Venice is particularly busy right now, and Indian artists are very much a part of the action.
At the 83rd Venice Film Festival, which runs till September 12, a year after becoming the first Indian filmmaker to win Best Director in the festival’s Orizzonti section, Anuparna Roy returns with her new feature, Lovers in the Blue Night, in the Horizons competition. Our Share of Sand, Shalini Adnani’s film about sand mining in India, premiered at the fest too.
The Venice Biennale, on the other hand, is already in full swing, and the India Pavilion has been getting plenty of attention for Geographies of Distance: Remembering Home, curated by Amin Jaffer. After showcases by artists like Sumakshi Singh, Nalini Malani, Skarma Sonam Tashi, and Paresh Maity, the pavilion moves into its next phase.
From September 13 to 17, it spills out into the city with music, dance, and poetry in some very Venetian settings. Singer-songwriter Ankur Tewari kicks things off with One World on September 13, bringing together Indian folk and Hindustani classical music. He follows this with Encounters at the Mercato di Rialto, and Common Time, an eight-member ensemble performance at Teatro Piccolo Arsenale.
There’s also contemporary dance choreographed by Surjit Nongmeikapam, whose Hakchang–Polang (Body Vessel) moves through Venice’s public squares, and Ranjit Hoskote’s La Casa in India / Beit-e-Bhārat at Palazzo Grassi, bringing poetry in 10 Indian languages alongside Italian translations. And on September 28, Anwesha Das will bring Bharatnatyam to Teatro Piccolo Arsenale with Seeds of the Sacred.
