The Kolkata People’s Film Festival (KPFF), organised by the People’s Film Collective, started in January 2014. Over the past 12 years, it has grown by leaps and bounds, becoming a critical part of the counter-culture movement in the city of Kolkata and beyond.
The festival, held over four to five days, does not charge for entry, either for entering a film or for watching a film. Everyone is welcome to attend. The KPFF is a non-sponsored event which does not accept any governmental or corporate sponsorships. It runs solely on grassroots community support and donations made by individual supporters.
KPFF is primarily a documentary festival acting as a platform for the contemporary political documentary from India. The festival also screens a number of documentaries from the Southasian region as well as fiction films from India and Southasia, which in their aesthetics and content speak to our political present.
Programming is the soul of KPFF. The festival is programmed with care by the festival selection committee, keeping in mind cinematic aspects, political arguments as well as the topicality, social relevance and geographical representation of the films. The goal of the festival is to encourage debate and discussion around questions ‘here and now’ that are sometimes forgotten, or swept under the rug. Or even worse, tip-toed around. We specifically look out for films which offer powerful perspectives on communalism, labour, caste and prejudice, civil rights, gender, self-determination, environmental issues, nationalism et cetera. The list is far from exhaustive. We welcome films which seek out new cinematic languages in trying to engage honestly with issues of great concern.
KPFF is known for one of the liveliest and most energetic audiences for independent political cinema in the country. With many film shows going houseful, films are always interspersed with talks, discussions and animated interactive sessions based on perspectives raised by the screenings. Filmmakers are invited to share their experiences and thoughts as they face the audience. The audience is an integral part of the whole process, with a free give and take of opinions. The festival is never restricted to within the hall. The festival premise, located in a busy central area of Kolkata, is often the hub of many a discussion. In true Kolkata spirit, filmmakers, artists, activists, students, film enthusiasts and people from all walks of life bond with each other, sharing their thoughts, ideologies, plans and feelings, often over endless cups of tea and animated arguments.
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About the Organisers:
People's Film Collective (PFC) is an independent, autonomous, people-funded cultural-political collective based in West Bengal. Formed in 2013, it believes in the power of films as a weapon of pedagogy of the oppressed as well as alternative media for people. PFC organises monthly documentary screenings and conversations in Kolkata. It travels throughout Bengal with films & movement videos. Its members document people’s movements, make political documentaries and organise film workshops. PFC organises the ‘Kolkata People’s Film Festival’ in January, the 'Frames of Freedom' in August, and travelling documentary festivals around the year. The Collective has a campaign called 'Little Cinema' for screening and discussing thought-provoking films for children and young adults. PFC brings out a Bangla journal titled ‘Protirodher Cinema’ (translated as Films of Resistance), focussing on the documentary, political cinema and counterculture. The Collective often works together with like-minded collectives of the working class and people’s movements.
