23 March 2018, 13:00, Birkbeck Cinema

This study day explored the work of Mani Kaul (1944-2011), by combining papers, discussion and a screening of Siddheshwari (Mani Kaul, 1989). Marking the beginning of our programme of Mani Kaul films at the ICA, this event sought to contextualise the filmmaker’s work, and to mark the connections between the experimental aesthetics used by Kaul and similar practices taking place within Indian cinema at the time. As an essay filmmaker, Mani Kaul engages with a broad range of subjects including the art, classical music, literature and theatre of India, and we will use this symposium as a space to reflect on the diversity and interdisciplinary nature of his films.
 
Film: Siddheshwari, Mani Kaul, India, 1989, digital, 92 minutes, Hindi with English subtitles

Siddheshwari is a film about the renowned Hindustani singer Siddheshwari Devi (1903-1977). Blurring fiction and documentary, Kaul’s film showcases his passion for Indian classical music.

Presentations:

Mani Kaul and his influence on Indian documentary cinema and beyond
Giulia Battaglia, researcher in anthropology of visual/art/media practices University of Paris 3 – Sorbonne Nouvelle, specialised in documentary film in India. 

1980s India and the weight of myth in Mani Kaul’s cinema
Valentina Vitali, Professor of Film Studies at the University of East London and director of the Moving Image Research Centre.

Guilia Battaglia and Valentina Vitali were joined in conversation by Anjalika Sagar and Kodwo Eshun, of The Otolith Group.

In collaboration with the Courtisane Festival and The Otolith Group, and with the support of Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities.