Khajuraho, My Love

a hypnotic journey into Khajuraho village, its ancient temples and erotic sculptures

  • John Winter
    Director
    Black and White and Sex, Mirror Mirror, Apartment 1911
  • John Winter
    Producer
    Rabbit-Proof Fence, Paperback Hero
  • Bronwyn Elliott
    Producer
  • John Winter
    Director of Photography
  • John Winter
    Editor
  • John Winter
    Sound Design
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Experimental, Short
  • Runtime:
    7 minutes 25 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    September 1, 2022
  • Country of Origin:
    Australia
  • Country of Filming:
    India
  • Language:
    Hindi
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Vindhya International Film Festival
    Madhya Pradesh
    India
    January 10, 2023
    Special Jury Prize for Short Film
  • Erotica Film Festival
    Melbourne
    Australia
Distribution Information
  • Wintertime Films
    Country: Australia
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - John Winter

Following a long relationship with India, 'Khajuraho, my Love' is John's first short film set in India.

He majored in Indian Studies at Melbourne University, has been a return guest speaker at Mumbai’s FRAMES film industry conference and sat on the jury of the Pune International Film Festival. Films he has produced or directed have screened at most of India's major film festivals including IFFI Goa, New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Kerala and the first Kashish Mumbai International Queer Film Festival in 2010.

John wrote & directed the award winning feature film, Black & White & Sex, which screened at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, was in competition in Taipei and screened at the Sydney & Brisbane festivals.

His short films have been invited to numerous international film festivals. Mirror Mirror screened at 27 festivals including Frameline32.

In addition to the films he has directed, John’s many producing credits include Phillip Noyce’s Rabbit-Proof Fence, Paperback Hero (Hugh Jackman), Berlin entrant My Mother Frank (Sam Neil), Sydney Film Festival opener, Doing Time for Patsy Cline and Vacant Possession.

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Director Statement

I filmed in Khajuraho, in central India, in the dry season. The extreme heat, the parched fields, the exhausted livestock and the ordinariness of village life made life a slow and earthly struggle. And yet, scattered throughout the dusty village and its countryside, are temples of the most extraordinary beauty, an ever-present reminder of the symbiotic relationship between the secular and the spiritual.

As they have done for a thousand years, the temples drew me in to their world of sensuous sculptures and erotic forms, a tender embrace in the sandstone. My first impressions were of their timelessness, and beauty, and even humour. Such earthy, amatory creations in places of worship.
The sounds of ritual and worship became irresistible, hypnotic...

Khajuraho, my Love, takes the viewer on that journey from the profane to the profound.