Kolkata: Srishti Garg, a 17th-batch student of SRFTI, brought laurels to the film school as she won a special jury mention for her film, ‘Lunar Birds’, at the 18th International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (IDSFFK) on Wednesday. The film is inspired by the ‘Reclaim the Night’ movement.Made with a crew, comprising Sneha Malakar, Shivani Yadav, Vinod Kumar and Pranay Kotangale, the Hindi-Bengali-English short documentary follows a group of women reclaiming dark streets as spaces of ordinary freedom in Kolkata.“The film winning at this time echoes the strength that women and SRFTI students have despite the negative propaganda about us,” said Garg, who thanked her SRFTI professors, Madhavi Tangella and Sankhajit Biswas, for their guidance.A Delhi girl, Garg joined SRFTI in 2019. “I am saddened by the Sunday events… I was devastated by the live videos… We, along with other film school students, staged a demonstration at IDSFFK,” she said. Garg described her film as one about freedom of movement for women at night in Kolkata and India. “The idea of this film came after the RG Kar incident. I joined some Reclaim the Night marches. At that time, the then Bengal govt had mandated a reduction of night shifts for women. In my 24-minute film, I tried to explore desire, solitude, labour, fear and the quiet threat of violence.”Recounting the making of the film, Garg said, “Seven women went out for a night walk in Kolkata. We interviewed 50 women trying to understand their perspective of night and the relationship they share with it.” Describing their fieldwork encounters, she added, “On our walk, we met different people. Some bikers gave us catcalls. After a while, when we mustered enough courage, we screamed back at them. The film’s narrative is anchored by an intimate letter from me to my mother, reflecting themes of longing and hope.”
