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India (1/2)
Social, historical and cultural perspectives on life in the Indian sub-continent, including films about the tourism business, everyday family life in various levels of Indian society, and films about Indian approaches to the education of young people.
AGE OF REASON, THE
2004 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 87 min
In this fifth and final film in his Doon School Quintet, filmmaker David MacDougall focuses on the life of one student at Doon school, an all-boys academically selective boarding school in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India. more
ARNAV AT SIX
2014 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 28 min
A child's complex view of the world around him more
AWARENESS
2010 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 67 min
Filmed in South India at Rishi Valley School, founded by the 20th Century Indian thinker Jiddu Krishnamurti, Awareness explores the sensibilities of two groups of young Indian teen-agers - a group of girls in their dormitory, and a group of boys in theirs — as they live out their daily experiences at the school. more
BEYOND THE ROYAL VEIL
2003 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 52 min
BEYOND THE ROYAL VEIL takes us on a surprising often humorous journey behind the lavish facade of Indian aristocracy into the lives of two men who have opened up their palaces to tourism, selling the 'royal experience'. But can they save their inheritances without sacrificing their dignity? more
BOOT CAKE, THE
2009 (G) 74 min
A small desert town on the edge of western India's famous salt plains is the unlikely home of the world's largest population of Charlie Chaplin impersonators. The Charlie Circle of Adipur embraces businessmen, shopkeepers, a doctor who prescribes Chaplin movies for medicinal purposes, teachers, engineers, students and... more
CHILD'S EYE, THE
2018 (G) 147 min
AVAILABLE ONLY ON DVD! Through a series of workshops across India, documentary filmmaker David MacDougall sought to empower young filmmakers to engage directly with the world around them, using cameras to interrogate and explore what they saw, from their own unique child's perspective. more
DEATH IN THE CITY
2022 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 72 min
An intimate portrayal of the sacred city of Varanasi, situated on the holy Ganges, 'the river of life'. The city is the revered destination for death for Hindus since time immemorial, with legendary funeral pyres burning non-stop for over three millennia on the river bank. more
DIYA
2001 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 55 min
DIYA examines the lively social life surrounding one object, a small terra cotta oil lamp called a "diya" used in India in religious ceremonies. It is central to the Hindu festival of Diwali, "the festival of lights" and the film begins in the increasingly frantic days before this major celebration. more
DOON SCHOOL CHRONICLES
2000 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 140 min
Filmed over a two-year period by David MacDougall, this film looks at the life of Indian middle-class boys as they experience the effects of institutional, national, and global pressures during the transitional years from childhood to adulthood. more
GANDHI'S CHILDREN
2008 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 185 min
GANDHI'S CHILDREN is an award-winning film by David MacDougall about abandoned or orphaned boys living in a charitable Home in one of the poorer quarters of New Delhi, India, building a society of their own within the institutional environment. more
HYBRID LIFE - group 3 of 3
2001 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 104 min
A series of programs which examine the lives of the children and the grandchildren of Australian migrants. This group from the series consists of 4 episodes: THE BRIDES OF KHAN | DEAR BERT | DELIVERY DAY | SPARKY D COMES TO TOWN. more
KARAM IN JAIPUR
2001 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 54 min
This third film in the Doon School Quintet follows the main protagonist of With Morning Hearts into the next phase of his life in Jaipur House, one of the five main houses of the school. more
KOTLA WALKS - performing locality
2006 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 92 min
This film tells the story of the residents of Kotla Mubarakpur, an 'urban village' in South Delhi, focusing on the family of Sarita and Raman Bhardwaj, their friends and neighbours. more
MY MOTHER INDIA
2001 (PG) 52 min
Director Safina Uberoi traces her parents' history. Her Australian mother married a Sikh and moved to India. There they bought up their three children and survived the anti-Sikh riots of 1984. The autobiography features family photos, historical footage and interviews with the family particularly with Uberoi's mother,... more
NEW BOYS, THE
2003 (G) 100 min
THE NEW BOYS provides a comparison to the group viewed in With Morning Hearts, for these boys appear more divided and class-conscious. Within the group there is a range of personalities and backgrounds - some are natural leaders, some subject to teasing and bullying, some argumentative and some peace-makers. more
PHOTO WALLAHS
1991 (G) 60 min
Renowned ethnographic filmmakers David and Judith MacDougall explore the many meanings of photography in this profound and penetrating documentary. The film focuses on the photographers of Mussoorie, a hill station in the Himalayan foothills of northern India whose fame has attracted tourists since the 19th century. more
ROBERT FORTUNE - THE TEA THIEF
2002 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 52 min
Behind the story of a simple cup of tea is a tale of espionage and intrigue captured in a documentary by Melbourne filmmaker Diane Perelsztein. The cup that cheers has a complex, often dark history. The story of tea is a tale of politics, economics and spirituality, of espionage, art and the drug trade. more
SCHOOLSCAPES
2007 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 77 min
In this film David MacDougall explores a famous progressive school in South India, the Rishi Valley School. Inspired by the cinema of Lumière and the ideas of the 20th century Indian thinker Krishnamurti, this film is dedicated to the simple act of looking, in which each scene is a single shot. more
SOME ALIEN CREATURES
2005 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 74 min
A film about the famous experimental, co-educational boarding school in South India, the Rishi Valley School, founded by the influential Indian thinker Krishnamurti. more