Wednesday, October 15, 2008

John on his film Amma Ariyan (A Report to Mother) & the statment about odessa in the film at the beginning

in the meeting held in thrissur recently, the amma ariyan collective has decided to launch a critical evaluation of the Odessa movement. as a beginning i would like to post the following.

Amma Ariyan is a totally different film. There are references of so many incidents in this film; there is a journey; there is angst because of death; A youngster's feelings after seeing a dead body; At the same time, the past and current political situations of Kerala, ie: references of things happened in the 1960's and 70's. There's imagination, dreams and all are mixed as a narrative, will make Amma Ariyan.

When I thought about making Amma Ariyan, I also thought of film movements in India. There was a plan to launch a Pan Asia (or Parrellel Cinema) based in Mumabi, but could not because of a vicious circile in the main stream film industry at that time.

Filmmakers lament that their good films are not watched by the common mass, neither the distributors take it nor the exhibitors screen it, where as the reality is that People would love to watch it and are watching but the filmmakers are not showing it to them. Instead of releasing it in city centres, you have to make 16mm prints and go to villages. Yes people are watching it.

-John Abraham in an interview to R. Nanadakumar

The statement by Odessa in the film Amma Ariyan.

Odess tries to communicate the reality of how a film co-operative can reach out to People. Odessa has reached out to many. It is succeeded in producing good films. Most film portray reality by exploiting its economic, cultural and political aspects.

Odessa's "A Report to Mother" fulfils the ideal of film as a medium of art. It shows how the appreciation of art can be distilled through the production of good films. We must develop film cooperatives by making and screening more films. We much help each other sincerely by creating new standards of social awareness.