To Let The World In – Volume 1

To Let The World In, Volume 1 is the first part of a two-volume film project that looks at a significant period in the history of contemporary Indian art from the early 1980s to the present day, featuring the work of two generations of visual artists. The film chronicles the spirit and legacy of a movement that marked the return to narrativity and figuration in Indian art. The exhibition titled “Place for People”, which was held in Delhi and Bombay (now Mumbai) in 1981, brought together a group of artists and a critic who sought to explore locality, class and politics in their practice. The film traces the artists’ concerns reflected in their work, tracing it down to the present day. Among the inheritors of the legacy of this movement were younger artists who continued this dialogue and also became the interlocutors for the work started by the earlier generation. The artists featured in this volume are Arpita Singh, Gulammohammed Sheikh, Vivan Sundaram, Nilima Sheikh, Nalini Malani, Sudhir Patwardhan, Ranbir Kaleka, Pushpamala N., Anita Dube and Atul Dodiya along with art critic and curator Geeta Kapur. Their conversations see frequent visitations by the endearing spirit of Bhupen Khakhar, their friend and co-artist.

2012 – 93 min – documentary
Directed by: Avijit Mukul Kishore
Language: Angličtina, Hindi, Gujarati
Subtitles: English
Format: BluRay

International screenings
Australian National University, Canberra 2014
World Premiere and winner of the audience award at Sheffield Docfest 2013
Tempo Film Festival, Stockholm, 2013
Asia Art
Archive And Asia Society, Hong Kong 2013
Hanart Gallery, Hong Kong 2013
Centre Of South Asian Studies, University Of Cambridge 2013
Utopia@Asialink And The Ian Potter Museum Of Art, Melbourne Festival 2012

Screenings in India
Directorate of Art and Culture with Foundation for Indian Art and Education, Goa 2014
Goa Art And Literary Festival, Goa, 2013
Dharamshala International Film Festival 2013
The British Council Chandigarh 2013
India Habitat Centre, Delhi 2013
School Of Arts And Aesthetics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi 2013
India International Centre, Delhi 2013
Film Appreciation Course, National Film Archive Of India, Pune 2013
International Documentary And Short Film Festival Of Kerala, Trivandrum 2013
Mohile Parikh Centre, Mumbai, 2012
Art Chennai, 2012

About the director

Avijit Mukul Kishore is a film-maker and cinematographer based in Mumbai, India. His areas of interest and specialisation have been the documentary film and collaborations with visual artists on video and film based installation. He is also actively involved in art, cinema and cultural pedagogy with several institutions. His films include Vertical City, Certified Universal and Snapshots from a Family Album.