Vikalp and Prithvi Theatre are celebrating the completion of the first year of their association on Monday, February 25th 2008, with a Special Anniversary Screening.

The Vikalp@Prithvi team has shown a range of Indian and international documentaries such as Martin Scorsese's tribute to Bob Dylan 'No Direction Home', Amudhan R. P.'s 'Vande Mataram - The Shit Version' and 'Seruppu', K. P. Sasi's 'America America', Anand Patwardhan's 'Images You Didn't See', Davis Guggenheim's 'An Inconvenient Truth' featuring Al Gore, Shai Carmeli Pollack's 'Bil'in Habibti', Laura Poitras' 'My Country, My Country', Errol Morris' 'Fog Of War', Stalin K's 'India Untouched', Dana Budisavljevic's 'Straight A's', Elle Flanders' 'Zero Degrees Of Separation' and Alisa Lebow and Cynthia Madansky's 'Treyf'.

Although the screening of Sanjay Kak's uncertified film 'Jashn-e-Azadi' was stalled by the police, Vikalp initiated a discussion on 'Censorship of Political Thought'. The filmmaker garnered tremendous support for the film at this discussion and the various speakers aptly contextualized the 'cop intervention'.

The team kicked off the new year with 'Water From Heaven' by Wawan Sumarmo and 'Palestine Is Still The Issue' by Tony Starks at the Prithvi House. (Prithvi House now has a much larger, comfortable seating capacity!)

You can now join them for their anniversary screening on Monday, Feb 25th at Prithvi Theatre. It will be a treat for both music and film lovers.

Starts 7 pm, Prithvi Theatre, Juhu:

THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF LOUIS ARMSTRONG
65 mins.
Director John Akomfrah; Producers Lina Gopaul, David Lawson.

The Wonderful World Of Louis Armstrong is a definitive portrait of bandleader, composer and actor Louis Armstrong, one of the most influential musicians of the 20th Century. Armstrong revolutionized jazz, and, consequently, popular music, during the early part of the 20th century, first in New Orleans, then in Chicago.

Armstrong's biographers put together his fascinating history using interviews with his colleagues and former sidemen, archival music and photographs, home movies, a number of film clips from television appearances, and footage from his tour of Africa as the Ambassador of Goodwill.

Festivals/Awards Gold Digital Award - Cheonju International Film Festival 2001.

The Director John Akomfrah has produced a wide range of innovative work that explores narrative and aesthetic possibilities within the documentaries and fiction films. Akomfrah's work takes a deliberately questioning approach to documentary films.

John Akomfrah's first film 'Handsworth Songs' was awarded the BFI Grierson Award for Best Documentary Film in 1987. His biography includes more than 15 documentary films including ' Martin Luther King - Days Of Hope', 'Seven Songs For Malcolm X' and 'The Last Angel Of History'.

John's feature film work includes 'Testament', a film about African exile set in Ghana. This was followed by 'Who Needs a Heart', a portrait set in the swinging 60's and 'Speak Like a Child', a story of three old friends with a shared secret of a murderous past.

He is a governor of the British Film Institute.

*****
Starts 8.30 pm, Prithvi Theatre, Juhu:

THE SPEAKING HAND
Zakir Hussain and the art of the Indian drum
104 mins.
Director Sumantro Ghosal.

The Speaking Hand charts the Late Ustad Alla Rakha's son Zakir's growth from the by-lanes of Bombay to his current fame as a world musician. Ustad Zakir Hussain has not only re-defined the sound of the instrument, he has also enlarged its scope by connecting with a range of musical cultures both at home and abroad. In the course of this exciting history we experience first-hand the unforgettable magic of his fingers through his performances and concerts. The concerts in the film are linked by interviews that give the film a unique structure and charm. Excerpts from the Planet Drum tour featuring Mickey Hart, Babatunde Olatunji, Sikiru, Airto Moreira and Giovanni Hidalgo in a breath-taking celebration of world rhythms.

Director's Note:
Although I had started listening to Indian classical music at a very young age, my passion for it was accompanied by a singular lack of knowledge that left me uneasy about exploring the subject cinematically. A chance meeting with Zakir changed that and set me off on a path of discovery.

"It's good that you know so little," said the Ustad with disarming candour. "Perhaps you could actually discover things afresh for your audience." The logic seemed unarguable at the time. Over the next three years, as I repeatedly confronted my ignorance, I realised it had nothing to do with the validity of the argument. I had simply succumbed to Zakir's legendary charm.

The Director Sumantra Ghosal started his visual career by taking photographs (principally of his two dogs) at a very early age. After several years of this, when both of them died, he decided to explore a wider range of subjects. This led him to advertising and he continued to work in the profession for over 25 years. He has been awarded a Clio and the Prix National at Cannes in recognition of his work.

Entry for both films is free!

*The above information is courtesy Vikalp@Prithvi. Mumbai Theatre Guide takes no responsibility for change in schedule.