Sapera(2019)

A Native Street in India(en)

Early film of a crowded street scene in an unidentified Indian city.

Fascinating India(de)

"Fascinating India" spreads an impressive panorama of India’s historical and contemporary world. The film presents the most important cities, royal residences and temple precincts. It follows the trail of different religious denominations, which have influenced India up to the present day. Simon Busch and Alexander Sass travelled for months through the north of the Indian subcontinent to discover what is hidden under India’s exotic and enigmatic surface, and to show what is rarely revealed to foreigners. The film deals with daily life in India. In Varanasi, people burn their dead to ashes. At the Kumbh Mela, the biggest religious gathering of the world, 35 million pilgrims bathe in holy River Ganges. This is the first time India is presented in such an alluring and engaging fashion on screen.

Naam Tha Kanhaiyalal(hi)

A very spellbinding story about the reel and real life of great old thespian Kanhaiyalal and his bygone era when Indian Cinema was at a nascent stage. The story tells about his inspiring journey from a confused, gullible youth to a mesmerizingly spontaneous actor. It also unfurls the turbulent phases of Kanhaiyalal's life where there is excessive alcoholism and the mysterious death of his son.

Ganges(en)

A journey that follows the Ganges from its source deep within the Himalayas through to the fertile Bengal delta, exploring the natural and spiritual worlds of this sacred river.

Buzz(en)

The anti-Slumdog Millionaire in documentary form, "Buzz" charts the tumultuous rise of India's most famous tattoo artist as he struggles to overcome the demons of his poverty-stricken childhood through art.

Marching in the Dark(mr)

In a drought-struck region in India, suffering from climate change and a high suicide rate amongst farmers, a group of resilient women farmers, who recently lost their husbands, is coming together with a local psychologist to learn counselling and help others in grief.

Tight: The World of Indian Bodybuilding(en)

Can Aji's talent and triumphs elevate him from his poor, Tamil background to succeed on the national stage at Mr India? Or will his dreams be shattered by corruption and discrimination? The booming world of Indian bodybuilding is a captivating window through which to observe a rapidly changing society, while Aji's journey is a story of unity, brotherhood and celebration of India's incredible diversity.

BOMgAY(en)

Based on the poetry of R. Raj Rao, Bomgay is a collection of six vignettes that depict the underground and complex nature of the gay identity in urban India. Part Genet, part Bollywood, this film combines acidic verse and insightful imagery to reveal the emerging gay community in the post-liberalized India of the 1990s.

This Exists - A Film about Sri Prem Baba(pt)

The story of Sri Prem Baba, spiritual master and humanitarian leader with followers around the world, begins when a 14-year-old from Sao Paulo, Brazil, had a vision that said: 'go to Rishikeshi, India'. This story is delightfully told by himself leading us through the odyssey that would turn an ordinary boy into Prem Baba. Memories of friends, admirers and followers take us along the paths of the prosperous therapist who sank into a deep existential crisis and finally found India, where he would devote himself, after much debate, to his master and his destiny. A rich journey of enlightenment that brings us precious reflections on the meaning of life and the role of each one on this planet.

Father, Son and Holy War(hi)

Filmmaker Anand Patwardhan looks to history and psychology as he delves into the possible reasons behind the demolition of the Babri Mosque.

Secrets of the King Cobra(en)

A new scientific expedition follows the King Cobra into the wild for the first time.

Tiger: The Elusive Princess(en)

After 25 years of the Project Tiger Scheme operating in the Madhya Pradesh, these magnificent animals have become more trusting, permitting an extraordinary intimate film which follows them from sunrise to sunset, in monsoon rains and in shimmering heat

L'âme indienne Martiniquaise(fr)

Struggler(hi)

Children Of The Soil(hi)

A thought provoking short film on Indian farmers told through clay sculptures made from barren farms of the farmers who have committed suicide.

Around India with a Movie Camera(en)

Award-winning filmmaker Sandhya Suri (I for India) skilfully weaves together archive footage to create an emotionally resonant story about life across India from 1899 to 1947. Drawn exclusively from the BFI National Archive, Around India features some of the earliest surviving film from India as well as gorgeous travelogues, intimate home movies and newsreels from British, French and Indian filmmakers. Taking in Maharajas and Viceroys, fakirs and farmhands and personalities such as Sabu and Gandhi, the film explores not only the people and places of over 70 years ago, but asks us to engage with broader themes of a shared history, shifting perspectives in the lead up to Indian independence and the ghosts of the past. Around India boasts a superb new score that fuses western and Indian music from composer and sarod player Soumik Datta.

Tins for India(en)

The manufacture of kerosene tins in an Indian factory.

The Last Maneater: Killer Tigers of India(en)

Sunderbans (Forest of Beauty) is in West Bengal, India, and is the only place on Earth that is the natural habitat of Royal Bengal Tigers that have never known to be fearful of humans. One tiger has been known to kill three fully grown men, leaving behind orphans and widows who belong to poor tribes, dependent on harvesting wild honey and fishing, in a swampy mangrove region. About 80 people are killed annually by these ferocious beasts with razor-sharp jaws, whose forepaws can shatter bones, and sharp teeth can pierce a skull in one bite. Amidst religious superstitions, the narrator attempts to explain the cause behind their taste for human meat in a region devoid of electricity, roadways, firearms and safe drinking water, and why the villagers continue to live there despite of being stalked and mauled on land and water alike.

Lords of Lockdown(hi)

Anxious, out of work and without access to transport during the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, migrant labourers in India’s metropolises decided to walk back home to their villages en masse. As news channels beamed heart-rending silhouettes of millions of men, women and children marching along national highways with their meagre belongings, it became plain that the lockdown had already drafted one of the most traumatic chapters in the nation's modern history.

The City Of Death(en)

A travel film combining the sounds and essence of the city of death, Varanasi.