As part of our Film & Documentary Screening series this month we bring to you two documentary shorts by Meghna Gupta. Deeply researched and cinematic, these two films explore the concept of the ‘other’.
Programmed by Vasudha Wantu
Unravel follows waste clothing on a journey across India, revealing how Western consumption habits are seen on the other side of the globe. Reshma, a young and perceptive worker in a textile recycling mill, dreams of travelling to the countries the cast off clothes are from. While Reshma and other women work, they construct an image of the West that the clothes spark in their imaginations, and share the rumours that travel with them. The film is based on the research of anthropologist Dr Lucy Norris. Unravel has been screened at over 50 films festivals worldwide and won over 20 awards.
duration 15min
Off The Grid: On a remote, off-grid island in Bangladesh, men routinely have to leave their families in search of jobs where industrial electricity exists. Solar energy brings a tiny spark of light and connection to women and children facing the isolation of life here. Guided by a young and ambitious solar engineer, we enter the homes of a mother of two and a young girl about to finish school. Off the Grid explores what the experience of a life without electricity means both emotionally and materially, as we go from light to dark over the course of a day. This film is based on the research of Raihana Ferdous, University of Durham.
duration 18min
Meghna Gupta is a documentary director and has worked in broadcast, independent film and created content for brands and charities over the last 7 years. She also produces fiction and is driven by story-telling. She’s worked for Channel 4, Al Jazeera, BBC Learning, The Princes Trust, The Gates Foundation, The Royal Academy of Engineers, to name a selection. Her work is cinematic and brought to life with a strong sense of empathy. She works to take an audience intimately close, and to create moments of spontaneity on screen. Her independent work has won over 35 awards on the film festival circuit including a Creative England Best of British and an Al Jazeera Jury Award. She’s also been one of 40 directors on Channel 4’s Spotlight scheme for BAME directors.
