A rare treat awaits lovers of poetry, films and arts in Delhi this weekend. The 5th Sadho Poetry Film Festival 2015-16 will be held here on November 14 and 15 from 6.30 p.m. onwards at Alliance Francaise, which is located 72, Lodhi Estate.
The Sadho Poetry Film Festival is the first and only film festival of its kind in Asia. Initiated in 2007, it has showcased nearly two hundred poetry and poetic films from forty-two countries in its previous four editions and has held screenings in sixteen Indian cities.
This year's main event in Delhi will feature over twenty short poetry-films from sixteen countries, with a different set of films each evening.
The films are based on the works of poets like the Nobel laureates Pablo Neruda, Tomas Transtromer and Wislawa Syzmborska, among others. The films include entries from Belarus, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Ukraine, UK and the US.
The films range from one to seventeen minutes in duration and showcase many exciting experiments with animations, multimedia, visual forms and even sign language poetry. Some of the films this time are - 'We are all Captured Beasts' from Russia, 'Questions of Travel' from UK, 'Khonsay - a Poem in Many Languages' from the US and 'Kafka' from Ukraine.
For those attending the festival for the first time, each evening will begin with a selection of some of the finest films from the previous editions of the festival.
The second Sadho Poetry Album comprising poems by India's leading literary figure Kunwar Narain in his own voice, will also be released at the festival. The album carries thirty-two poems chosen by the poet himself from his work spanning over six decades. Also available at the event will be souvenirs based on poetry like poetry mugs, mouse pads and posters.
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Sadho is a voluntary organisation that aims at taking great 'poetry to people' from all walks of life, through the innovative use of arts, media and social action. Its activities include The Sadho Poetry Film Festival, Sign Language Poetry Films, Poetry Art, Workshops, and Poetry albums.
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Its trustees and core team members are volunteers from various fields like literature, cinema, music, art, and media. It functions as a not-for-profit trust, supported by volunteers and well-wishers.
Sadho, which literally means 'O sage', is the familiar addressee in the poetry of the great Indian saint poet Kabir.