This film is part of Rentals
An American in Madras
Fascinating documentary about Ellis R. Dungan, the American-born filmmaker who arrived in India in 1935 and went on to revolutionise Tamil cinema.
Documentary 2013 80 mins
Director: Karan Bali
Overview
This fascinating and fast-paced documentary traces the journey of American-born filmmaker Ellis R. Dungan who arrived in India in 1935 intending to stay for 6 months but ended up staying for 15 years. During this period, he brought many technical innovations to the developing Tamil Film Industry of the 1930s and '40s, and infused a sense of professionalism into its filmmaking. All this, without understanding a word of the language!
Dungan directed the great Tamil superstar MGR's first film, Sathi Leelavathi, as well as famed Carnatic vocalist MS Subbulakshmi's most famous films, Sakuntalai and Meera. The film traces Dungan's Indian connection right up to 1994, when on a trip to India, the Tamil Film Industry felicitated him in Chennai for his contribution to its development, a good 43 years after he had left India.
Related
Documentary
Generation Wealth
Documentary 2018 106 mins Director: Lauren Greenfield
Acclaimed filmmaker Lauren Greenfield examines modern greed amid the world of the 1%. Travelling through America and beyond, she meets the international elite and families overwhelmed by debt, yet determined to live the ‘luxury lifestyle.
Mansfield 66/67
Documentary 2017 86 mins Director: P. David Ebersole
Jayne Mansfield: Goddess? Genius? Satanist? This wild documentary from the makers of Room 237 examines the blonde bombshell's relationship with Anton LaVey.
Even When I Fall
Documentary 2017 89 mins Director: Sky Neal
The inspiring and fascinating story of two child-trafficking survivors who form Nepal’s first and only circus; an ode to survival and the healing power of performance.
Almost Heaven
Documentary 2017 72 mins Director: Carol Salter
Carol Salter's award-winning portrait of a young Chinese woman training to become a mortician is a tender and reflective elegy on death and the fragility of life.
My Generation
Documentary 2017 86 mins Director: David Batty
Michael Caine takes us back to swinging London in this engaging documentary on the 1960s cultural revolution, featuring over 50 interviews with the key players.
50 Years Legal
Documentary 2017 77 mins Director: Simon Napier-Bell
Five decades on from the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality, a range of LGBTQ+ stars (including Sir Elton John and Stephen Fry) reflect on Britain's history of prejudice, persecution and liberation.
India on Film
The Lunchbox
Drama 2013 105 mins Director: Ritesh Batra
Mismatched lunchboxes lead to an unlikely romance in this exquisite Indian drama, brimful of tantalising food and elegantly delivered wisdom.
Fireflies in the Abyss
Documentary 2015 88 mins Director: Chandrashekar Reddy
This absorbing documentary follows Suraj a 11-year-old boy who works in the 'rat-hole' mines in the Jaintia Hills of North East India, armed with nothing more than a pickaxe and a head torch. In these hostile pits, every day is a game of death.
Court
Drama 2014 116 mins Director: Chaitanya Tamhane
Hailed as a modern classic channelling the spirit of Satyajit Ray, Chaitanya Tamhane's film is an absurdist portrait of injustice in contemporary India.
I Am Not He... She
Drama 2015 108 mins Director: B.S. Lingadevaru
Lingadevaru’s unforgettable drama, based on an empowering true story a young boy who travels to Bangalore to follow his dream of becoming a woman.
Jugni
Drama 2016 110 mins Director: Shefali Bhushan
Exuberant Hindi romance about a composer searching for a golden voice, who unexpectedly falls for a vibrant younger performer.
Jalal's Story
Drama 2014 109 mins Director: Abu Shahed Emon
Abu Shahed Emon's entrancing film tackles several of Bangladesh's pressing social issues in the story of an abandoned child, believed to be cursed, who ends up entering a life of crime.
New
Mad to Be Normal
Drama 2016 105 mins Director: Robert Mullan
David Tennant is inspired as the renegade Scottish psychiatrist R.D. Laing, whose unorthodox therapeutic ideas chime with the radical spirit of 1960s counterculture.
Iceman
Thriller 2017 96 mins Director: Felix Randau
Revenge is served ice-cold in this visceral thriller, in which a neolithic hunter seeks vengeance against those who decimated his tribe.
Sicilian Ghost Story
Drama 2017 119 mins Director: Fabio Grassadonia
A gripping real-life story of a Mafia kidnapping in Italy is enthrallingly re-imagined as supernatural fantasy by the directors of the acclaimed Salvo.
Black
Drama 2015 90 mins Director: Bilall Fallah
Star-crossed lovers from rival street gangs conduct an illicit affair in this pulsating urban romance.
Discreet
Crime 2017 80 mins Director: Travis Mathews
From the director of Interior. Leather Bar. comes this eerie and powerful psychological thriller that offers a disturbing insight into the dark heart of Trump’s America.
Girls on Film 3: Goddesses
Anthology 2018 111 mins Director: Karishma Dev Dube
Eight more award-winning short films from around the world, exploring female desire, empowerment and the realities of being a woman, a lesbian and a feminist in the modern world.