Private Project

Gaze

Gaze explores what “being feminine” is for Pritha and Ronita and how it is affected by the gaze with which we are taught to see what is feminine - the film explores fluid femininity. Developed through site-specific improvisations of both movement and camera work, this film was made during the Durga Puja Festival in India - a festival, primarily celebrated by the Bengali community, that is said to worship that which is feminine, a festival that is strongly rooted in the culture of both the artists. While celebrations carried on in their hometown, Kolkata, Pritha and Ronita were 1600 km away in Bangalore filming this project and embodying what meaning these celebrations hold for them as women from the community who are struggling to find their own path. Ronita’s movement research, inspired by what she calls “the sacred feminine” explored the dualities within her as a female-identifying person and whether that fits into the idea of “feminine” - power and vulnerability, grace and strength - what it means to be fierce and gentle.
The narrative questions the many “gazes” and why the feminine should conform to it. If I say I am feminine "What do you see? Where do you expect me to be and how? Does your gaze define me? Does your gaze limit me? What happens when I gaze back?” These are the questions that we embody in the film.

  • Pritha K.
    Director
  • Ronita Mookerji
    Director
  • Ronita Mookerji
    Key Cast
  • prithakay.art
    Producer
  • Pritha K.
    Concept
  • Ronita Mookerji
    Concept
  • Ronita Mookerji
    Choreographer and Movement Artist
  • Pritha K.
    Cinematographer
  • Pritha K.
    Editor
  • Pritha K.
    Voice Narration
  • Michael Wall
    Original Music
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    7 minutes 39 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    October 31, 2022
  • Production Budget:
    300 USD
  • Country of Filming:
    India
  • Language:
    English
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Dance On Camera, Lincoln Centre
    New York
    United States
    February 12, 2023
    #mydancefilm winner
Director Biography - Pritha K., Ronita Mookerji

Pritha is an intersectional movement artist, visual artist, researcher, and facilitator who seeks creative intersections of visual arts, movement arts, science, and tech to create safe, accessible, empathetic, and equitable spaces. Creating spaces for voicing/embodying narratives, making resources accessible/connecting communities across contexts is at the heart of her work.

She is the Co-founder/Co-director of Aramandi To Attitude, Associate Director of WE-Program. She has been training in different movement art forms like Bharatanatyam, Yoga, Kathak, Kung-fu, Shankar Technique, Butoh, and several contemporary dance styles for the past 23 years and has had her independent movement and visual arts practice since 2019. Along with her artistic pursuits, she has completed two degree-courses of Master of Science by research in experimental, theoretical, and computational ecology and evolutionary biology. She received scholarships to attend intensives with Jacob Jonas The Company, Flock, and Gallim, during which she ventured into dance filmmaking. Her films have been selected for festivals like Dance on Camera, Constructed Sight, Room, SWEAT (Hong Kong), Seoul Dance, etc.

Ronita Mookerji is a movement artist trained in Bharatanatyam, Odissi, Kalarippayattu, Classical Ballet, Contact Improvisation, and Contemporary dance techniques. She graduated with Honours from Attakkalari’s Diploma in Movement Arts and Mixed Media in 2009. She has also explored Jazz, Pilates, Kathak and Light Design. She trained with visiting artists in the following modules: Hip Hop with Storm (Germany), floor work with Kama Jezierska (Poland/ Iceland), the Flying Low Technique with Vangelis Legakis (Greece/ U.K.) and contemporary dance with Richard Siegal (U.S.A. / Germany / France), Contemporary Techniques with James Mac-Gillivray and Kayleigh Ann Crook from London.

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