A collection of short animation films that reflect, tease, perturb and instigate; pushing one to be questioning of one's perception of the past and the present.

Venue: British Council Theatre
Date: February 10, 2012; 07:55 PM
* Screening to be followed by an interactive session with the filmmaker.

Bengali Tourist
Ibn-Battuta traveled the world over and remarked on how things were better back home. Digital Dutta realizes the futility of travel sitting in his North Calcutta apartment. European Backpackers and Bengali tourists have this in common - their body travels but the mind stays unmoved. A teasing ride through old photographs, Bengali Tourist tickles and entertains.

Bachelor of 21 Dreams
Bachelor of 21 Dreams is a glimpse into a living, breathing urban dystopia. A series of charcoal sketches take us through a circumscribed neighborhood in the City of Gates and introduce us to quirky, yet familiar characters. And as the city with its idiosyncratic inhabitants crawls through the night, one discovers that which lies beneath the surface.

Sophistication is Fragile
A caustic commentary on the human lust for power, Sophistication is Fragile observes that knowledge is the biggest casualty in the fanatical expansion of empires. A deeply sardonic exposition on religious and political excesses that impede the pursuit of knowledge, the video acknowledges the scientific and philosophical advances made by the Arabs and Spanish moors as having been instrumental in European Enlightenment.

1943
1943 chronicles the angst of the unemployed youth of 80's in India. The narrator looks back in history at his childhood fascination with the 'telephone sanitizer', remembering a time when educated young men unwillingly took up jobs that came their way. The narrator also explores his childhood impressions of Bengalis and food and revisits them in the light of his knowledge of the Great Bengal famine.

Paradise Locked
Paradise Locked is a tale of two brothers from Azamgarh, sons of a lock-maker, who chose different professions but are unaware of the inextricable ways in which their destinies are connected. With conscious ambiguity yet referential clarity on the details of the event recaptured, the video touches upon topical questions of identity, communal dynamics and surveillance.

Hakim Tartoosi's Potency Oil
An uninhibited caricature of middle-class sexual anxieties, Hakim Tartoosi's Potency Oil is full of playful irreverence. Chintu, apprehensive of his masculinity, enlists the help of Hakim Tartoosi whose magical potion is expected to alleviate his sexual miseries. Endearing characters take one on a joyful ride through the world of macho men, adult videos and mysterious elixirs.