My first film festival! MAMI 2016

A twitter handle I follow was discussing privilege today, a concept I spend a lot of time thinking about. So its apt to write about a film festival from a point of view of privilege. Its a privilege, that I live in a world where films are accessible to enthusiasts and I got to attend one such festival in Mumbai recently.

An admirer of the core team of Mumbai International Film Festival, I always wanted to attend it. I casually asked KT if she would like to attend it and just like that we booked our passes almost a month ago. The schedule got out more than 2 weeks before the festival. With pen, paper and google maps in front of us, we started chalking out a plan to maximize watching movies and minimize travel time. The good part was the festival movies were being screened at 5-6 theaters (most of them PVRs). Since we were interested only in movies and not other stuff like sessions, interviews, panel discussions etc, it made planning easier. We had short listed 7-8 movies before the schedule came out, that we wanted to watch, so we kept on revolving around those choices. Unfortunately some of our short listed movies were not at the locations we wanted or were not being screened till day 4. (I was going to attend it only for 3 days, because work and the fact that I live in Pune and cannot ditch office for so many days! :-( ) Still, we managed to chalk out a pretty good plan for the 3 days. Every day the online pre-bookings would open at 8 am for the next day so that you could pre register for a film and get a guaranteed seat. On day 0 and day 1 there were some glitches with Bookmyshow, but we nevertheless managed to get tickets for all the movies we wanted to watch. Walk-ins were also allowed based on availability, if you showed up directly at the theater.
Without going into much background I'll dive straight into what we watched and my views on what I felt of the movie.

Death in the Gunj
Trivia (you can skip) - It was the opening film of the festival. The screening was at Regal, Colaba. Its a mecca for old cinephiles cos of its charm and 'town feels'. The show was to start at 7 pm. We reached well in advance to collect our MAMI pass/id, but decided to grab a bite at a cafe nearby. The rules were simple - if you had pre-registered, you were supposed to report 15 mins in advance and stand in queue. By the time we got back from the cafe, the queue had circled to the back of the theater. So, many people had pre-registered! We got in line only to find out that the show was not going to start before 7.30 pm. Being the opening film, the entire crew was going to show up so there was going to be red carpet entry. We patiently waited and after all security checks got inside Regal by 8 pm. Its the most well behaved and polite crowd I had seen in a long time. No raised voices, angry rants, only patient waiting till we were showed inside. The cast and crew arrived by 8.30 and a brief thank you and introductions from Konkona Sen Sharma (the director) the show finally began! I was sitting in the theater with the entire cast and crew of the movie for a movie screening, a first for me! It felt kind of unreal. Another thing I observed was no one bothered anyone from the cast and crew before or after the show. The festival crowd is my idea of random people I want to watch movies with on a regular basis (as weird as it sounds).
My views on the film - It's a good debut movie. It's clean, belongs in good hands and has a heart, most times in right place. But the writing to me felt under developed. I could not feel anything for any characters. Few characters were straight uni-dimensional. The casting, acting, background score, relationship between tani and shutu worked really well for me! Sadly nothing remained with me once the movie was over. I guess that's what I was hoping for. But its worth a watch.

Neruda
Trivia (you can skip) - We watched it on day 2 at Regal. It was a 3.15 pm show, where we reached once again before time. This time there was a very short queue so we got great seats at the balcony. Regal's seating capacity is 1100+ and they also had seats reserved for Regal royalty, the press and gold members. Despite that we got good seats. Win! 
Pro tip - no need to pre-book tickets for a show at Regal.
The show started at sharp 3.15 pm. I know it sounds sacrilegious, but I dozed off for a minute during the movie, because of the accumulated tiredness from the night before (had reached home at 2 am after watching Gunj).
My views on the movie -  Neruda is a story about an imbecilic policeman in search of Neruda who is on the run and in hiding. It is a must watch. Its surrealistic storytelling works because of the flawless editing. At some point you are not sure if you are a character in a book or real. At least I felt so. There is a particularly stunning scene where a performer talks about his meeting with the famed Neruda. If it does not move you let me know. And if you dig Spanish language and the accent like I do, you'll enjoy it even more. A lot of people I follow on twitter are saying that this movie may win an Academy award or two. Reason enough ?

