Film and masterclass with creator and PhD-researcher at RITCS, Kinshuk Surjan.
About the film
Rural regions in India suffer a high suicide rate among farmers. A group of women farmers who recently lost their husbands, have decided to meet a local psychologist and activist to share their stories and problems and help others in their grief. In this act of silent rebellion against a patriarchal society, the 28-year-old introverted Sanjeevani finds the courage to be self-reliant.
Intent on providing a better life for herself and her children after the suicide of her farmer-husband, Sanjivani struggles not only against the structures of a patriarchal society that incapacitates and renders invisible widows like her, but also with the mountain of debt left by her late husband. It is only when she joins a discussion group with other farmer-suicide widows that she discovers that she is not alone with her despair and grief – the suicide rate among peasants who took their lives in the face of crop failures and dumping prices on the globalised market is harrowing: 400,000 in the last twenty years. Empowered by community, shared stories of resilience, and unexpected solidarity, Sanjivani cautiously forges a path forward. With stunning cinematography and a warm empathetic eye for his protagonists, the director manages to render a careful representation of a complex subject.
Since its release at CPH:DOX in Spring 2024, the documentary Marching in the Dark has been on an impressive journey not only in international film festivals, but also within India, where the film was screened in cinemas, festivals and community centres on multiple locations. Now the film has been released in selected theatres in Belgium. Screening in presence of director and PhD candidate at RITCS, Kinshuk Surjan.
About the masterclass
'Cinema (process, ethics, and aesthetics) as an act of empathy and solidarity' with Kinshuk Surjan in conversation with Gawan Fagard and the audience.
Often, filmmakers are told not to seek change but to ask the right questions. But when working with vulnerable communities, can we remain passive?
This masterclass explores empathy, solidarity, and impact through cinema. How is empathy structured within the cinematic apparatus? What can cinema do beyond representation? How can we create reciprocating, collaborative filmmaking? How can we be better allies to those we work with? To what extent can cinema amplify everyday resistance in precarious conditions? Does this contradict a director’s concern for set narratives, composition, light, and soundscape in a practical and philosophical manner?
Beyond the film’s sensory experience, how can film stand in solidarity with widowed farmer women? Should impact be expected only after the film is finished, or can the process raise awareness and foster change? Can a film emerge from a broader engagement rather than merely crafting a narrative?
About the speakers
Kinshuk Surjan is an Indian filmmaker based in Brussels and in Bhopal, India. His film Pola (2013) won the Indian National Student Film Award for Best Film & Best Script. During his master at DocNomads, his short film Divided Lines was screened at the 2015 Jihlava FF. His graduation film De Flandrien (2017) won the Wildcard of the Flemish Audiovisual Fund. All films were broadcast on CT1, WDR and VRT. His first feature documentary Marching in the Dark premiered at CPH:DOX in 2024. Currently, Kinshuk Surjan is finishing a PhD in Arts at the RITCS/VUB. His doctoral research deals with the precarious situation – often leading to suicide – of peasant families in India.
Gawan Fagard is a film scholar and writer focusing on notions of film community and empathy in cinema. He’s co-founder of Cinemaximiliaan and currently a lecturer at Université libre de Bruxelles and RITCS School of Arts where he is teaching philosophy and cultural theory.
This public event takes place in the framework of the seminar on ‘philosophical questions’ by Gawan Fagard at RITCS as well as in the framework of FUTURE NARRATIVES and Kinshuk Surjan’s PhD research project that he developed parallel to the making of Marching in the Dark.
FUTURE NARRATIVES VI, that means a whole year of research events at the RITCS. Artistic research and reflection will be made visible in workshops, lectures, screenings, reading groups, you name it. FUTURE NARRATIVES VI runs from October 2024 to June 2025, targeting students and teachers, as well as all interested outsiders, inside and outside the cultural field.
