During his three month residency, Varun has been documenting the life of Setos – the people of a small kingdom Setomaa located at the Southern part of Estonia. In February, he will be screening two of his Indian films and some of the material from the Setomaa documentary. After the screenings, Varun would like to discuss with the public on the subject of his films. The events will take place on the following dates:
22.02.2017 | 18.00 | Estonian National Museum
An Indian film-maker in the land of Setos
Varun Trikha, a young film-maker from India, has spent a couple of months in Estonia, mainly in Tartu and Setomaa as an artist in the‘Tartu Artist in Residence program. He is making a film on what it means to be a Seto today and will present some of his research shoot. Varun is interested in how people connect to their cultural pasts through memories and dreams.
‘The Wall’ (31 min), a documentary made by Varun Trikha in 2016 will also be screened as a comparison. This film is a portrait of post-colonial Goa told through an elderly woman struggling with a traumatic past. How similar or different are the patterns of remembering in Goa (India) and in Setomaa? You can ask the filmmaker yourself.
Languages: English, Estonian. Free entry.
28.02.2017 | 19.00 | Tartu Elektriteater (Lai 37, Tartu)
Indian filmmaker Varun Trikham is visiting Tartu and presenting two of his short documentary films to audiences in Tartu Elektriteater on the 28th of February.
The running theme in both the films is that both talk about reconnecting to a cultural past. Both the films are also intimate portraits of Delhi and Setomaa.
While “The Seventh Wish” attempts to reimagine some lost women’s poetry in contemporary Delhi in order to reclaim a cultural past, “Where”s the land of setos?” uses dreams to reclaim the cultural losses amidst some traumatic memories of Setomaa.
“Where”s the land of setos?” explores how the seto culture is transitioning amidst some historical, political and cultural upheavals; told through two characters trying to make sense of what it means to be a seto in today’s surrealistic border landscapes of Setomaa. The film has been edited from the research shoot of an upcoming documentary. Since most of the film was shot during the very first encounter of an Indian filmmaker with Setomaa, it presents a unique interaction of a foreigner with Setomaa.
“The Seventh Wish”
Jinns/Genies are the spirits made of smokeless fire. They live longer than humans and thus, can elongate and preserve historical memory. But are they real? Rekhti poetry was written in late 18th and early 19th century Islamic cities of Lucknow and Delhi. It explicitly talked about the desires of women (mostly lesbian desires) in their own language. Were those desires real? ‘The Seventh Wish’ looks at the denounced poetry of Rekhti through it’s survivors – Jinns and desires.
Languages: English. Free entry.