Lo and Behold - Reveries of a connected world
Trivia (you can skip) - It was scheduled on day 2 at PVR ECX at 8.30 pm. After a change of local trains from Regal, and ricksaw ride later we were at the Citi mall. We decided to grab a quick dinner at the food court at the adjacent Infinity mall (the PVR at infinity was also another screening location btw). We got back to ECX by 8.15 and were met by a long queue outside the auditorium. KT decided to go and ask at the entrance what this queue was about and the volunteer told us that it was for walk-ins and the pre-registered folks were already inside! We tried to explain her that we did not realize there were 2 lines so would she let us go. But she stood by the rule and asked us to get back in the walk in line. I am always impressed when people follow rules to make things fair for everyone. Fortunately we got in and found really good seats (again!). Our neighbor was also chatty and we exchanged quite a trivia and reccos before the movie began.
My views on the movie - It was a documentary by Wener Herzog. And it worked for me. Aside from the fact that I work in software technology, as an active user of the internet, I often wonder about what this all means. It explores all aspects of the web, reminiscing how it came into being, where its going, whether we got it right, what the future will be like, will it work on Mars etc etc. Herzog's voice is so haunting that it made some of the topics it focused on quite think-time worthy.

Elle
Trivia (you can skip) - It was our first movie for day 3, scheduled at 10 am at PVR ECX. We made it to ECX by 9.45 am only to find long security check queue at the entrance. We heaved a sigh of relief, as they let us use our pre-booking privilege despite the walk-in line. Also, ran into Varun Grover at the security check. Fangirl win! The movie started at sharp 10 am.
My views on the movie - Without going into any details, its a movie about rape. Elle was twisted and brilliant. It took down all my standard notions around the topic and trashed them. The script, director and the protagonist just refused to treat 'Michele/Elle' as the victim. Also, Isabelle Huppert deserves many a nominations and subsequently awards for her matter of fact yet bold portrayal of Michele. They have created a character which cannot be deconstructed without giving oneself a headache. Great writing, great direction. I just cannot stop thinking about the movie.

The salesman
Trivia (you can skip) - My last movie of the festival. It was a 5.15 pm show at Regal. After Elle, we grabbed a lazy lunch at a thali place and kept on discussing the movie. Why did she do this, why did he do this, what was that, what was this, so on and on. We reached Colaba well in advance so did some roadside shopping to take our minds off Elle. Again grabbed some great balcony seats at Regal.
My views on the movie - It's classic Asghar Farhadi. Finding conflict in urban lives and stretching regular people to their limits. Arthur Miller's 'death of a salesman' is the central theme of the movie. The lead pair of the movie play the salesman and his wife in the movie. How a change of house, brings about a drastic shift in their relationship, is what the movie focuses on. There are moments of great tension and empathy and you just want to make everything work for everyone. This is a movie of how than what. I also felt the movie really was about an old man (who is a salesman in the film). Another great watch from the master.

I also wanted to watch certain women, endless poetry, after the storm, my life as zucchini and red turtle at the festival. (this list is making me exceptionally sad btw) But could not because regular work life calling me and I needed to return to Pune. May be next year I'll plan a pilgrimage to Mumbai for the 7 days of the festival. Until next year then ?

Italy

Read previous posts here (Brussels), here (Brugge), here (Amsterdam) and here (Cologne).

Pre-script - words and picture heavy post.

Our tent was on the far right not
in this picture. We camped
below this rock mountain!

After an eventful week in Belgium, Netherlands and Germany and recovering from an unwanted twist of turns, we were kind of set for our next adventure i.e. Italy. N was also going to join us. We were going to visit the region in north Italy around Lake Garda and attend a music festival. To top off this unconventional choice of a holiday location in Italy, we were also going to camp for 5 days. Which meant setting up our own tent in the beautiful valley located at the foothills of the Italian Alps overlooking lake Garda.

Before that let me tell you about the amazing adventure we had to reach Riva Del Garda (the base town of the festival). And before going into the details, let me give a huge shoutout to N for the meticulous travel planning! 
So we started from home early in the AM on Wednesday (27th July). Took the train to Cologne airport and boarded the plane to Milano (Milan). We arrived in Milan by 10 am to be welcomed by a slight drizzle. I was quite inappropriately dressed (tee and long pants and shoes and a light jacket) for the humid and hot Italian weather. But hey! I was being extra cautious because of the health issues. Then we boarded a bus to Desenzano from the Milano airport. An hour long ride later we were in the beautiful Desenzano around noon. As Paglet and I set camp at a roadside cafe and ordered lunch, N went ahead and took care of our ferry tickets. We were greeted by sunny weather, a nice touristy vibe and lots of European tourists. By this time, I was baking in my attire, but I decided to stick with the clothes, because good health can do wonders to your vacation ;).

