Today 11th January 20010 at 6 pm Inauguration Will continue to show till 29th January 2010-no Saturdays and Sundays Kanchan Beyond Sight Foundation cordially invites you to the screening of a unique Iranian film SEVEN BLIND FEMALE FILMMAKERS and opening of photo exhibition by blind photographers from Mumbai and Paris on January 11, 2010 at 6 pm. Alliance Francaise, Theosophy Hall. 40, New Marine Lines, Near American Library, Mumbai. Walk thru the exhibition with members of Blind With Camera project at 6pm followed by film screening at 6.30pm. The photo exhibition is for view till Friday, January 29, 2010 from 10am - 5pm, except on Saturday and Sunday ===================== Seven Blind Female Film makers is an extraordinary omnibus film presents seven shorts made by a group of blind women who each participated in a year long film making workshop initiated by Iranian film maker Mohammad Shirvani. They learnt how to portray their surroundings with small digital cameras and without getting help from the sighted people. Each short opens an intensely intimate window on the everyday experience of the blind.
As the framing of the picture has not been conscious, the invisible - remarkably captures the private, uncontrollable, fearless rebel but at the same time fragile and sacred within an individual that even a dictatorial society cannot reach. It is rare to find a documentary of women this accurate and intimate, while the collection as a whole raises fascinating questions about the nature of cinema itself. This is the first screening of Seven Blind Female Film makers in India. Mohammad Shirvani, after experiencing a dream in which he turned blind he began thinking about how the blind related to his medium. Spurred on by these thoughts he began running workshops for blind women, introducing them to the film making process. The results are offbeat, intimate and highly individualistic film, and offer unique reflections on the manner in which a camera can act as a sightless individual's instrument of vision. Born in 1973 in Tehran, Mohammad Shirvani's short film The Circle was selected by International Critics' Week in Cannes in the year 1999. Since then he has made 8 short fiction films and 6 documentary and experimental feature films, which have been screened in more than 200 festivals around the world and won prestigious awards. His daring and unconventional approach to film making is, perhaps, most apparent with his project film Seven Blind Female Film makers. Currently he is the president of the independent Iranian Short Film Association. ================= The View From Here is an exhibition of photographs from Blind With Camera project and its mentor Evgen Bavcar, one of the world's most accomplished blind photographer based in Paris. This exhibition occupies the ground zero of photography and offer interesting mix of "non-retinal art." While the first time photographers of Blind With Camera project capture realistic images close to their life, Evgen Bavcar use camera to bring dream like images from his "visual meditation" into the world of the sighted. Collectively the exhibition aims to interrupt the monocular perception and point of view of the view, of the sight and enriches art by another approach, by another gaze. Blind With Camera project was started by Partho Bhowmick in Mumbai in 2006 after he came in contact with Evgen Bavcar, followed by years of independent research on blindness and visual arts. The project is the first of its kind in India. Evgen Bavcar was born in 1946 in a small Slovenian town near Venice. He lost both eyes before he was twelve in two consecutive accidents. Four years later, he laid his hand on a camera for the first time. At 26, Bavcar moved to Paris, intensified his photographic activities, completed a masters degree and doctorate in aesthetics. He continues to live in Paris, has more than hundred exhibitions across Europe and highly acclaimed by art critics, historians and philosophers. ====================== Blind With Camera project is an initiative of the Beyond Sight Foundation, it aims to promote Disability Art culture in India and to empower the visually impaired, and integrate them to the mainstream society through the art of photography. The foundation also undertakes innovative ways to promotes independence, equality and self-reliance of people who are visually impaired. To learn more visit www.blindwithcamera.org Blind With Camera project is supported by Kodak and UnLTD India. Screening of Seven Blind Female Film makers is made possible with the support of Mohammed Atebbai from Iran. Photographs by Evgen Bavcar were made available by Pedro Meyer from Mexico. To unsubscribe send a message to [email protected] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in
