Supermen of Malegaon

Colour, BETA SP
India, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, 2008, 52 min
Section: Another View

Synopsis

A documentary about the love of film, enthusiastic amateurs, and an Indian Superman. Supermen of Malegaon tells of a group of film amateurs living in the small eponymous town in a forgotten corner of India. They prefer shooting parodies of blockbusters, and filmmaking is an entertaining way for them to escape from a world of religious tensions and economic hardships. Witty, touching, and playful, the movie focuses on the preparations for and shooting of Superman – their own version in which Hollywood and Bollywood intersect. They run up against the difficulties of shooting against a green screen and with finding nonactors, but in the end they even teach their Superman to fly. Using gentle humor, the film sheds light on conflicts in contemporary India, and on the belief that joy in life can make things better.

About the director

Faiza Ahmad Khan graduated in 2002 from a course in social communications media and then worked as a production executive for an advertising agency. In 2004 she started shooting short documentaries. A year later she began working with director Manish Jha as an assistant on the feature Anwar. Supermen of Malegaon is her first feature documentary.