Ferry view from one of the lake ports.

After a lunch of Pizza(!) we were ready to board the ferry to Riva del Garda. The ferry was to be 3-3.5 hours long and would take us from the southern side of the lake to the north most tip of Riva! Our desi skills of tackling the crowds came in handy and we ended up with great seats on the ferry. Its upper deck was closed, so it meant we would view the surroundings from our closed cabin. 

We switched ferries at one of the lake towns (I think Lago di Garda) and started our final leg to reach Riva. Now this ferry's upper deck was open so we got all excited and rushed to get the best seats. All the unease from 10+ hours of travel vanished into thin air. Poof! just like that.  Let me also tell you, all the seats on the upper deck were best seats. As we soaked in the lake, the towns and views and the surprisingly cooler air, our spirits were rejuvenated. We got down at Riva around 4.30 pm. Now we only had to catch the shuttle bus to the campsite which was few kilometers away. After few unsuccessful attempts to get directions for the bus station from the locals, some kind English speaking folks finally understood us and made sure we were on the right track. With our backpacks on and spirit in right place, we walked on, wowing at the town and its sights. Since we had not had a proper meal the entire day, we settled the argument for dinner and decided to eat in the town. As I waited for dinner to be served in an open air cafe, N and paglet explored the town and bought some breakfast and other groceries for the campsite (who knew at what time we would get food at the festival!). It was not so tough to get a vegetarian meal. We arrived at the shuttle stop around 5.30 pm, now tired from the day long commute. There we ran into few other folks who were also going to the festival. They told us that the next shuttle was not until 8 pm. Unable to wait any longer, all of us called for a taxi and started for the campsite. The driver was a talkative fellow and we all got along pretty well. 20 minutes ride later, we were finally at the festival site. As soon as we got out of the taxi, it started to pour! I am not kidding. It rained so hard that we ran with all our luggage to a safe spot. That safe spot turned out to be a pizza place. We made more acquaintances there. Around 7 pm, after the rain had subsided we started the hunt for our camp site. 

Now, the rains made it really tricky, as everything was damp and wet. Little annoyed by this embuggerance, we found a good enough spot below the rock mountain which was shaded by a tree. There was a caravan parked to one side, so we did not know who our neighbor was. Again thanks to N, the camp-laying exercise was a breeze. He was so meticulous and guided us along the way. (for some reason none of us clicked a picture of our beautiful tent). It had really been a hard and long day. We had traveled by all modes of transport, air, road, train, water and foot! We had successfully found a good enough spot to camp and without killing each other had raised the tent. We went to the pizza place again and called it a day after a sumptuous pizza meal. Since it was day 0 of the festival, there were no performances. 

Festival ground. The yellow, red tent was the pizza place.

Sleeping in a tent came easily to me than I anticipated. The last I slept in a tent was in forth grade, on a school trip. It was a tent shared among 10-15 girls. 20 years later it were 3 of us sharing a really cozy one! We had created a living room area for sitting, breakfast, other stuff and shoes. I can say for myself that I slept like a log that day. Although I was up by 7 am. Occupational hazard of being a runner y'all! So I got out of the tent and was pretty surprised to see the entire neighborhood was taken! To our left there was a ford focus with someone trying to erect a tent on its roof. Some smiles and hi-hellos later, I started with introductions. They were a couple in mid forties (I gauged, was polite enough to not ask) who had driven all the way from Belgium to attend the festival. They were pretty surprised to see an Indian girl at this hipster festival. I did explain to them that I was on vacation and had plans to travel further. I just wanted them to know my music interest was meager and it had not driven me to embark on this cross continental travel. (this couple also knew Pune, as one of their nephew had worked there).
I then headed to use the restroom and brush my teeth. I had not noted it the night before, but this place had open showers and those shared loos. There went my plans for a good bath. Also, the water pipeline on our side of the tents was broken so we had no showers. Great for me, cos a shy Indian girl even trying to use an open shower would have been so so awkward! When I broke this news to Paglet and N, they did not look surprised at all. I mean it was such a big deal for me and their reaction was a disappointment. We then headed for some morning chai, coffee and thankfully most of the vendors had opened their stalls. Some chai and croissants later we were just sitting there, lazying around. This was my first day of the vacation without any plan. We chatted, walked around, drank more chai, tidied our tent, changed into fresher clothes, and went about doing nothing. Since I am so great at doing nothing, I read my copy of the Museum of Innocence. I also tried to just lay in the sun but हो ही नहीं रहा  था 
Thankfully the day did pass peacefully. It was day 1 of the performances. So we got ready around 5 pm and went straight to the festival grounds. It was an Italian Reggae band who were kicking off the festival. I did not understand a word of their songs, but I immensely enjoyed the music. It sounded energetic, fresh and catchy. Also, let me also make it clear that it was the only band I really enjoyed and liked, as for the rest of the days I went to sleep by 11 pm. Yes, I am not a music festival person. But, in my defense I am a nature person, I enjoyed all the natural beauty surrounding us. I also learnt the art of 'dolce far niente' to my good and took it to new levels in the next few days of my stay in the Italian Alps.

