutely delightful and memorable. Wim Wenders said, “Wagah is a manifesto against any wall that divides people.” Director Supriyo Sen, from a refugee family himself, concludes his brilliant trilogy on Partition, Way Back Home and Hope Dies Last in War, with Wagah. He met Wagah co-director in Pakistan, Najaf Bilgrami, for the first time at their Berlin screening: they could not meet across the border while making the film, but directed it via mobile phone!
The film has won 29 awards including the Berlin Today Award, Berlin Film Festival; Best Short Documentary, Karlovy Vary; and selected at over 100 international film festivals including Sundance, IDFA (Amsterdam), Karlovy Vary, Hot Docs, Sydney, Tampere, Movies That Matter, Busan Asian Shorts, IFFI-Goa Film Festivals; and the Museum of Modern Art (New York).
Sunday 14 August, 9.45 pm, Rialto
Monday 15 August, 7.30 pm, Rialto
