Documentary Films - Competition 2009 / Wagah / Germany, India, Pakistan 2009
Until 1947, India and Pakistan were part of British India. The peculiar "festival” of symbolically closing the border, which takes place each evening at Wagah, the lone border crossing, connects for a symbolic moment two nations that, after decades, still feel like part of a unified region.
Each night Wagah, the only crossing along the more than 3000 km India-Pakistan border, becomes the locus of an exceptional event. Crowds of people observe the symbolic spectacle of the closing of the border, trying to get as near to the gates as possible in its aftermath. There they greet former friends and acquaintances – their neighbors until the 1947 partition of the country. In contrast to its tenor, this peculiar "festival,” seen through the eyes of three young DVD sellers, represents the lone daily moment when, at least symbolically, the two nations are rejoined.
14 min / Color, 35 mm
Director Supriyo Sen
/ Screenplay Supriyo Sen
/ Dir. of Photography Ranu Ghosh, Najaf Bilgrami
/ Editor Szilvia Ruszev
/ Producer Henning Kamm, Fabian Gasmia
/ Production DETAiLFILM Gasmia & Kamm GbR
/ Contact DETAiLFILM Gasmia & Kamm GbR, Kurzfilm Agentur Hamburg
Supriyo Sen lives and works as a screenwriter and director in Calcutta and Delhi. His latest film, Wagah, is the third installment of a trio that includes the documentaries Way Back Home (2003) and Hope Dies Last (2006), treating the theme of the partition of India and Pakistan. His feature film debut is currently in the works.
DETAiLFILM Gasmia & Kamm GbR
Eppendorfer Weg 57a, 20259, Hamburg
Germany
Phone: +49 406 094 0944
Fax: +49 406 094 0946
E-mail: [email protected]
Kurzfilm Agentur Hamburg
Bodenstedtstraße 16, D-22765, Hamburg
Germany
Phone: +49 40 39 10 6328
Fax: +49 40 39 10 6320
E-mail: [email protected]
Henning Kamm
Producer
Fabian Gasmia
Producer
Sade Pilot
Producer
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