View with the food!

On day 2 we started off early and took the shuttle to Riva. We were all set to explore the quaint little lake town. Our first stop was a cafe where we had chai/coffee. After spending an hour doing nothing we started scouting for a lunch destination. So there were a line of restaurants facing the lake front and we did not have to debate much. We settled for this view ->
I don't remember the name of the dish I ate, but it was some kind of pasta. Duh! After a 2 hour lazy lunch, we headed to the beach. Of course, there was a pit stop for a Gelato, on the way. We found a nice spot beneath a palm tree. Paglet and I went ahead and tried to take a dip in the lake, but I was so so scared of getting drowned that I just dipped my legs and like a scared little puppy retreated to our spot. And indulged in what I do best when left alone. I got done with half the book that day!

When in doubt, open the book and start reading!

We got back to festival grounds by 6 pm and changed into fresh clothes for the evening. I called it a night pretty early around 11 pm, while paglet and N continued attending the performances. It was weird to sleep alone in a tent. The music playing in the distance helped. Thankfully there were quite a few nocturnes so I was not spooked out. I was amazed how peaceful sleep I got in that tent, during those 4 nights!

My kind of corner in this vast universe :)

On Day 3, I headed off to Riva on my own. Paglet and N decided to stay back. The only agenda I had was to enjoy my own company. I mean I love my company. But I was not sure whether in an unknown land I would be comfortable being in my skin. I enjoyed my alone lunch, a feat for me. I think I can now comfortably say that I have crossed that internal barrier of eating alone and moved to a territory where I have accepted eating alone is not some sort of disease. In fact, now whenever opportunity pops up I look forward to eating alone. On day2, I had already scouted for a less crowded spot under a tree, to spend my afternoon by. ->
I managed to sleep here listening to the waves, I also lazed on each of those benches (few not in the picture) soaking in the sun and I also finished few more chapters of the book. As I lay on the lawns my eyes fell on the bookshop housed in the adjacent building. I immediately made plans to go sit there. Sadly all the books there were in Italian. The reception lady was kind enough to find a picture book with english titles for me. I read through the entire book and Riva's history. The town and the entire area around lake Garda was destroyed during world war I, being really close to Austria. The book had before and after pictures of the town. It was surreal to sit in modern day Riva and read all that. Time travel anyone ?
Satiated with my day alone, I had now started missing Paglet and N. I made it in time for the 6 pm shuttle back to the festival. Changed into fresh clothes and attended a few performances. Again went back to sleep by 11 pm. 

Picture from N's camera. Serene right ?

Everyone had started leaving by day 4, as the festival was almost over. Since we had no plans we decided to stay back. It was an uneventful day spent doing nothing. As luck would have it, it rained heavily throughout the night and well into the morning of day 5. We were all safe and sound inside the tent, but we ended up sleeping for 13+ hours. When rains finally stopped it was 1 pm. When we got out, all tents around us had vanished. I think people had left the open grounds and rains as soon as they got a chance. It took us 5 mins to make the same decision. We packed the entire tent and our belongings in a record 1 hour, caught the next shuttle back into Riva, found a good hostel and booked it for our last night in Italy. We walked around the town that evening, ate a very good lazy dinner at a local restaurant which had the most quirky ambience. Sleeping on a proper bed after 4 days in the jungle felt like such a welcome change. On day 6, we got ready by 10 am and checked out to head in respective directions. 

