Author: Surbhi Dewan

Twenty twenty-one has been a long and exhausting year for many of us. So this week, let us enjoy a visual treat that will give our logical-left brains some much-needed rest. At 1 min 40 seconds, PES’s ‘Fresh Guacamole’ is Read more

Here is a personal animated documentary that evokes mixed feelings, much like this time of the year. Director Alex Widdowson describes the film and the motivation behind it: “My brother, Jamie, has a profound learning disability. Despite being close to Read more

Every year, thousands of quilt-makers descend upon Paducah, Kentucky for its annual quilt competition, doubling the town’s population. “The Academy Awards of quilting” is a weeklong spectacle in which quilters from all over the world vie for the coveted Best Read more

A teacher travels across Japan to encourage adults to cry more. ‘Tears Teacher’ is a conventional documentary film about an unusual topic. Hidefumi Yoshida, a tears therapist, teaches adults that crying in an essential ingredient for a healthy life. There Read more

This film delves into the chaotic life of a new mother, who thought that maternity leave would become a sort of easy sabbatical. Filmmaker Henriette Rietz starts her film on a triumphant note. Just having given birth, she feels invincible, Read more

An emergency-services operator tries to help a woman and her child when a house fire threatens their lives. The film begins in a hub of activity where emergency-services operators are responding to a variety of crisis calls. We soon meet Read more

This film takes inspiration from the poetry of the 18th century Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai, widely held to be the greatest Sufi poet of the Sindhi language. This week we take a break from fiction and non-fiction stories, and look Read more

In rural India, where the stigma of menstruation persists, women make low-cost sanitary pads on a new machine and stride toward financial independence. After last week’s fiction film about family and grieving, here is another film by the same team Read more

A dead car battery leaves Safa stranded alone in a strip mall parking lot. This week we return to fiction with a nifty short film. A young woman, Safa, is going about her day when suddenly she finds herself stranded Read more

The story of a rodent’s unrelenting quest for happiness and fulfillment This is a story about the capitalist way of life – a literal rat race, where ‘happiness’ is up for sale. In the film, the rats are easily distracted Read more