KUMAR TALKIES (Reihe: REALEXISTIERENDER UTOPISMUS)

In the organizer's words:

IND 1999, documentary, 76 min

Director: Pankaj Rishi Kumar

Language: OmeU (Hindi with English subtitles)

Kumar Talkies' is the only movie theater in Kalpi, a town in northern India. It is little more than a run-down shed in one of the poorest districts of the city. Regardless of the program, a few people come every day to watch the films that are shown there. At 'Kumar Talkies' there are neither box office hits nor box office sweepers, because the principle of supply and demand does not come into play.

The documentary juxtaposes two worlds: on the one hand, the reality in Kalpi, where life has become very insecure due to the economic crisis, and on the other, the romantic and rebellious imagery on the movie screen, where the impossible is possible. These imaginary images have shaped part of Kalpi's collective consciousness. Everyday life in the city becomes clear in various interviews with the inhabitants and the interaction between the people of Kalpi and the film team. In the style of cinéma vérité, the small town is brought to life: disputes over the best seats in the cinema, conversations after the screening, political debates in the bazaar.

We are showing the film in a 16mm print from the archive of the Arsenal - Institute for Film and Video Art.
Guest: Annette Lingg from Arsenal - Institute for Film and Video Art e.V.

ENG: 'Kumar Talkies' is the only cinema in Kalpi, a town in northern India. It is no more than a derelict shed in the poorest areas of town. Every day s few people come to see the film being screened there, irrespective of what it is.
The documentary juxtaposes the real world of Kalpi, where the economy crisis has made life very uncertain, with the imaginary world of the silver screen, a world of romance and rebellion. Imaginary images that have started to form part of the collective consciousness of Kalpi. (Hindi with English subtitles)

Afterwards we welcome Annette Lingg of Arsenal for a talk.

Price information:

- 7.50 € (regular) - 6.00 € (reduced*) - 3.50 € (with Leipzig Pass, disabled pass, volunteer pass) - Films longer than 130 min: + 1.00 € - Tickets are available online (plus 0.70 € booking fee), remaining tickets at the Box Office.