Movie Month May 2023

The Department of Film Studies organized a “Movie Month” in the month of May, to observe the International Workers’ Day. The event included a series of weekly film screenings held every Friday in the second half, 1:45 pm onward pertaining to the theme of Working-Class struggles. Prof. Avigyan Banerjee of the Department of History delivered a brief talk, introducing the theme and the history of working class and workers’ struggles in the context of modernity.

The films which were selected for screening were Modern Times (Charlie Chaplin, 1936), Bicycle Thieves (Vittorio De Sica, 1948), and On The Waterfront (Elia Kazan, 1954). The screenings held in Room 234 on 12th, 19th, and 26th of May respectively, were open for all and were attended by students from different departments, teachers, and members of non-teaching staff. A total number of 80 students and staff attended the screenings and discussions. Out of the three films, it was Bicycle Thieves which was the most heavily attended screening.

On the final day after the screening was over, there was a brief discussion which was presided over by Mr. Arup Ratan Samajdar of the Department of Film Studies. Many of the students stayed back for the discussion and enthusiastically participated in it. Several interesting points such as questions of historical authenticity, ideological motivations, representations, etc. were raised, addressed, and debated for nearly an hour before the event to a conclusion. A number of students provided positive feedback and stated that they’d look forward to more such events in the future.