Tins for India by Bimal Roy
1941 | Documentary | English | 7 mins. Ever wondered about the number of uses an empty kerosene tin can be put to? This film tells us that the kerosene tin is as common a sight as a palm tree Read more
Category: View Finder
Films curated from around the world for your viewing pleasure. Every week, discover different creative voices and ways of seeing. Reimagine reality, with old gems and new.
If you would like to submit your own work for consideration or share recommendations, write to us here.
Indian Durbar by John Hanau
1938 | Documentary | English | 10 mins. The “rich and vivid spectacle” of the Durbar held for the Maharaja of Alwar (in Rajasthan) is captured in ravishingly beautiful colour in this travelogue. The condescending commentary grates, but the stunning Read more
Delhi by Hans Nieter
1938 | Documentary | English | 9 mins. After a brief historical and architectural preamble, the film moves into an extended sequence that shows the Jama Masjid and stunningly coloured saris among the gardens of the Red Fort. Then it’s Read more
A Road In India by Hans Nieter
1938 | Documentary | English | 9 mins. The sights of India as seen from the perspective of a dusty road. This portrait of ‘the enigmatic and disturbing East’ is big on exoticism and cliché, but Jack Cardiff’s Technicolor cinematography Read more
The Garden by V.G. Samant
1986 | Animated Fiction | English | 5 mins. An animation film with a message of national integration. It shows how children can be made aware about secular ideas against all kinds of violent ideas emanating from religious fundamentalism.
Gandhi ji Through The Eyes of The Cartoonist by Shaila Paralkar
1997 | Animated Fiction | Hindi | 9 mins. A life sketch of Mahatma Gandhi seen through the eyes of the cartoonist. Surbhi Dewan, Curator at ViewFinder, Saachibaat.com
Munni by Bhimsain
1976 | Animated Fiction | Hindi | 9 mins. An animation film about water conservation. It starts in a small town afflicted with severe drought. All the water in the wells and river has dried up. Munni is desperate to Read more
The Thinker? by A.R. Sen
1981 | Animated Fiction | English | 9 mins. Through a play on the figure of Rodin's ‘Thinker’, this animated film about environmental pollution looks at man's journey from caves to cities.
Wives and Wives by Pramod Pati
1962 | Animated Fiction | English | 4 mins. In the mighty task of building a new India everybody in the country has his or her effective role to play. So has the housewife. This is what the cartoon depicts Read more
A Ship From Guantánamo by Dara Kell and Veena Rao
2021 | Animated Documentary | Arabic | 6 mins. Imprisoned without charges for over 20 years, Moath al-Alwi finds solace and joy in making intricate ship models out of found materials.