Proposition for a Revolution
| An Insignificant Man | |
|---|---|
| Directed by |
|
| Produced by | Anand Gandhi Khushboo Ranka & Vinay Shukla |
| Written by |
|
| Starring | Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Yogendra Yadav & Santosh Koli |
| Music by | Ola Fløttum |
| Cinematography |
Vinay Rohira |
| Edited by | Abhinav Tyagi & Manan Bhatt |
Production company |
Friendly People , Memesys Culture Lab |
Running time | 95 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language |
|
An Insignificant Man an upcoming 2016 Hindi/English Indian political thriller directed by Khushboo Ranka and Vinay Shukla and produced by filmmaker Anand Gandhi (known for his film Ship of Theseus),[1][2][3] and is about the rise of anti-corruption protests in India and the formation and rise to power of the Aam Aadmi Party (Common Man's Party).[4] The film received a standing ovation at its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival and has gone on to have sold out screenings at major festival across the world including the BFI London Film Festival & Busan International Film Festival.
The documentary is about the rise of anti-corruption protests in India and the formation and rise to power of the Aam Aadmi Party (Common Man's Party), which was an independent political faction that gained traction through campaigns against the corruption in Indian politics and was headed by political leader Arvind Kejriwal, and captures the day-to-day functioning of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) between December 2012 and December 2013, concluding with the Delhi elections.[5] The film was earlier known as "Proposition for a Revolution".
Crowdfunding
The movie was first conceived by Khushboo Ranka and Vinay Shukla as a way to continue the theme of documenting uprisings and protests happening around the world. Several documentaries had released about the Occupy Wallstreet movement in the United States, the Arab Spring protests in the Middle East and Northern Africa, and the protests of sovereignty and political corruption in The Ukraine, however there had not been a major documentary done about the Jan Lokpal protest movement in India.[6][7]
The makers of "An Insignificant Man" posted a 'plea' on their film site, making a case for the importance of their documentary, stating, "When we began shooting, nobody knew what lay in the future. Least of all, us. Today, we feel, we have a film that is a critical document, observing not just the evolution of a political party, but the gradual shift that we are beginning to witness in our political discourse. In the last year, we have been helped by friends who moved cities and jobs to work on this film and by colleagues who brought in their own resources. We managed to win the prestigious IDFA Bertha Grant for documentaries. We now come to you. Your support will enable us to make a better quality film in lesser time. It will also ensure that nothing can stop this film from reaching you. Please be a part of this conversation, and help us take it further. We have a host of exciting incentives too, do check them out on our page. We finished shooting a few months ago and now we need your help to take our film through post-production."[8] The film's site explains, "What is unique in the Indian story is that some of the protesters decided to form a political party and fight state-wide elections in New Delhi. This is the story of the Aam Aadmi Party or the Common Man’s Party. Proposition for a Revolution aims to chronicle the journey of the party from its formation in December 2012 to the Delhi state elections in December 2013."[8]
The crowdfunding campaign received unprecedented support. While the filmmakers had an initial goal of $20,000, they went on to receive a staggering $120,000, nearly 600% over their target. This was the largest crowdfunding campaign of its kind in India, hosted by the filmmakers on their own platform.
Production
The production of the film is being done through crowdfunding. This form of production has become increasingly popular in Indian cinema due to the rise of a major independent film movement in the country. In 2013, the film Lucia broke waves in India by being one of the country's first officially crowdfunded films to release in theaters and become successful. When asked in an interview with The Hindu, a major newspaper in India, on why the team chose crowdfunding, director Vinay Shukla said " [sic] Our film is a documentary set in contemporary politics and investors didn't find it an interesting proposition. Those interested in investing wanted to know if we were supporting AAP or against it," Not wanting to compromise the neutral stand of their film, the team opted for crowd funding.[9]
The film has won support from the Sundance Institute, IDFA & Asian Network of Documentary Fund. The film was selected for and won awards at the Hot Docs Forum Toronto, NFDC Film Bazaar WIP Lab & DocEdge Kolkatta.
Reception
Business Standard wrote that the documentary "reminds one of Jehane Noujaim’s Oscar-nominated documentary The Square which took a compelling look at the protests at Cairo’s Tahrir Square."[6] Screen Daily commented that "Combining exceptional access and deft editing, this documentary about the rise of India’s newest parliamentary party, the Common Man’s Party (AAP), and the divisive, charismatic man at its heart, makes for unexpectedly riveting viewing."
References
- ↑ IANS (31 March 2014). "'Ship of Theseus' team's next is 'Proposition for a Revolution'". Business Standard. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
- ↑ IANS (31 March 2014). "After Ship Of Theseus, Recyclewala Labs to make Proposition for a Revolution". First Post. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
- ↑ IANS (31 March 2014). "After Ship of Theseus, Anand Gandhi's next titled Proposition for a Revolution". Bollywood Life. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
- ↑ Bhattacharya, Budhaditya (20 April 2014). "Talking about a revolution". The Hindu. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
- ↑ Nagpaul, Dipti (8 April 2014). "People At the Fore". Indian Express. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
- 1 2 Bhatia, Ritika (12 April 2014). "Capturing a political revolution". Business Standard. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
- ↑ Selvakumar, Shaku (25 April 2014). "Chaikhana:A call for change". Financial Chronicle. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
- 1 2 Proposition for a Revolution filmmakers. "Filmmakers' Appeal". Retrieved 2 July 2014.
- ↑ Pahuja, Nisha (10 June 2014). "Help comes in small measures". The Hindu. Retrieved 2 July 2014.