This section showcases non-fiction and experimental works produced by Sandeep Ray from 1994-2020 (see IMDB). Some of these films are available at the libraries of several universities or through DER in Massachusetts. Others can be requested directly.
The Sound of Old Rooms 2011, 72 mins., India.
The Sound Of Old Rooms filmed over 20 years, traces the life of Sarthak, an Indian man who juggles his desire to be a poet with the practicalities of raising a family. As a college student he had time to drink with friends and discuss his writings; now with work commitments, he struggles to continue his dream. The crumbling home where he was raised and still lives with his nagging but affectionate mother, wife and young son is extremely cramped; he sleeps, as he has since a child, surrounded by books. Sarthak leads us through Kolkata’s bars, apartments and alleyways as he tries to understand life and find meaning in his work.
Distributed by: Documentary Educational Resources
Grand Prize, Taiwan International Documentary Film Festival, 2012
Selected for ‘100 Years of Indian Cinema’, Bradford International Film Festival, 2013
Pusan International Film Festival, 2011
Dubai International Film Festival, 2011
Sydney Film Festival, 2012
International Documentary Film Festival, Jihlava, Czech Republic, 2012
In Competition, Asia Pacific Screen Awards, 2012
Jean Rouch International Film Festival, Paris, 2012 DOX:CPH Copenhagen International Film Festival, 2012. Iran Cinema-Verite Film Festival, Tehran, 2013 Osians Cinefan Film Festival, New Delhi, 2012
Reviews
Sandeep Ray’s Sound of Old Rooms Resonates in the Heart
Meenakshi Shedde, DNA India, 12/16/2011
Sandeep Ray and Storytelling Economy
SBS Documentary Australia, 12/2011
The Case for Global Film Roy Stafford, In the Picture, 18/04/2018
Documentary Traces Poets Life Over 20 Years
New Indian Express, 25/09/2014
Doc. Shot Over 20 Years!
The Hindu, 09/22/2014
‘Old Rooms’ is Nostalgia for the Present News 18
American Anthropologist
Harjant S. Gill, Vol. 118, 3, 2016
Safe (work-in-progress) 2021, Greece/Norway
Filmed in Istanbul, Greece, and Norway, ‘Safe’ follows the journey of Abeer, a Syrian aid worker and mother to four daughters. Abeer was forced to separate her family in order to secure a new future for them and must come to terms with this painful decision.
A middle-aged tourist wanders around a stunning island in the Pacific Ocean. Something is troubling him.
Concorto Film Festival, Italy, August 2015
A woman in her eighties undergoes debilitating medical treatment. This short, intimate film lingers on her isolation, hospital visits, growing fatigue and an obsession with the mango tree outside her window.
Best Director, AsiaAfrica Shorts, Dubai International Film Festival Dec 2013,
Concorto Film Festival, Italy, August 2014
13th International Short and Independent Film Festival, Dhaka, Dec. 2014
Festival International Signes de Nuit, Paris, Dec. 2014
This area next to the border with East Timor, is inhabited by locals going back several generations as well as a sizeable population of newcomers, or ‘Warga Baru.’ ‘Warga Baru’ are those people who crossed the border with East Timor after the referendum in 1999 and settled in Indonesia. Initially classified as IDPs they were the focus of several government and NGO programs aimed to better the conditions of a destitute people who fled to a new country often carrying nothing with them. The salient observation in this film is that 10 years after the referendum in East Timor the two communities have integrated rather well, yet pressure on the resources of a hard, dry area has led to sporadic violence often unrelated to the geographic origins of the perpetrators.
Five years since the Helsinki Agreement brought peace to Aceh, the province has undergone enormous social and political changes. Filmmaker Sandeep Ray talked to the Acehnese about their frustrations and aspirations over a period of 10 months, culminating in a 40-minute film that was first screened in Jakarta in May 2010. In the Aftermath of Peace: Hope and Struggle in Aceh (Indonesian w/English subtitles), features candid comments from former GAM separatists, widows of combatants, village leaders, government officials, NGO workers and political analysts (Rizal Sukma, Sidney Jones, Lilianne Fan). The film probes some of the important questions pertaining to this nascent post-conflict region: Has compensation been fair and adequate? What has been the impact of development and reconstruction assistance? Is there a possibility of Aceh relapsing into conflict? Weaving in interviews, news clips, and contemporary footage, the documentary explores the complicated and sensitive issues of compensation, reintegration and peace-building.
Reviews
Aceh’s Uneasy Peace in Focus
Jakarta Globe, 05/25/2010
This film, shot in Indonesia in 1999, gives us a rare insider’s look at the beginnings of democracy during a period of political unrest and economic turmoil throughout the country. On the island of Kalimantan, a Dayak village organizes a sit-in to protest the destruction of their agricultural land and the desecration of sacred funeral sites by a multinational palm oil company. During the sit-in, eleven community leaders are arrested on charges of vandalism. We follow the fates of Petrus Dukung and Benyamin Tawwakng, the two young Dayak leaders, as they face a corrupt political and judicial system. The involvement of human rights lawyers, student groups, and other activists bring the Dayak struggle to the attention of the media. We witness the power of organized demonstrations as activists question their government and voice doubts about the court’s commitment to justice.
Distributed by: Documentary Educational Resources
In Leaving Bakul Bagan a 19 year-old girl, prepares to leave Kolkata for higher studies in the United States. The film is an intimate portrayal of her interactions with her family during her last few days at home. It is full of casual conversational humor and vignettes from typical familial interactions. Incidental to the time and woven into the film are the effects of race riots throughout India in the aftermath of the destruction of a Mosque by Hindu fanatics. This incident precipitates an already brewing political debate about the ethics of leaving for America, especially on the eve of such a tragic political disaster. Shot in cinema-verite style, Leaving Bakul Bagan has the grace and the flow of a dramatic narrative.
Outstanding Student Video, New England Film and Video Festival
Directors Citation, Black Maria Film Festival Jury
Commendation, Royal Anthropological Institute Film Festival, UK
Jury Award for Outstanding Documentary, New York Expo for Short Films
Distributed by: Documentary Educational Resources
Reviews
Going to America: Leaving Bakul Bagan
Mira Reym Binford, Visual Anthropology, Vol. 9, 1996
DESIGNED TO DREAM/OBAMA IN JAKRATA, 2010, 3 MINS.
Namibia, 2005
‘Sandeep not only re-affirms my faith in documentary but also in the fact that god is in the details.’— Nishtha Jain, Academy Member, Director, Gulaabi Gang
‘Dear Mr. Ray… The Greenway project has enjoyed such early success thanks to the efforts of countless dedicated and talented individuals. I am especially grateful for your contribution.’ — Edward M. Kennedy, United States Senate, 12/7/2005
“There is never a moment when we feel that we are voyeurs or that the scenes are being manipulated for the camera.”
— Roy Stafford, In The Picture