Paglet and N headed back to Cologne. I started last leg of my travel with the solo trip to Austria. Exploring this part of Italy was unbelievably refreshing. It was not at all crowded. We met some amazing and interesting folks and I think I reconnected with myself after a long long time. 

beautiful views!

P.S.
Expenses:
Stay - none for first 4 days. 1 night at the hostel cost ~ 40 Euro
Food - Around 200 Euro for the 5 days
Shuttle/transport - 50-60 Euro for 5 days, includes ferry, train and bus tickets.
plane tickets - 40 Euro each to and fro (We had booked the flights 4 months in advance with Ryan air)
Festival tickets - 75 Euro (early bird price)
Total - 430 Euro for 5 days and 5 nights

Cologne - Part Une

Read previous parts here, here and here.

Cologne (or Koln. Very interesting stories about how it got the name btw) was the next pit stop in my journey. Owing to our super health status, we reached there 2 days earlier than planned. As soon as our bus made its final stop, we got down only to collapse in N's arms. Ok not literally. I added that dramatic bit. But I cannot tell you how relieved we felt after seeing him and getting hugs from him. I was in a better position so I was guarding our bags and Paglet had collapsed on the nearby waiting bench. A 20 minute cab drive later, we reached home, cozy home! N cooked some delicious soups for us (Veg for me, chicken for Paglet). We popped our medicines and went off to sleep. Only to wake up on Sunday, 10-12 hours later. Sunday was spent in resting. Eat, sleep, talk repeat. 

As they say in Koln, home is where the Dom is!

By Monday, we both were feeling much better. So risk takers that we are, we headed out for a mini tour of Cologne. Did I mention yet that my friend Paglet volunteers as a tour guide in Cologne at CYHIT. So the real tour of Cologne was to happen during my later stopover. Anywho, we went to Dom (Cologne cathedral) and love locks bridge (Hohenzollern Bridge). The Dom was spectacular. To imagine a 600 year old building still standing today, been witness to so much history, was mind-blowing. We also went inside, soaked in its beauty and history. Also, noticed that the Dom is visible from everywhere. Its freaking HUGE!!!
Pop culture aside, the bridge was really nice to walk on. It crosses over the Rhine and gives really pretty views of the city. 
(I could not help but roll my eyes at the money people spend to pay for locks and seal their love on a bridge. Also my opinion, no offense to anyone.)
Being out for just 2 hours tired us and we decided to go back home. On the way back, we also visited N and Paglet's new home, in a nice, quiet neighborhood.  Ended the evening with some home cooked food and going to bed early like good kids.

Clear skies and a view of the bridge!

The next day, Paglet's dry cough was back. So she decided to rest, as we had to leave for Italy soon. So I used her bus pass to visit the El-DE haus, one of the many many museums Cologne boasts of. Paglet had warned me that it would not be an uplifting experience. And oh boy! was she right! It was so depressing. I took the audio guided tour so it added to the misery. EL-DE haus was a Gestapo prison (later concentration camp) in the middle of a bustling residential area in Cologne. A lot of innocent citizens were rounded up and crammed here for investigation. The basement had chambers whose walls were carved with desperate messages and cries of these brave but poor souls. I was so bummed to be there. But I told myself to brave through all the stories. Because if these people could live through it, I could listen through it. Some of the survivor's stories were painted on the walls with timelines. I also read through all of them. Needing some fresh air after this heavy dose of despair, I went to an open space behind the house. It felt good to be there. When I walked up to a wall, what I read sent shivers down my spine. 40 people were executed in that open space, in the middle of the city, without anyone ever noticing it. And I was standing there! I was not sure whether I should laugh or cry.

So I trudged on. Upper 2 stories of the museum were more about Hitler and Nazi regime's rise in Germany. I had always known Hitler was a bad guy, but understanding what and how bad becomes bad was an eye opener. They also had a special room on the 3rd floor. This room housed the household materials of the inhabitants of the upper few stories of the building. Remember, it was a normal looking residential building which housed a prison in the basement. I am not sure when was the last time I had felt so sombre. I ended up spending 3-4 hours in the museum. After that I was in no mood to do anything so headed back home.

We spent the evening packing bags for next 5 days in Italy. With our health in check it was finally beginning to feel like a vacation.

P.S. Expenses: I did not spend a penny in Cologne, as I was staying with friends and eating home food and using their bus pass. The ticket to El-DE haus was 4-8 Euro if you take the audio option.