This paper brings forth an intersection between Indian Cinema, Indigenous studies and decolonizing anthropology. It presents an overview about various films made about indigenous/ adivasi/ tribal communities in India in the Hindi , Bengali and Telugu film industries. It describes the normality of mis-representation of the indigenous communities in Hindi Cinema and also emphasizes on the appropriation of the culture and traditions of various indigenous communities. The paper engages with the significant need for the indigenous/ adivasi/ tribal voices from the communities in the film-making.

The paper engages with the work of emerging indigenous filmmakers of the Chotanagpur area in the Eastern part of India, which is geographically located across the States of Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar and Chhattisgarh. In doing so, the paper analyses their films and uses personal interviews with filmmakers to inquire further into their journeys to understand filmmakers why they make their respective films. It underscores the change and shift in indigenous films, where the films are questioning and addressing the important social issues of their communities. The paper also highlights how these ethnographic films as well as current content creators in video platforms support the decolonizing of anthropology in the field of filmmaking by reimagining the future of adivasi filmmaking.

Authors:
Sneha Mundari, National Institute of Design, India

About the Presenter(s)
Sneha Mundari is currently an associate faculty at the departments of Design Foundation Studies and Science and Liberal Arts at the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, India.

See this presentation on the full schedule – Sunday Schedule

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