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HomeActivitiesArt & CultureCinematographyVideo/ Film
Last updated: Feb 25, 2021

Aurofilm

Aurofilm
Aurofilm
Aurofilm is Auroville’s cine-service. It is a department of SAIIER, promoting research and study of the creative, artistic, educational and cultural values of cinema. At the Sri Aurobindo Auditorium in Bharat Nivas, every Friday evening,  a film is shown, selected from a wide range of categories - Indian, western and international,  recent or ‘classic, children’s films, documentaries, , experimental, etc. Every year (in February or early March) a 3-day film festival is held in the presence of film directors, actors or film critics. Aurofilm’s office/studio is located in Kalabhoomi in the Cultural Zone of Auroville. Film making through hands-on workshops, lectures on films, history of cinema and related issues are organised at the time of the festival or at any time during the year.

History & Activities

Aurofilm, the cinematic film department of Auroville, was started in 1981 (being one of the earlier SAIIER activities for education, research and culture in Auroville) and since its beginning has been dedicated to the promotion of cinema in its artistic, cultural and educational sense. This is done in a spirit of research, study and information made accessible to Aurovilians and visitors, and is materialized mainly through three branches of activity:

  • Regular film shows for the community of Auroville.
  • Running of film workshops to prepare the basis for a future Film Institute in Auroville, including a film production unit.
  • Other related activities.

Film Shows

From the start, Aurofilm was registered as a Film Society affiliated to the Federation of Film Societies of India (FFSI). At that time, films were received from this organization (in 16mm format), together with films from cultural centres of foreign embassies and from government film libraries. Today, thanks to the use of 35mm cine-equipment, selection possibilities are much wider.

The weekly film projections are held in the Sri Aurobindo Auditorium (570+ seats) in Bharat Nivas – the Pavilion of India – where there is a projection room equipped with a set of two 35mm cine-projectors. Every effort is made to present a wide selection of films, from many different countries, both recent and “old”, chosen for their cinematic and cultural qualities. Yearly, one or two ‘film festivals’ are organized based on a particular theme or filmmaker, with special emphasis on the new Indian cinema. Guests related to cinema are invited.

Film Workshops

Film workshops are aimed at facilitating opportunities for studying cinema in general, as well as all the processes required to make a film, and for eventually establishing in Auroville a film production unit able to fully handle the production of films. For the time being, the workshops run whenever there is a project for making a film (documentary or fiction) or upon students’ demand relating to some particular field of study. From time to time, we organize a workshop in collaboration with a school of Auroville or the surrounding villages to give awareness on what is cinema thus opening the youth to the real scope of the 7th Art.

For the activities of the workshop, Aurofilm makes use of certain basic equipment in Auroville, but also uses the facilities of film laboratories, sound recording/mixing and editing studios in Chennai if required and whenever funds are available. The plan is to organize more of these activities and experiments for the benefit of interested Auroville students and friends of Auroville – of all ages – throughout the year.

Other Activities

Whenever possible, personalities from the film world are invited to give talks or present films in Auroville. Such events were organized with Mr. S.T. Baskaran, historian of cinema, Mrs. Lygia Matthews, director of “Light on the Water”, an award-winning documentary on the Snake Boats of Kerala. Mr. P.K Nair, former director-cum-curator of the National Film Archives in Pune, came twice to animate sessions on Indian Cinema and present our film festival. Renowned film director Adoor Gopalakrishnan spent 2 days in Auroville attending a 4-day festival of his films. For the Panorama of Contemporary Indian Film Festival 2010, film director Shaji N. Karun was the chief guest. Anurag Misra, director (PFF) of the DFFI, Directorate of Film Festivals in India, New Delhi, was also invited. Later the same year, a Spanish delegation invited by the Spanish Cultural Pavilion of Auroville, presented 2 recent Spanish films which were followed by a round table discussion.

Meanwhile, as much as possible, Aurofilm’s management tries to attend International Film Festivals in India to keep themselves updated on recent films. On such occasions it is also possible to meet certain film directors and distributors for the purpose of organizing rental of films, or for inviting the directors to share their work and research in Auroville.

A next step for Aurofilm and Auroville will be the foundation of a Film Institute, which includes the building of a proper movie hall – a “Cinematheque” (or film archive) so that projections, retrospectives, festivals and film studies for schools or anybody in Auroville can be proposed at any time. The purpose of this Institute is to promote quality cinema and provide information about this art in a spirit of discovery, excellence and creativity.

Ph. 0413-2622037
E-mail: aurofilm@auroville.org.in

Write to Aurofilm

Temple tree : a recent video production by Marko Bosko for Aurofilm.



See also
Auroville Film Institute https://www.auroville.org/contents/4732
Auroville Timelines https://www.auroville.org/contents/4733


With the support of SAIIER, we Aurofilm team & Ann R. invited and hosted the visit of reputed Ladakhi film director Stanzin Dorjai Gya, who is also a great ambassador for Ladakh, sharing their culture and the environment issues they are facing.

In Auroville from 6th to 11th of December he presented several of his movies at Cinema Paradiso and some in Auroville and Outreach schools, with Q&A sessions. We also organized his visits to some units and Auroville projects linked to environment, which he appreciated a lot.

We are happy to share here a collage of pictures and also a link to an Auroville radio interview with Stanzin!

https://www.aurovilleradio.org/interview-with-stanzin-dorjai-gya/

Gratefully

Aurofilm team

_________________________________________________________________________________

Aurofilm & Cinema Paradiso hosted the second film festival called “PIFF -  Pondicherry International Film Festival” last September. Promoted by a Delhi based company, “Pickurflick - Curated Indie Cinema”. We are pleased to report and share that it was much better than last year in terms of selection of films, participation of renowned film directors including actors, who with great generosity, passion and joy shared with the audience about the making of their films and interesting anecdotes. All responded in the same way to the questions and concerns of the spectators in the Q&A sessions held in the MMC Auditorium at Town Hall.

8thPanorama of Contemporary Indian Cinema

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  • Vision

  • The Auroville Charter
  • A Dream
  • To be a True Aurovilian
  • The Galaxy Concept of the City
  • Matrimandir - Soul of the City
  • Founder: The Mother
  • Visionary: Sri Aurobindo
  • Words of Wisdom
  • Integral Yoga
  • Activities

  • Matrimandir
  • Planning & Architecture
  • Green Practices
  • Education & Research
  • Art & Culture
  • Health & Wellness
  • Social Enterprises
  • Media & Communication
  • Rural Development
  • City Services
  • Community

  • Auroville in Brief
  • Testimonials & Support
  • Organisation & Governance
  • Society
  • Economy
  • History
  • People
  • What You Can Do

  • Visit & Stay
  • Volunteer & Intern
  • Study in Auroville
  • Join Auroville
  • Workshops & Therapies
  • Donate
  • Shop
  • Contact Nearby Centre
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