Sonipat (Haryana) [India], April 1 (HBTV): As part of the ongoing celebrations marking fifteen years of O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU), the Jindal School of Journalism and Communication (JSJC) hosted its first international documentary film festival from March 21 to March 23, 2025.

JGU Vice-Chancellor Prof. (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar inaugurated the festival, stating, ‘Today is an era when we can safely say that good films can be made purely on the power of an idea.’ Registrar Prof. Dabiru Sridhar Patnaik added, ‘This festival is not just a celebration of cinema; it is also a celebration of storytelling, human resilience, and truth.’

Explaining the festival's focus on documentaries, JSJC Dean Prof. Kishalay Bhattacharjee said, ‘Recently, it is the documentary that has brought international recognition to Indian cinema. Documentarians aren't simply journalists; they are exploring the truth about the human condition.’

The festival, named after the Kos Minar—a medieval distance marker along the Grand Trunk Road—showcased experimental works by young and emerging filmmakers. Traditionally, Kos Minars served as waypoints for travelers and royal couriers. JGU, overlooking one such Kos Minar, positioned the festival as a hub of global communication, facilitating discussions between filmmakers, film enthusiasts, and students.

The festival opened on March 21 with a tribute to legendary filmmaker Kumar Shahani, who passed away on February 24, 2024. The keynote address, Remembering Kumar, was delivered by noted film scholar Ashish Rajadhyaksha, who highlighted Shahani’s diverse interests, including the global history of cotton, D.D. Kosambi's reading of the Mahabharata, Buddhist iconography, Indian classical music, and the Bhakti tradition.

The opening film was Payal Kapadia’s A Night of Knowing Nothing, an award-winning documentary from the 2021 Cannes Film Festival that explored the anxieties and aspirations of Indian youth. This was followed by Prachee Bajania’s Umbro, a short film on Gujarati women finding time for friendships amid their routines, and Flickering Lights by Anupama Srinivasan and Anirban Dutta, which chronicled a village’s seven-year wait for electricity near the Indo-Burmese border.

Day 2 featured two recent Sundance Film Festival winners—Sarvnik Kaur’s Against the Tide and Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing’s Midwives—which depicted struggles of marginalized communities in Mumbai and Myanmar, respectively. These films were presented by Docedge Kolkata - Asian Forum for Documentary, a key platform supporting independent documentary filmmaking in Asia.

Later, Sreemoyee Singh’s And, Towards Happy Alleys took audiences through Iran’s streets, blending music, poetry, and personal narratives. During a Q&A session, Singh shared her experiences as a filmmaker and researcher, detailing how her fascination with Iranian cinema and culture led her to document the lives of Iranian women.

Day 3 showcased Haobam Paban Kumar’s Phum Shang and Raja Shabir Khan’s Shepherds of Paradise, both depicting the precarious existence of marginalized communities in Manipur and Kashmir. Filmmakers engaged with students in a technical session, discussing their craft and challenges.

The festival also featured short experimental films by Berlin-based Palestinian filmmaker Basma Al Sharif and a collection of films on climate change, presented by the Alt Eff (All Living Things Environmental Film Festival). Event partner and global streaming platform MUBI organized special film quizzes, offering exclusive merchandise as prizes.

The Kos Minar International Documentary Film Festival highlighted the power of independent filmmaking in bringing untold stories to new audiences while embodying JSJC’s interdisciplinary spirit. Over three days, it provided a window into diverse landscapes, struggles, and triumphs, reinforcing cinema’s role in fostering empathy and truth.

(HBTV)