Jharkhand’s first Science Film Festival

Lohardaga, a small town in Jharkhand, played host to the first Jharkhand Science Film Festival on Friday.

On the first day of the three-day festival, thirteen films and documentaries were shown. Siddharth Agarwal, the producer of the 105-minute documentary Moving Upstream: Ganga with English subtitles, was on hand to answer questions from the audience.

Spring Thunder filmmaker Sriram Dalton was also on hand to talk to the crowd after his film had been shown.

There are many layers of history to Jharkhand's rich mineral heritage in Spring Thunder, a sociopolitical drama. Despite the fact that Jharkhand possesses India's greatest coal and iron ore deposits, "more than half of the state's population lives in acute poverty," the director remarked.

In addition to Spring Thunder,  Akash Rajput's My Life as a Snail, Biju Toppo's Jharia, Gauhar Raja's Ek Khubsurat Jahaaz, Yousuf Saeed's Yashpal: A Life in Science, and Mohan Anandrao Dhuldhar's Ankur, were all shown on the same day.

 Jean A. Evangelista’s animated film Citsalp, the documentary Blind Cap directed by Arjun Bhagat, the short documentary Virodh, Vidroh aur Vigyan directed by U.N. Nayak, the documentary Kachare se Tawanai by Obaidullah Ralhan, and the documentaries Pressure and Dhangars of Goa directed by Kabir Naik were screened as well.

"In a tribal-state like Jharkhand, it's the best thing that could have happened. We urge our citizens to adopt scientific thinking and abandon their superstitious beliefs in order to improve the quality of life,” Shriprakash, director of Buru Garra and Buddha Weeps in Jharkhand, remarked. The director  believes that regular screenings of these films in smaller cities would inspire the next generation of scientists.

Film festivals in smaller towns will be held in the near future by Science for Society's Lohardaga branch. Over the course of the three-day festival, 45 films will be shown in a variety of genres, including documentaries, shorts, animation, and features. The festival will feature more than ten directors.

The festival was opened by Lohardaga Deputy Commissioner Waghmare Prasad Krishna, who commended the Science for Society team for putting the event together.

"It's an admirable effort. All of the films at the festival are excellent and should be viewed and savored. The development of scientific thinking and assistance in nation-building will benefit the general public, particularly children in school and the general public,” according to the Deputy Commissioner.